91st Congress 2d Session COMMITTEE PRINT LAW AND THE ENVIRONMENT SELECTED MATERIALS ON TAX EXEMPT STATUS AND PUBLIC INTEREST PREPARED FOR THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND UNITED STATES SENATE Printed for the use of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 52-093 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1970 COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS HENRY M. JACKSON, Washington, Chairman CLINTON P. ANDERSON, New Mexico ALAN BIBLE, Nevada QUENTIN N. BURDICK, North Dakota GORDON ALLOTT, Colorado CLIFFORD P. HANSEN, Wyoming HENRY BELLMON, Oklahoma JERRY T. VERKLER, Staff Director (II) 1 FOREWORD Private litigation is beginning to be an important element of the national effort to preserve and enhance the quality of our environment. Increasingly, concerned Americans are turning to the courts to en-. force existing laws and develop case law establishing new environmental rights. The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has followed the growth of litigation in this area with close interest, particularly because of its responsibility for the development of the National Environmental Policy Act. In the brief period since it became law, this act has provided the basis for a number of legal actions aimed at requiring Federal agencies to live up to their environmental responsibilities. Many of the organizations involved in environmental litigation have received tax-exempt status as charitable organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The action by the Internal Revenue Service in suspending rulings on claims for such status by organizations involved in litigation has created understandable uncertainty about the future of this kind of litigation. It has stimulated controversy over the use of the tax-exempt status and the role of public interest litigation in general. An IRS study of these matters is now in progress. The committee staff has compiled a number of relevant documents which help to explain the role of private litigation in protecting the environment, the issues raised by IRS and comments thereon by the organizations directly affected and other interested parties. It is hoped that publication of these materials will clarify the issues involved in the current controversy over public interest litigation. HENRY M. JACKSON, Chairman. NOVEMBER 9, 1970. (III) |