CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE
June 12, 1969
Page 15544
S. 2391 – INTRODUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1969
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Mr. RANDOLPH and Messrs. BAKER, BAYH, BIBLE, BOGGS, BROOKE, BURDICK, BYRD of West Virginia, COOPER, COTTON, CRANSTON, DODD, EAGLETON, ERVIN, FONG, GOODELL, GORE, GRAVEL, HARRIS, HARTKE, HOLLINGS. INOUYE, JAVITS, KENNEDY, MCCARTHY, MONDALE, MONTOYA, NELSON, PACKWOOD, PELL, PERCY, PROXMIRE, RIBICOFF, SCOTT, SPONG, TALMADGE, THURMOND, WILLIAMS of New Jersey, YARBOROUGH, and YOUNG of Ohio, I introduce the Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1969 --S. 2391.
Since its formation in 1963, the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution of the Senate Committee on Public Works has presented legislation designed to combat the degradation of our environment.
Of the many threats to civilization. deteriorating environmental quality must be placed among the major concerns of civilized man, along with war, hunger, disease, poverty, racial antagonisms, and crime. There are "environmental rights," just as there are social, economic, and civil rights and freedoms.
Environmental degradation has long been associated with the misuse and abuse of resources. Slashed forests, polluted streams, over-grazed grasslands, belching smokestacks, and open dumps have been visual reminders of our carelessness.
Any concept of the environment -- air, water, or land -- as an infinite reservoir, with an infinite capacity to dilute, disperse, and assimilate waste is outmoded and irresponsible. Our resources are limited, and we have overdrawn our bank account.
As we have pushed back the frontiers of scientific knowledge and devised technologies to apply that knowledge, we have multiplied our opportunities for material wealth and comfort. We have increased our capacity to manipulate the environment. In the process we have multiplied our impact on the environment. Through the misapplication of technology we have disrupted that environment.
We need to use political, economic, and social leadership to improve the quality of life, not to destroy it. We need to make technology serve man, not endanger him. We need to conserve our planet and the complex life systems which make it habitable, not disturb its balances for the sake of short-term economic gains.
During the last 6 years the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution has been instrumental in taking major steps in this Nation's efforts to protect the health and welfare of our citizens. Our work has resulted in the Clean Air Act of 1963, and the 1965 and 1966 amendments; the Air Quality Act of 1967; the Water Quality Act of 1965; the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966; and the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. Those acts have helped to form a national environmental policy.
The basis for the legislation is a strong Federal-State-local partnership. The States have the primary responsibility to protect and enhance the quality of air and water within their boundaries, and, in cooperation with other States, to protect and enhance the quality of air and water within resource areas common to those States. The Federal Government has the authority to act where States fail to fulfill their obligations.
The laws also provide Federal support for improved organization of State and local abatement programs, planning activities, and the research, development, and demonstration of new control technologies. The programs authorized under the acts are designed to reduce discharges into the atmosphere and public waterways. But they are limited by the effectiveness of existing technology and by the outmoded philosophy of waste disposal rather than waste management and reduction.
The Water Quality Improvement Act of 1969 and the Resource Recovery Act of 1969 are designed, in part, to shift the focus to waste management and reduction as the most effective guarantee of environmental improvement.
Our continued efforts to modify and improve pollution control programs reflect the fact that we have only recently begun to understand the importance of the environment to the human condition. We are only beginning to comprehend the magnitude of the real costs we are paying for the crowding, the fumes, the clutter, the noise, and the wasteful and monotonous sprawl of the great metropolitan concentrations where most Americans now live.
The subcommittee and the Congress are pledged to a national policy of enhancement of environmental quality, a policy based on the concept that man and his environment are interrelated and that a safe environment is necessary to the improvement of living standards for all men.
The environment we pass on to our children must reflect not our ability to define the problem, but our determination to solve it. If we fail to complete the work we have begun, our children will have to pay more than the price of our inaction. They will bear the tragedy of our failure to protect them against contaminants which can disrupt life processes, impair physical and mental health, and affect genetic inheritance.
The increased use of fossil fuels affects not only local environments but the global environment.
The increased introduction of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributes to the "green
house effect," while increases in atmospheric turbidity act to reduce temperatures. The potential effects of such changes on weather, the environment, and man can be disastrous.
There is an increased input into the environment of toxic substances such as pesticides, detergents, and a variety of chemical additives, which are developed for special purposes. In too many cases we cannot predict the effects of such substances on individuals, on other species or on the physical environment.
Because of this, we ought to exercise great caution on every decision which may affect the environment. We ought to insure that our public institutions have the capacity to evaluate environmental hazards and to reduce those hazards to an absolute minimum.
