United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. Its purview includes the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production.

Many federal agencies have been established to handle various aspects of U.S. energy policy, dating back to the creation of the Manhattan Project and the subsequent Atomic Energy Commission. The impetus for putting them all under the auspices of a single department was the 1970s oil crisis, in response to which President Jimmy Carter proposed creation of the department. The enabling legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Carter on August 4, 1977. The department was activated on October 1, 1977. The agency is administered by the United States Secretary of Energy.

Operating Units The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. The Department also manages the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Laboratories administered by the Department include:

• Albany Research Center[?]
• Ames National Laboratory [?]
• Argonne National Laboratory (East)[?]
• Argonne National Laboratory (West)[?]
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Environmental Measurements Laboratory[?]
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Idaho National Engineering Laboratory[?]
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• National Energy Technology Laboratory[?]
• National Petroleum Technology Office[?]
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory[?]
• New Brunswick Laboratory[?]
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• Radiological & Environmental Sciences Laboratory[?]
• Sandia National Laboratory[?]
• Savannah River Ecology Laboratory[?]
• Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator[?]

Power marketing organizations controlled by the Department include:

• Bonneville Power Administration[?]
• Southeastern Power Administration[?]
• Southwestern Power Administration[?]
• Western Area Power Administration[?]

Related Legislation

• 1946 - Atomic Energy Act[?] PL 79-585
• 1954 - Atomic Energy Act Amendments[?] PL 83-703
• 1956 - Colorado River Storage Project[?] PL 84-485
• 1957 - Atomic Energy Commission Acquisition of Property[?] PL 85-162
• 1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act[?] PL 85-256
• 1968 - Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act[?] PL 90-481
• 1973 - Mineral Leasing Act Amendments[?] (Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Authorization[?]) PL 93-153
• 1974 - Energy Reorganization Act[?] PL 93-438
• 1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act[?] PL 94-163
• 1977 - Department of Energy established[?] PL 95-91
• 1978 - Comprehensive energy package[?] PL 95-617, 618, 619, 620
• 1980 - Energy Security Act[?] PL 96-294
• 1989 - Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act[?] PL 101-60
• 1992 - Energy Policy Act[?] PL 102-486

External Links

• United States Department of Energy website (http://www.energy.gov/)