§ 5509. — National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 20USC5509]
TITLE 20--EDUCATION
CHAPTER 65--NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Sec. 5509. National Environmental Education and Training
Foundation
(a) Establishment and purposes
(1) Establishment
(A) There is hereby established the National Environmental
Education and Training Foundation. The Foundation is established in
order to extend the contribution of environmental education and
training to meeting critical environmental protection needs, both in
this country and internationally; to facilitate the cooperation,
coordination, and contribution of public and private resources to
create an environmentally advanced educational system; and to foster
an open and effective partnership among Federal, State, and local
government, business, industry, academic institutions, community
based environmental groups, and international organizations.
(B) The Foundation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation
whose income is exempt from tax, and donations to which are tax
deductible to the same extent as those organizations listed pursuant
to section 501(c) of title 26. The Foundation is not an agency or
establishment of the United States.
(2) Purposes
The purposes of the Foundation are--
(A) subject to the limitation contained in the final
sentence of subsection (d) of this section, to encourage,
accept, leverage, and administer private gifts for the benefit
of, or in connection with, the environmental education and
training activities and services of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency;
(B) to conduct such other environmental education activities
as will further the development of an environmentally conscious
and responsible public, a well-trained and environmentally
literate workforce, and an environmentally advanced educational
system;
(C) to participate with foreign entities and individuals in
the conduct and coordination of activities that will further
opportunities for environmental education and training to
address environmental issues and problems involving the United
States and Canada or Mexico.
(3) Programs
The Foundation will develop, support, and/or operate programs
and projects to educate and train educational and environmental
professionals, and to assist them in the development and delivery of
environmental education and training programs and studies.
(b) Board of Directors
(1) Establishment and membership
(A) The Foundation shall have a governing Board of Directors
(hereafter referred to in this section as ``the Board''), which
shall consist of 13 directors, each of whom shall be knowledgeable
or experienced in the environment, education and/or training. The
Board shall oversee the activities of the Foundation and shall
assure that the activities of the Foundation are consistent with the
environmental and education goals and policies of the Environmental
Protection Agency and with the intents and purposes of this chapter.
The membership of the Board, to the extent practicable, shall
represent diverse points of view relating to environmental education
and training.
(B) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
shall, pursuant to paragraph (2), appoint the Director of the Office
of Environmental Education established pursuant to section 5502 of
this title as an ex-officio member of the Board. Ex officio
membership shall also be offered to other Federal agencies or
departments with an interest and/or experience in environmental
education and training.
(C) Appointment to the Board shall not constitute employment by,
or the holding of an office of, the United States for the purposes
of any Federal law.
(2) Appointment and terms
(A) Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(B) Within 90 days of November 16, 1990, and as appropriate
thereafter, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register
an announcement of appointments of Directors of the Board. At the
same time, the Administrator shall transmit a copy of such
announcement to the Education and Labor Committee and the Committee
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the United States
Senate. Such appointments shall become final and effective 90 days
after publication in the Federal Register.
(C) The directors shall be appointed for terms of 4 years,
except that the Administrator, in making the initial appointments to
the Board, shall appoint 5 directors to a term of 2 years, 4
directors to a term of 3 years, and 4 directors to a term of 4
years. The Administrator shall appoint an individual to serve as a
director in the event of a vacancy on the Board within 60 days of
said vacancy in the manner in which the original appointment was
made. No individual may serve more than 2 consecutive terms as a
director.
(3) Chair
The Chair shall be elected by the Board from its members for a
2-year term.
(4) Quorum
A majority of the current membership of the Board shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(5) Meetings
The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair at least twice a
year. If a Director misses three consecutive regularly scheduled
meetings, that individual may be removed from the Board and that
vacancy filled in accordance with this subsection.
(6) Reimbursement of expenses
Members of the Board shall serve without pay, but may be
reimbursed for the actual and necessary traveling and subsistence
expenses incurred by them in the performance of the duties of the
Foundation.
(7) General powers
(A) The Board may complete the organization of the Foundation
by--
(i) appointing officers and employees;
(ii) adopting a constitution and bylaws consistent with the
purposes of the Foundation and the provisions of this section;
and
(iii) undertaking such other acts as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of this section.
(B) The following limitations apply with respect to the
appointment of officers and employees of the Foundation:
(i) Officers and employees may not be appointed until the
Foundation has sufficient funds to pay for their service.
Officers and employees of the Foundation shall be appointed
without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing
appointments in the competitive service, and may be paid without
regard to the provisions of chapter 51 or subchapter III of
chapter 53 of title 5 relating to classification and General
Schedule pay rates, except that no individual so appointed may
receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay in effect
for grade GS-18 of the General Schedule.
(ii) The first officer or employee appointed by the Board
shall be the Executive Director of the Foundation who--
(I) shall serve, at the direction of the Board, as the
Secretary of the Board and the Foundation's chief executive
officer; and
(II) shall be experienced in matters relating to
environmental education and training.
(c) Rights and obligations of Foundation
(1) In general
The Foundation--
(A) shall have perpetual succession;
(B) may conduct business throughout the several States,
territories, and possessions of the United States and abroad;
(C) shall have its principal offices in the District of
Columbia or in the greater metropolitan area; and
(D) shall at all times maintain a designated agent
authorized to accept service of process for the Foundation.
The service of notice to, or service of notice upon, the agent
required under paragraph (4), or mailed to the business address of
such agent, shall be deemed as service upon or notice to the
Foundation.
