42 U.S. Code § 7133 - Assistant Secretaries; appointment and confirmation; identification of responsibilities

(a) There shall be in the Department 8 Assistant Secretaries, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; who shall be compensated at the rate provided for at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5; and who shall perform, in accordance with applicable law, such of the functions transferred or delegated to, or vested in, the Secretary as he shall prescribe in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The functions which the Secretary shall assign to the Assistant Secretaries include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Energy resource applications, including functions dealing with management of all forms of energy production and utilization, including fuel supply, electric power supply, enriched uranium production, energy technology programs, and the management of energy resource leasing procedures on Federal lands.

(2) Energy research and development functions, including the responsibility for policy and management of research and development for all aspects of—

(A) solar energy resources;

(B) geothermal energy resources;

(C) recycling energy resources;

(D) the fuel cycle for fossil energy resources; and

(E) the fuel cycle for nuclear energy resources.

(3) Environmental responsibilities and functions, including advising the Secretary with respect to the conformance of the Department’s activities to environmental protection laws and principles, and conducting a comprehensive program of research and development on the environmental effects of energy technologies and programs.

(4) International programs and international policy functions, including those functions which assist in carrying out the international energy purposes described in section 7112 of this title.

(5) Repealed. Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3294(b), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 970.

(6) Intergovernmental policies and relations, including responsibilities for assuring that national energy policies are reflective of and responsible to the needs of State and local governments, and for assuring that other components of the Department coordinate their activities with State and local governments, where appropriate, and develop intergovernmental communications with State and local governments.

(7) Competition and consumer affairs, including responsibilities for the promotion of competition in the energy industry and for the protection of the consuming public in the energy policymaking processes, and assisting the Secretary in the formulation and analysis of policies, rules, and regulations relating to competition and consumer affairs.

(8) Nuclear waste management responsibilities, including—

(A) the establishment of control over existing Government facilities for the treatment and storage of nuclear wastes, including all containers, casks, buildings, vehicles, equipment, and all other materials associated with such facilities;

(B) the establishment of control over all existing nuclear waste in the possession or control of the Government and all commercial nuclear waste presently stored on other than the site of a licensed nuclear power electric generating facility, except that nothing in this paragraph shall alter or effect title to such waste;

(C) the establishment of temporary and permanent facilities for storage, management, and ultimate disposal of nuclear wastes;

(D) the establishment of facilities for the treatment of nuclear wastes;

(E) the establishment of programs for the treatment, management, storage, and disposal of nuclear wastes;

(F) the establishment of fees or user charges for nuclear waste treatment or storage facilities, including fees to be charged Government agencies; and

(G) the promulgation of such rules and regulations to implement the authority described in this paragraph,

except that nothing in this section shall be construed as granting to the Department regulatory functions presently within the Nu­clear Regulatory Commission, or any additional functions than those already conferred by law.

(9) Energy conservation functions, including the development of comprehensive energy conservation strategies for the Nation, the planning and implementation of major research and demonstration programs for the development of technologies and processes to reduce total energy consumption, the administration of voluntary and mandatory energy conservation programs, and the dissemination to the public of all available information on energy conservation programs and measures.

(10) Power marketing functions, including responsibility for marketing and transmission of Federal power.

(11) Public and congressional relations functions, including responsibilities for providing a continuing liaison between the Department and the Congress and the Department and the public.

(b) At the time the name of any individual is submitted for confirmation to the position of Assistant Secretary, the President shall identify with particularity the function or functions described in subsection (a) (or any portion thereof) for which such individual will be responsible.

(Pub. L. 95–91, title II, § 203, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 570; Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3294(a)(2), (b), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 970; Pub. L. 109–58, title X, § 1006(b)(1), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 931; Pub. L. 111–11, title XIII, § 13004(a), Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1449.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–91, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, known as the Department of Energy Organization Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–11 substituted “8 Assistant Secretaries” for “7 Assistant Secretaries” in introductory provisions.

2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–58 substituted “7” for “six” in introductory provisions.

1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–65, § 3294(a)(2), substituted “six” for “eight” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 106–65, § 3294(b), struck out par. (5) which read as follows: “National security functions, including those transferred to the Department from the Energy Research and Development Administration which relate to management and implementation of the nuclear weapons program and other national security functions involving nuclear weapons research and development.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 106–65 effective Mar. 1, 2000, see section 3299 of Pub. L. 106–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2401 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

Federal Power Marketing Administration Employment Levels

Pub. L. 101–514, title V, § 510, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 2098, provided that no funds appropriated or made available were to be used by the executive branch to change employment levels determined by Administrators of the Federal Power Marketing Administrations to be necessary to carry out their responsibilities under this chapter and related laws, or to change employment levels of other Department of Energy programs to compensate for employment levels of the Federal Power Marketing Administrations, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–46, title V, § 501, Nov. 13, 1995, 109 Stat. 419.

Marketing and Exchange of Surplus Electricity From Navajo Generating Station

Pub. L. 98–381, title I, § 107, Aug. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 1339, provided that:

“(a) Subject to the provisions of any existing layoff contracts, electrical capacity and energy associated with the United States’ interest in the Navajo generating station which is in excess of the pumping requirements of the Central Arizona project and any such needs for desalting and protective pumping facilities as may be required under section 101(b)(2)(B) of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974, as amended [43 U.S.C. 1571(b)(2)(B)] (hereinafter in this Act referred to as ‘Navajo surplus’) shall be marketed and exchanged by the Secretary of Energy pursuant to this section.

“(b) Navajo surplus shall be marketed by the Secretary of Energy pursuant to the plan adopted under subsection (c) of this section, directly to, with or through the Arizona Power Authority and/or other entities having the status of preference entities under the reclamation law in accordance with the preference provisions of section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 [43 U.S.C. 485h(c)] and as provided in part IV, section A of the Criteria.

“(c) In the marketing and exchanging of Navajo surplus, the Secretary of the Interior shall adopt the plan deemed most acceptable, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Governor of Arizona, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (or its successor in interest to the repayment obligation for the Central Arizona project), for the purposes of optimizing the availability of Navajo surplus and providing financial assistance in the timely construction and repayment of construction costs of authorized features of the Central Arizona project. The Secretary of the Interior, in concert with the Secretary of Energy, in accordance with section 14 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 [43 U.S.C. 389], shall grant electrical power and energy exchange rights with Arizona entities as necessary to implement the adopted plan: Provided, however, That if exchange rights with Arizona entities are not required to implement the adopted plan, exchange rights may be offered to other entities.

“(d) For the purposes provided in subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary of Energy, or the marketing entity or entities under the adopted plan, are authorized to establish and collect or cause to be established and collected, rate components, in addition to those currently authorized, and to deposit the revenues received in the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund to be available for such purposes and if required under the adopted plan, to credit, utilize, pay over directly or assign revenues from such additional rate components to make repayment and establish reserves for repayment of funds, including interest incurred, to entities which have advanced funds for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section: Provided, however, That rates shall not exceed levels that allow for an appropriate saving for the contractor.

“(e) To the extent that this section may be in conflict with any other provision of law relating to the marketing and exchange of Navajo surplus, or to the disposition of any revenues therefrom, this section shall control.”