Filed Under: Federal | Statewide

The President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 Main: (202) 456-1414 Comment Line: (202) 456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov The White HouseThe power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President, who also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the heads of federal agencies that handle environmental matters—for example, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy. In conjunction with the White House, these individuals set broad policy agendas, which are then carried out by the agency's staff. Many presidents have worked closely with Congress to introduce comprehensive environmental legislation. The President can also move environmental policy ahead without Congress, using a "regulatory" approach by issuing executive orders and environmental regulations. For example, the President can make National Monument designations, which do not require Congressional approval, in order to help protect a location from future environmental damage. Of course, the Congress may seek to nullify such actions or block them altogether, and it has done so successfully in the past. The Executive Office of the President is made up of White House offices and agencies. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is one of these offices. The CEQ coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and fellow White House offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives. The Council's Chair, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, serves as the principal environmental policy adviser to the President and Vice President. The CEQ also reports annually to the President on the state of the environment, oversees federal agency implementation of the environmental impact assessment process, and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of such assessments. The CEQ joined the Executive Office of the President with passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.