By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by Section 115 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-510, approved December 11, 1980), it is hereby ordered as follows:
1 - 1. National Contingency Plan.
1 - 101. The National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan (hereafter NCP), originally published pursuant to Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Public Law 92-500, 33 U.S.C. 1321), shall be the primary vehicle for coordination of government response to releases of hazardous substances and pollutants and contaminants into the environment.
1 - 102. Subject to subsection 1 - 103 of this section, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality is delegated all authority of the President under Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, hereafter referred to as the Act. In revising the NCP the Chairman shall consult with the National Response Team (hereafter NRT) as established under the NCP, and shall coordinate all such revisions with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency prior to publication for notice and comment. Each Executive agency represented on the NRT shall, as appropriate, provide technical and administrative support to the Chairman.
1 - 103. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is delegated all authority of the President under subsection (8)(B) of Section 105 of the Act. In exercising this authority the Administrator shall consult with the NRT.
1 - 2. Determination of Remedial Action.
The head of each Executive agency having responsibility under the NCP for determination of the appropriate remedy or remedial action is delegated all authority of the President under Section 101(24) of the Act.
1 - 3. Response Activities.
1 - 301. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating are delegated, subject to the lines of jurisdiction in the NCP, all authority of the President under:
(a) Subsection (a) of Section 104 of the Act, subject to the further delegation of authority contained in section 1 - 303 of this Order.
(b) Subsections (c), (d), (f), and (g) of Section 104 of the Act.
(c) The first sentence of subsection (h) of Section 104 of the Act.
1 - 302. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is delegated, in consultation with the Executive agencies which may exercise emergency procurement powers under the NCP, all of the authority of the President under the second sentence of subsection (h) of Section 104 of the Act.
1 - 303. The head of each Executive agency having responsibilities for response actions under the NCP is delegated all authority of the President, to be exercised in accordance with the NCP, to undertake any necessary response actions under subsection (a) of Section 104 of the Act, and to act under subsection (b) of Section 104 of the Act, except as provided in section 1 - 304 below.
1 - 304. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the Secretary in the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, as appropriate, is delegated all authority of the President, to be exercised in accordance with the NCP, to make the determination under subsection (b) of Section 104 of the Act relating to illness, disease and complaints thereof. The determination under subsection (i) of Section 104 as to the existence of a public health emergency shall be made by the head of the Public Health Service.
1 - 305. The head of each Executive agency designated in the NCP as having responsibility for determining the need for response to a release under Title I of the Act, or for enforcing the provisions of Title I of the Act, is delegated the authority to designate officers, employees and representatives under subsection (e) of Section 104 of the Act. The head of each department and agency shall, in consultation with the Attorney General, develop guidelines or policies relating to the performance of the functions prescribed in subsection (e)(1) of Section 104. Regulations under subsection (e)(2)(C) of Section 104 respecting the manner in which data which may be entitled to protection under subsection (e)(2) of Section 104 of the Act shall be submitted and designated shall be promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with the NRT.