We need to coordinate all Federal research programs which improve our knowledge of the consequences of environmental modifications, including the interrelationships between population increases, urbanization, and pollution.
We need to coordinate all Federal programs affecting environmental quality. The bill I have introduced today would support such objectives by providing the following:
The development of criteria and standards to assure the protection and enhancement of environmental quality in all Federal and federally assisted public works projects and programs;
The coordination of all Federal research programs and activities to increase their contributions to our knowledge of the interrelationship of man and his environment; and
The creation of an Office of Environmental Quality and appropriate staff in the Executive Office of the President.
The proposed legislation is consistent with other congressional proposals directed toward implementing the national policy for the environment.
Many of these proposals have focused around a council of some description in the Executive Office of the President to furnish advice on ecology and environmental quality. In addition, some of the proposals would provide a statement of national policy.
I have introduced legislation to establish a Senate Select Committee on Technology and the Human Environment -- Senate Resolution 78 -- which is now pending in the Government Operations Committee.
Senators CASE and MOSS have introduced a bill S. 2312, to create a Federal Department of Conservation and the Environment.
Senator JACKSON and the members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs have held hearings on several bills on the need for a national policy for the environment which include: S. 237, as introduced by Senator MCGOVERN; S. 1075, and amendments thereto, as introduced by Senator JACKSON; and S. 1752, as introduced by Senator NELSON.
Similar bills have been referred to the Committee on Public Works including S.1085 introduced by Senator NELSON and S. 1818, introduced by Senator TYDINGS.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of S. 2391 and a summary of its provisions be printed in the RECORD at this point.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The bill will be received and appropriately referred; and, without objection the bill and summary will be printed in the RECORD.
The bill (S.2391), to provide for the more effective coordination of Federal air quality, water quality, and solid waste disposal programs, for the consideration of environmental quality in public works programs and projects, for the coordination of all Federal research programs which improve knowledge of environmental modifications resulting from increased population and urban concentration, and for other purposes, introduced by Mr. MUSKIE (for himself and other Senators), was received, read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Public Works, and ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S.2391
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1969."
FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES (a) The Congress finds
(1) that in the pursuit of social and economic advancement man has caused changes in the environment;
(2) that the degree of such changes endangers a harmonious relationship between man and his environment;
(3) that population increases and urban concentration contribute directly to pollution and the degradation of our environment, increasing the severity of the physical, social, psychological, and economic problems of our society; and
(4) that changes in the environment should be restricted, insofar as possible, to avoid adverse effects on man, other species and the environment itself.
(b) The Congress declares
(1) that there is a national policy for the environment which provides for the enhancement of environmental quality, which is enunciated in:
(A) Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended;
(B) Clean Air Act, as amended;
(C) Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended;
(D) Federal-Aid Highway Act, as amended;
(E) Omnibus Rivers and Harbor and Flood Control Act;
(F) Appalachian Regional Development Act;
(G) Public Works and Economic Development Act; and
(H) Tennessee Valley Authority Act;
(2) that the primary responsibility for implementing this policy rests with State and local government;
(3) that the Federal government shall encourage and support implementation of this policy through appropriate regional organizations; and
(4) that Federal and federally assisted public works programs and projects shall, in all instances, be developed and implemented in a manner consistent with the enhancement of environmental quality.
(c) The purposes of the Act are–
(1) to provide for the development of criteria and standards to assure the protection and enhancement of environmental quality in all Federal and federally assisted projects and programs;
(2) to provide for the coordination of Federal research programs and activities which
contribute to knowledge of the interrelationships of man and his environment; and
(3) to authorize and to provide staff for an Office of Environmental Quality.
COORDINATION OF FEDERAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
SEC. 102. (a) Each Federal department or agency conducting or supporting public works activities which affect the environment shall implement the policies established by the President pursuant to this Act;
(b) Each Federal department or agency performing or supporting research relating to the interrelationships between man and his environment shall implement the policies and procedures established by the President pursuant to this Act.
(c) Each Federal department or agency in carrying out the provisions of this section shall place emphasis on research activities which improve the Nation's understanding of
(1) the effects of environmental modifications on public health and welfare, including the social and psychological well-being of man;
(2) the effects of rapid population growth and increased urban concentration on the environment;
(3) the effects of noise on man and his environment;
(4) the effects of waste heat disposal practices on man and his environment;
(5) the occurrence, dispersal, biological concentration and environmental effects of pesticides and other materials;
(6) the occurrence, dispersal, biological concentration, and effects of natural environmental contaminants, including radioactive materials;
(7) the effects of increase; in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, atmospheric turbidity, and other contaminants on weather, climate, and ecological processes;
(8) the effects on man's activities on the productive capacity of soil;
(9) the basic patterns and processes of ecosystems;
(10) the effects of introducing new species into existing ecosystems:
(11) the effects of modification of biological and physical diversity on the stability and dynamics of ecosystems; and
(12) the destruction or degradation of unique ecosystems and endangered species.
OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
SEC. 103(a) There is established in the Excutive Office of the President an office to be known as the Office of Environmental Quality (herein referred to as the "Office"). There shall be in the Office a director and a deputy director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) The compensation of the Director and the Deputy Director shall be fixed by the President at a rate not in excess of the annual rate of compensation payable to the Director and the Deputy Director of the Bureau of the Budget.
(c) The Director is authorized to employ such officers and employees as may be necessary to enable the Office to carry out its functions under this Act.
(d) In carrying out the provisions of this section the Director shall
(1) assist and advise the President on policies and programs of the Federal government affecting environmental quality;
(2) provide staff and support for any cabinet level council or committee established by the President to coordinate Federal activities which affect the environment;
(3) review and appraise existing and proposed projects, facilities, programs, policies, and activities of the Federal Government which affect environmental quality and make recommendations thereon;
(4) review the adequacy of existing systems for monitoring and predicting environmental changes in order to achieve effective coverage and efficient use of research facilities and other resources;
(5) promote advancement of scientific knowledge of the effects of actions and technology on the environment and encourage the development of the means to prevent or reduce adverse effects that endanger the health and well-being of man;
(6) develop proposed policies and programs to protect and enhance environmental quality;
(7) recommend priorities with respect to problems involving environmental quality;
(8) assure evaluation of new and changing technologies for their potential effects on the environment prior to their implementation;
(9) review and comment on the coordination of the programs and activities of Federal departments and agencies which affect, protect, and improve environmental quality;
(10) review and comment on the development and interrelationship of environmental quality criteria and standards established through the Federal government; and
(11) consult with and advise representatives of State and local governments and assist the President in efforts to achieve environmental quality in the community of nations.
(e) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Director is authorized to contract with public or private agencies, institutions, and organizations, and with individuals, without regard to sections 3648 and 3709 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 529; 41 U.S.C. 5) for research and surveys regarding any potential or existing problem of environmental quality.
(f) In carrying out the functions of this Act, the Director shall
(1) not later than six months after the effective date of this Act and not later than January 10 of each calendar year beginning after such date, report to the Congress on measures taken toward implementing the purpose and intent of this Act;
(2) collect, collate, analyze, and interpret data and information on environmental quality and issue reports thereon, as he deems appropriate; and
(3) organize and convene a biennial symposium on current problems and issues concerning environmental quality, population, and the future, and publish the proceedings thereof. Participants shall be selected from among representatives of various States, interstate, and local government agencies, of public or private interests concerned with population growth, environmental quality, and planning for the future, and of other public and private agencies demonstrating an active interest, as well as other individuals in the fields of population, biology, psychology, medical sciences, social sciences, ecology, agriculture, economics, law, engineering and political science who have demonstrated competence with regard to problems of the environment.
ADVISORY COMMITTEES
SEC. 104. (a) In order to obtain assistance and independent advice in the development and implementation of the purposes of this Act the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality, established pursuant to section 103, shall from time to time establish advisory committees. Committee members shall be selected from among representatives of various State, interstate, and local government agencies, of public or private interests concerned with population growth, environmental quality, and planning for the future, and of other public and private agencies demonstrating an active interest, as well as other individuals in the fields of population, biology, medical sciences, psychology, social sciences, ecology, agriculture, economics, law, engineering, and political science who have demonstrated competence with regard to problems of the environment.
(b) The members of the advisory committee appointed pursuant to this Act shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate to be fixed by the Director, but not exceeding $100 per diem, including travel time, and while away from their homes or regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5 of the United States Code for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.
SEC. 105. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1969, and for each of five succeeding fiscal years, such amounts as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
The summary presented by Mr. MUSKIE is as follows:
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1969 -- SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
1. Findings, declarations, and purposes.
2. Directs Federal departments and agencies conducting or supporting public works projects or programs to implement existing environmental policies and the environmental policies established pursuant to this Act.
3. Directs Federal departments and agencies conducting or supporting research on the interrelationship between man and his environment to implement the research policies and procedures established pursuant to this Act.
4. Directs Federal departments and agencies to emphasize twelve environmental research areas which are of long-term concern.
5. Provides for the establishment of an Executive Office of Environmental Quality.
6. Directs the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality to provide staff and support for any environmental council and committees established by the President, and perform other functions.
7. Provides for an annual report to the Congress on measures taken to implement the Act.
8. Provides for a biennial symposium on current problems and issues concerning environmental quality, population, and the future.
9. Provides for the establishment of independent advisory committee to assist the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality.
10. Authorizes funding for Fiscal Years 1969 through 1974.