(2) Seal
The Foundation shall have an official seal selected by the Board
which shall be judicially noticed.
(3) Powers
To carry out its purposes under subsection (a) of this section,
the Foundation shall have, in addition to the powers otherwise given
it under this section, the usual powers of a corporation acting as a
trustee, including the power--
(A) to accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use
any gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely or in trust, of
real or personal property or any income therefrom or other
interest therein;
(B) to acquire by purchase or exchange any real or personal
property or interest therein;
(C) unless otherwise required by the instrument of transfer,
to sell, donate, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or otherwise
dispose of any property or income therefrom;
(D) to sue, or to be sued, and complain or defend itself in
any court of competent jurisdiction, except that the Directors
of the Board shall not be personally liable, except for gross
negligence;
(E) to enter into contracts or other arrangements with
public agencies and private organizations and persons and to
make such payments as may be necessary to carry out its
functions; and
(F) to do any and all acts necessary and proper to carry out
the purposes of the Foundation.
(d) Conditions on donations
(1) For the purposes of this section, a gift, devise, or bequest may
be accepted by the Foundation even though it is encumbered, restricted,
or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if any current
future interest therein is for the benefit of the Foundation.
(2) No donation, gift, devise, bequest, property (either real or
personal), voluntary services, or any other thing of value may be
accepted by the Foundation if it--
(A) is contingent upon the transmission by the Foundation of
materials or information prepared by the donor or a third party in
such a fashion as to convey a particular point of view favorable to
the economic interests of the donor or its constituents or
associates; or
(B) in the judgment of the Board carries with it an explicit or
implied requirement on the part of the Foundation to do a specific
act or make general representations which are to the benefit of the
donor and which are not consistent with the environmental and
education goals and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency
and with the intents and purposes of this chapter.
(3) No materials bearing ``logos'', letterhead or other means of
identification associated with a donor or third party may be transmitted
by the Foundation, for use in environmental education and training
except as required pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(e) Administrative services and support
Subject to the requirements of this subsection, the Administrator
may provide personnel, facilities, and other administrative services to
the Foundation, including reimbursement of expenses under subsection
(b)(6) of this section, not to exceed then current Federal Government
per diem rates, for a period of up to 4 years from November 16, 1990,
and may accept reimbursement therefor, to be deposited in the Treasury
to the credit of the appropriations then current and chargeable for the
costs of providing such services. With respect to personnel, the
Administrator may provide no more than 1 full-time employee to serve the
Foundation in a policy capacity, and may provide clerical and other
support staff at a level equivalent to 2 full-time equivalent employees
to the Foundation, for a period not to exceed 2 years from the date of
initial assignment of any personnel for this purpose.
(f) Omitted
(g) Volunteer status
The Administrator may accept, without regard to the civil service
classification laws, rules, or regulations, the services of the
Foundation, the Board, and the officers and employees of the Board,
without compensation from the Environmental Protection Agency, as
volunteers in the performance of the functions authorized herein, in the
manner provided for under this section.
(h) Audits and petition of Attorney General for equitable relief
For purposes of section 10101 of title 36, the Foundation shall be
treated as a corporation in part B of subtitle II of title 36.
(i) United States release from liability
The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts,
or omissions of the Foundation nor shall the full faith and credit of
the United States extend to any obligation of the Foundation.
(j) Amendment and repeal
The Congress expressly reserves the right to repeal or amend this
section at any time.
(Pub. L. 101-619, Sec. 10, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3335.)
References in Text
The provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive
service, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(B)(i), are classified generally
to section 3301 et seq. of Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.
The civil service classification laws, referred to in subsec. (g),
probably should refer to civil service and classification laws. The
civil service laws are set forth in Title 5. See, particularly, section
3301 et seq. of Title 5. The classification laws are set forth in
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of Title 5.
Codification
Subsec. (f) of this section, which required the Foundation, as soon
as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, to transmit to
Congress a report of its proceedings and activities, including a full
and complete statement of its receipts, expenditures, and investments,
terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of Pub. L.
104-66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31,
Money and Finance. See, also, page 183 of House Document No. 103-7.
In subsec. (h), ``section 10101 of title 36'' substituted for ``the
Act entitled `An Act for audit of accounts of private corporations
established under Federal law', approved August 30, 1964 (Public Law 88-
504; 36 U.S.C. 1101-1103)'' and ``a corporation in part B of subtitle II
of title 36'' substituted for ``a private corporation established under
Federal law'' on authority of Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 5(b), Aug. 12, 1998,
112 Stat. 1499, the first section of which enacted Title 36, Patriotic
and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations.
Change of Name
Committee on Education and Labor of House of Representatives treated
as referring to Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities of
House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a
note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress. Committee on
Economic and Educational Opportunities of House of Representatives
changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of
Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Fifth Congress,
Jan. 7, 1997.
Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives treated
as referring to Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives by
section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a note preceding section 21
of Title 2. Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives changed to
Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives, and
jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and exchanges and
insurance generally transferred to Committee on Financial Services of
House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh
Congress, Jan. 3, 2001.
References in Other Laws to GS-16, 17, or 18 Pay Rates
References in laws to the rates of pay for GS-16, 17, or 18, or to
maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered
references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5,
Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I,
Sec. 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101-509, set out in a note under section 5376
of Title 5.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 5502, 5510 of this title.
