By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Section 403 (a) of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 3317; Public Law 95-620) and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and to ensure Federal compliance with applicable requirements governing the construction or conversion of powerplants and major fuel-burning installations, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-1. Applicability of Fuel Use Requirements. 1-101. The head of each Executive agency is responsible for compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions established pursuant to, but not limited to, the following: (a) Title II of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, with respect to new facilities. (b) Title III of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, with respect to existing facilities. 1-102. The head of each Executive agency is also responsible for compliance with applicable pollution control standards, in accord with: (a) Subtitle G of Title VII of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. (b) Executive Order No. 12088 of October 13, 1978. 1-2. Agency Coordination. 1-201. Each Executive agency shall cooperate with the Secretary of Energy, hereinafter referred to as the Secretary, in the achievement of the requirements of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. 1-202. Each Executive agency shall consult with the Secretary concerning plans for the construction or conversion of electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations. 1-203. The Secretary shall provide advice and assistance to Executive agencies in order to ensure their cost effective and timely compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions. 1-3. Fuel Use Conversion. 1-301. Each Executive agency shall survey its electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations in order to identify those subject to the Act and shall transmit the results of the survey to the Secretary. The Secretary shall establish guidelines for accomplishing the survey. 1-302. (a) Each Executive agency shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, through the Secretary, an annual plan, including cost estimates, for the fuel use conversion of electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations. (b) The plan shall identify all powerplants and major fuel-burning installations which are subject to the fuel use prohibitions of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. (c) The Secretary shall establish guidelines for developing such plans. 1-303. In preparing its plan, each Executive agency shall ensure that the plan provides for compliance with all applicable fuel use prohibitions. 1-304. The plan shall be submitted in accordance with any other instructions that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may issue. 1-4. Funding. 1-401. The head of each Executive agency shall ensure that funds for compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions are requested in the agency budget. 1-402. The head of each Executive agency shall ensure that funds appropriated and apportioned for the fuel use conversion of electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations are not used for any other purpose unless permitted by law and specifically approved by the Office of Management and Budget. 1-5. General Provisions. 1-501. Exemptions from applicable fuel use prohibitions may only be granted under the provisions of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. 1-502. The Secretary of Energy shall prepare for the President's consideration and transmittal to the Congress the report required by Section 403(c) of the Act. JIMMY CARTER The White House, June 18, 1980. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:07 a.m., June 19, 1980]
Executive Order 12217 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 12217—Federal Compliance With Fuel Use Prohibitions
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 3 min read (594 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The head of each Executive agency is responsible for compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions established pursuant to, but not limited to, the following: (a) Title II of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, with respect to new facilities.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Private Citizens & Property Owners
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on June 18, 1980, this order concerns Federal Compliance With Fuel Use Prohibitions. 1-1. Applicability of Fuel Use Requirements. 1-101. The head of each Executive agency is responsible for compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions established pursuant to, but not limited to, the following: (a) Title II of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, with respect to new facilities.
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
The head of each Executive agency is responsible for compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions established pursuant to, but not limited to, the following: (a) Title II of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, with respect to new facilities.
▪
Each Executive agency shall cooperate with the Secretary of Energy, hereinafter referred to as the Secretary, in the achievement of the requirements of the Power plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. 1-202.
▪
Each Executive agency shall consult with the Secretary concerning plans for the construction or conversion of electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations. 1-203.
▪
The Secretary shall provide advice and assistance to Executive agencies in order to ensure their cost effective and timely compliance with applicable fuel use prohibitions. 1-3.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
47 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
594
3,804 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.6
College Level
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Ronald Reagan • 1983-08-11
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 12088 Partially revoked Oct 13, 1978
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12088—Federal Compliance With Pollution Control Standards
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
1-1. Applicability of Pollution Control Standards. 1-101. The head of each Executive agency is responsible for ensuring that all necessary actions are taken for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution with respect to Federal facilities and activities…
Jimmy Carter College Level • 6m
EO 12216 Amended Jun 18, 1980
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.44)
Executive Order 12216—President's Committee on the International Labor Organization
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
1-1. Establishment of Committee. 1-101. There is established the President's Committee on the International Labor Organization (ILO). The members will be the Secretaries of Labor, State, and Commerce, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the…
Jimmy Carter College Level • 2m
EO 12219 Jun 19, 1980
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12219—Presidential Commission on World Hunger
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
-402 of Executive Order No. 12078 of September 5, 1978, is hereby amended to read: "The Commission shall terminate on August 31, 1980.".
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 12218 Jun 19, 1980
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12218—Export of Special Nuclear Material and Components to India
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Section 126b. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2155 (b) (2)), and having determined that withholding the exports proposed pursuant…
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 12221 Jun 27, 1980
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12221—Improving Government Regulations
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Section 8 of Executive Order No. 12044 of March 23, 1978, is hereby amended to read, "Unless extended this Order expires on April 30, 1981.".
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 12220 Jun 27, 1980
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.33)
Executive Order 12220—Agricultural Trade Development
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
1-1. Department of Agriculture. 1-101. Except as otherwise provided in this Order, the following functions vested in the President by the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the Act), are delegated to the Secretary…
Jimmy Carter High School • 6m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,217 (June 18, 1980), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12217-federal-compliance-with-fuel-use-prohibitions.
