Section 0.65 - General functionsThe following functions are assigned to and shall be conducted, handled, or supervised by the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division:
(a) Civil suits and matters in Federal and State courts (and administrative tribunals), by or against the United States, its agencies, officers, or contractors, or in which the United States has an interest, whether for specific or monetary relief, and also nonlitigation matters, relating to:(1) The public domain lands and the outer continental shelf of the United States.(2) Other lands and interests in real property owned, leased, or otherwise claimed or controlled, or allegedly impaired or taken, by the United States, its agencies, officers, or contractors, including the acquisition of such lands by condemnation proceedings or otherwise,(3) The water and air resources controlled or used by the United States, its agencies, officers, or contractors, without regard to whether the same are in or related to the lands enumerated in paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section, and(4) The other natural resources in or related to such lands, water, and air, except that the following matters which would otherwise be included in such assignment are excluded therefrom:
(i) Suits and matters relating to the use or obstruction of navigable waters or the navigable capacity of such waters by ships or shipping thereon, the same being specifically assigned to the Civil Division;(ii) Suits and matters involving tort claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act and special acts of Congress, the same being specifically assigned to the Civil Division;(iii) Suits and matters involving the foreclosure of mortgages and other liens held by the United States, the same being specifically assigned to the Civil and Tax Divisions according to the nature of the lien involved;(iv) Suits arising under 28 U.S.C. 2410 to quiet title or to foreclose a mortgage or other lien, the same being specifically assigned to the Civil and Tax Divisions according to the nature of the lien held by the United States, and all other actions arising under 28 U.S.C. 2410 involving federal tax liens held by the United States, which are specifically assigned to the Tax Division;(v) Matters involving the immunity of the Federal Government from State and local taxation specifically delegated to the Tax Division by §0.71.(b) Representation of the interests of the United States in all civil litigation in Federal and State courts, and before the Indian Claims Commission, pertaining to Indians, Indian tribes, and Indian affairs, and matters relating to restricted Indian property, real or personal, and the treaty rights of restricted Indians (except matters involving the constitutional and civil rights of Indians assigned to the Civil Rights Division by subpart J of this part).(c) Rendering opinions as to the validity of title to all lands acquired by the United States, except as otherwise specified by statute.(d) Civil and criminal suits and matters involving air, water, noise, and other types of pollution, the regulation of solid wastes, toxic substances, pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the control of the environmental impacts of surface coal mining.(e) Civil and criminal suits and matters involving obstructions to navigation, and dredging or filling ( 33 U.S.C. 403 ).(f) Civil and criminal suits and matters arising under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2011 , et seq. ) insofar as it relates to the prosecution of violations committed by a company in matters involving the licensing and operations of nuclear power plants.(g) Civil and criminal suits and matters relating to the natural and biological resources of the coastal and marine environments, the outer continental shelf, the fishery conservation zone and, where permitted by law, the high seas.(h) Performance of the Department's functions under §706.5 of the regulations for the prevention of conflict of interests promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, section 201(f), 91 Stat. 450, and contained in 30 CFR part 706.(i) Conducting the studies of processing sites required by section 115(b) of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, publishing the results of the studies and furnishing the results thereof to the Congress.(j) Criminal suits and civil penalty and forfeiture actions relating to wildlife law enforcement under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 - 1543 ); the Lacey Act and related provisions ( 18 U.S.C. 41 - 44 , 47 ); the Black Bass Act ( 16 U.S.C. 851 - 856 ); the Airborne Hunting Act ( 16 U.S.C. 742j-1 ); the Migratory Bird Act ( 16 U.S.C. 701 , et seq. ); the Wild Horses and Wild Burros Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1331 - 1340 ); the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ( 16 U.S.C. 668 - 668d ); and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act ( 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq. ).Order No. 423-69, 34 FR 20388, 12/31/1969, as amended by Order No. 540-73, 38 FR 26910, 9/27/1973; Order No. 699-77, 42 FR 15315, 3/21/1977; Order No. 764-78, 43 FR 3115, 1/23/1978; Order No. 809-78, 43 FR 55394, 11/28/1978; Order No. 960-81, 46 FR 52346, 10/27/1981; Order No. 1083-85, 50 FR 8607, 3/4/1985