Reading Room Document

Emergency Authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Under 42 U.S.C. § 243(c)(2)

Under § 311 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. § 243(c)(2), which authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the request of the appropriate state or local authority, to extend temporary assistance to states and localities in meeting health emergencies, the Public Health Service may provide relocation assistance to residents living near the Love Canal for a period not to exceed 45 days, for purposes of assessing and dealing with the health emergency in that area. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/24486/download.

May 17, 1980