-- The plar is to be developec by the Secretary of the Intericr in censzltation with the Secretaries of Defense, Enerc 20 anc Health anc Hu-an Services, and "with the direct involverens: of rerpresertzetives fror the people of each of the affectec atolls anc fror the government of the Marshall Islands". “- The Secretary of the Interior is to submit the plar by January 1, 19€1, together with recommendations, if any, for further legislation, and including his recommendation as to the feasibility of usina the Public Health Service. -- Costs associated with the development and implementation of the plan are to be borne by the Secretary of Energy. Statutory problems In our discussions with interested Federal agencies and with representatives of the affected people of the Marshall Islands, several areas of disagreement as to what the statute requires have emergec. A principal dispute among the interested parties relates to the islands and atolls covered by the statute. No doubt exists as to the application of the statute to the four atolls explicitly named -- Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap, and Utirik. At least one non-Federal party contends, however, that the statute and a fore- seen program of comprehensive medical care must extend to all of the people of the Marshall Islands, on the ground that all islands and atolls in the Marshall Islands have received at least some radioactive fallout as a result of the nuclear testing program, and that all the people of those islands and atolls have therefore been "exposed" tc some extent by that program. Implementation Immediately following the Presidént's approval of Public Law 96-205 on March 12, 1980, the Departments of the Interior and Enersy undertook to arrange the necessary funding to support the preparation of the plan. As soon as financial arrangements permitted us to do so, we invited representatives of the Marshallese and of the interested agencies to meet with us to discuss implementation of the statute. With Department of Energy funding, the Departmert of the Interior invited and paid the travel costs of two representatives from each of the named atolls and from the Government of the Marshall Islands, the lawyer for each if he was not Washingtonbased, and interpreters. Meetings with the above-mentioned persons were held in Washington on August 4 and August 6, 1980. The basis for the meetings was a Discussion Paper prepared by the Interior Department and distributed to the interested parties in advance. All were afforded an Opportunity thereafter to submit written comments on Interior's proposed procedure.