[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[October 19, 1992]
[Pages 1849-1850]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Signing the Community Environmental Response Facilitation 
Act
October 19, 1992

    I am signing into law H.R. 4016, the ``Community Environmental 
Response Facilitation Act,'' which requires Federal agencies that intend 
to terminate operations on real property to identify those portions of 
the property that are not contaminated by hazardous waste or petroleum 
products.
    The Act would, among other things, require agencies to obtain the 
concurrence of the appropriate State official in order to complete 
identification of certain property as uncontaminated. If this 
requirement were understood to allow the State official to prevent a 
Federal agency from disposing of property, then the Act would, in 
effect, be granting Federal Executive power to a person who has not been 
appointed in conformity with the Appointments Clause of the 
Constitution, Article II, section 2, clause 2.
    In order to avoid this constitutional diffi-

[[Page 1850]]

culty, I instruct all agencies affected by this Act to construe a State 
official's failure to concur as a statement of that official's views, 
but not as a bar to transfer of the property. Because the Act nowhere 
states the consequences of a failure to concur, a Federal agency may 
terminate operations on a property and dispose of it, in accordance with 
applicable Federal laws, regardless of whether a State official fails to 
concur in the identification of it as uncontaminated.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
October 19, 1992.

                    Note: H.R. 4016, approved October 19, was assigned 
                        Public Law No. 102-426.