Presidential Determination on Classified Information Concerning the Air Force's Operating Location Near Groom Lake, Nevada

President Clinton issued a one-year exemption shielding the Air Force's classified operations at Groom Lake, Nevada (Area 51) from environmental disclosure laws that would require revealing classified information to unauthorized persons. The determination exempts the site from federal, state, and local solid waste and hazardous waste disposal disclosure requirements under 42 U.S.C. 6961(a).

Federal Register Open PDF 62 FR 52647

Impact dates

Sep 26, 1998
One-year exemption expires

Key directives

Exempt Groom Lake from environmental disclosure requirements that would reveal classified information
Secretary of the Air Force to publish determination in Federal Register
Exemption effective for one-year statutory period

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Exemption takes effect upon publication
Classified information shielded from environmental disclosure requirements

Near term (90d)

Secretary of the Air Force to publish determination in Federal Register

Long term

Exemption expires after one-year statutory period unless renewed
Continued litigation implications for environmental claims against Groom Lake operations

Risks & tensions

Balances national security secrecy against environmental transparency and public health accountability
Explicitly preserves non-classified environmental law applicability—limiting tension but leaving enforcement gap
Litigants in ongoing cases (Kasza, Frost) face continued evidentiary barriers