For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 18, 2001
Executive Order
Actions to Expedite Energy-Related Projects
By the authority vested in me as President by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in
order to take additional steps to expedite the increased supply and
availability of energy to our Nation, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The
increased production and transmission of energy in a safe and
environmentally sound manner is essential to the well-being of the
American people. In general, it is the policy of this
Administration that executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall
take appropriate actions, to the extent consistent with applicable law,
to expedite projects that will increase the production, transmission,
or conservation of energy.
Sec.
2. Actions to Expedite Energy-Related
Projects. For energy-related projects, agencies shall
expedite their review of permits or take other actions as necessary to
accelerate the completion of such projects, while maintaining safety,
public health, and environmental protections. The agencies
shall take such actions to the extent permitted by law and regulation,
and where appropriate.
Sec.
3. Interagency Task Force. There is established
an interagency task force (Task Force) to monitor and assist the
agencies in their efforts to expedite their review of permits or
similar actions, as necessary, to accelerate the completion of
energy-related projects, increase energy production and conser--vation,
and improve transmission of energy. The Task Force also
shall monitor and assist agencies in setting up appropriate mechanisms
to coordinate Federal, State, tribal, and local permitting in
geographic areas where increased permitting activity is
expected. The Task Force shall be composed of
representatives from the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense,
Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Commerce,
Transportation, the Interior, Labor, Education, Health and Human
Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection
Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, General Services Administration,
Office of Management and Budget, Council of Economic Advisers, Domestic
Policy Council, National Economic Council, and such other
representatives as may be determined by the Chairman of the Council on
Environmental Quality. The Task Force shall be chaired by
the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and housed at the
Department of Energy for administrative purposes.
Sec. 4. Judicial
Review. Nothing in
this order shall affect any otherwise available judicial review of
agency action. This order is intended only to improve the internal
management
of the Federal Government and does not create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party
against the United States, its agencies or instrumen-talities, its
officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 18, 2001.
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