The file FG 278 contains correspondence and memoranda regarding the National Industrial Pollution Control Council. The Council was created on April 9, 1970 by Executive Order 11523. After releasing a number of reports, the Council was terminated by Executive Order in early 1974.
The National Industrial Pollution Control Council was established to advise the President and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, through the Secretary of Commerce, on programs in industry which affected the environment. The Council's membership consisted of 55 businessmen whose companies had a direct effect on the environment. The Council identified environmental problems which were the result of industrial practices, recommended solutions, and attempted to encourage voluntary adoption of those solutions.
Principal correspondents include the President, Maurice Stans, Secretary of Commerce from 1969-1972, John C. Whitaker, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, and Peter Flanigan, Assistant to the President.
The Executive folders of FG 278 contain chiefly White House internal memoranda regarding the formation of the National Industrial Pollution Control Council, membership, and funding. As time progresses the folders contain some transmittals of the reports of the Council's sub-committees. The primary subject category for many is not FG 278, however. Check the primary file designation for the filing of the report copies. Subjects of these reports include such things as the recycling of automobiles and glass containers as well as noise abatement. The General folders contain letters from the general public which bring various people and subjects related to the National Industrial Pollution Control Council to the attention of government officials.
On the folders, the terms Executive and General are used in the titles to indicate separation of documents according to source and handling. "Executive" items include communication among national, foreign, and state and local governments and their agencies, members of Congress, and selected prominent correspondents. "General" designates communications between Government officials and private citizens, institutions, and private interest groups. Where "/A" follows a numeric file designation, it indicates files relating to appointments, nominations, and resignations within that organization.
Some of the files related to FG 278 include:
White House Central Files: Subject Files
FG 6-17 Council on Environmental Quality
FG 21 Department of Commerce
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