Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. In the legislation, Congress directed the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an executive agency, to carry out the legislation. President Nixon issued Executive Order 11738 entitled “Providing for administration of the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to Federal contracts, grants, or loans.” In this executive order, President Nixon directed the administrator of the EPA to procure contracts for goods and services to effectively enforce the Clean Air Act. He wrote, “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as added by the Clean Air Amendments of 1970 (Public Law 91-604), and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), particularly section 508 of that Act as added by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500), it is hereby ordered... The Administrator shall issue such rules, regulations, standards, and guidelines as he may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Order.”

Question

Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. In the legislation, Congress directed the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an executive agency, to carry out the legislation. President Nixon issued Executive Order 11738 entitled “Providing for administration of the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to Federal contracts, grants, or loans.” In this executive order, President Nixon directed the administrator of the EPA to procure contracts for goods and services to effectively enforce the Clean Air Act. He wrote, “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as added by the Clean Air Amendments of 1970 (Public Law 91-604), and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), particularly section 508 of that Act as added by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500), it is hereby ordered... The Administrator shall issue such rules, regulations, standards, and guidelines as he may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Order.”

Explain how President Nixon’s use of this executive order employed a specific source of executive order authority.

Answer 1

President Nixon's use of this executive order employed a specific source of executive order authority known as "delegated authority." Delegated authority refers to the authority granted by Congress to the president or executive agencies to carry out specific laws or actions.

In this case, Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 and directed the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an executive agency, to enforce the legislation. President Nixon, utilizing the power of delegated authority, issued Executive Order 11738 to effectively enforce the Clean Water Act through federal contracts, grants, or loans.

The specific source of executive order authority in this case can be traced back to the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as added by the Clean Air Amendments of 1970, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, particularly section 508, as added by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. These laws provided the legal foundation for President Nixon's authority to issue the executive order.

In the executive order, President Nixon explicitly mentioned his authority vested by these laws, stating that he is ordering the administrator of the EPA to issue rules, regulations, standards, and guidelines necessary for carrying out the purposes of the order. This demonstrates how the president's power to issue executive orders can come from specific legislation enacted by Congress, granting them the authority to take action in accordance with the laws passed.