16 U.S.C. § 3232 — Recommendations of President to Congress
submitted 46 years ago by Pub. L. 96-487 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 456 words · no verdicts yet
The President may recommend that mineral activity be allowed in a specified area when urgent national need outweighs other public values and likely environmental harm. Congress must approve the recommendation by joint resolution within the specified 120-day period.
(a) Recommendation. After December 2, 1980, the President may send Congress a recommendation to allow mineral exploration, development, or extraction that this Act or another applicable law does not allow, in a specified area of the lands described in section 3231 of this title. Notice of sending the recommendation must appear in the Federal Register. The President may not send it to Congress until at least 90 days after publishing notice of the intent to submit it.
(b) Findings. The President may send the recommendation only if, based on available information, the President finds that (1) there is an urgent national need for the mineral activity; and (2) that need outweighs the other public values of the public lands and the likely harmful environmental effects.
(c) Report. With the recommendation, the President must send Congress (1) a detailed report explaining the relevant facts and the reasons for the findings and recommendation; (2) a statement of the conditions and limits that would govern the activity if Congress approved it; and (3), when the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires an environmental impact statement, a statement meeting section 102(2)(C) of that Act. If that Act does not require such a statement, the President may include one if the President considers it desirable.
(d) Approval. The recommendation takes effect only if Congress enacts a joint resolution approving it during the first 120 calendar days of continuous congressional session beginning the day after the Senate and House receive it. For this section, both Houses are considered to have received it on the first day on which both are in session after the recommendation is submitted.
(e) Counting the 120 days. (1) Congressional session is interrupted only by an adjournment sine die. (2) Days when either House is not in session because it adjourned for more than three days to a specific date are left out of the 120-day count.
At any time after December 2, 1980, the President may transmit a recommendation to the Congress that mineral exploration, development, or extraction not permitted under this Act or other applicable law shall be permitted in a specified area of the lands referred to in section 3231 of this title. Notice of such transmittal shall be published in the Federal Register. No recommendation of the President under this section may be transmitted to the Congress before ninety days after publication in the Federal Register of notice of his intention to submit such recommendation.
A recommendation may be transmitted to the Congress under subsection (a) if the President finds that, based on the information available to him—
there is an urgent national need for the mineral activity; and
such national need outweighs the other public values of the public lands involved and the potential adverse environmental impacts which are likely to result from the activity.
Together with his recommendation, the President shall submit to the Congress—
a report setting forth in detail the relevant factual background and the reasons for his findings and recommendation;
a statement of the conditions and stipulations which would govern the activity if approved by the Congress; and
in any case in which an environmental impact statement is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.], a statement which complies with the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)]. In the case of any recommendation for which an environmental impact statement is not required under section 102(2)(C) of the National environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)], the President may, if he deems it desirable, include such a statement in his transmittal to the Congress.
Any recommendation under this section shall take effect only upon enactment of a joint resolution approving such recommendation within the first period of one hundred and twenty calendar days of continuous session of Congress beginning on the date after the date of receipt by the Senate and House of Representatives of such recommendation. Any recommendation of the President submitted to Congress under subsection (a) shall be considered received by both Houses for purposes of this section on the first day on which both are in session occurring after such recommendation is submitted.
For purposes of this section—
continuity of session of Congress is broken only by an adjournment sine die; and
the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the one-hundred-and-twenty-day calendar period.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 96–487, title XV, § 1502, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2549.)
- 1980Enacted · Pub. L. 96-487 · 94 Stat. 2549
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 96-487 on 1980-12-02.
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