# Presentation: 224979

## Endangered Species Act

- 2005 Legislative Action

## House of Representatives

- On Sept. 29, 2005 the House passed H.R. 3824: **Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005**  Recorded vote: 229-193
- http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/

## House of Representatives

**Statement of Administration Policy**:http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/109-1/index-number.html
- Supportive:
- Focus on recovery
- Improved cooperation & consultation
- Focus on partnerships with landowners
- Concerns:
- Recovery planning deadlines
- Recovery agreements (mandatory compensation payments)
- Private landowner foregone uses (Mandatory compensation payments)

## Senate

**Fisheries, Wildlife and Water Subcommittee** activity in 2005, 3 Hearings Conducted:
- Sept 21, 2005: ESA and Roles of State, Tribes and Local Governments
- July 13, 2005: ESA and Incentives for Private Landowners
- May 19, 2005: Oversight on the ESA
- Senators Chafee, Clinton, Inhofe, Jeffords, Crapo, and Lincoln commissioned a workgroup:**Keystone Center for Science and Public Policy workgroup on ESA**** **

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

_**Definitions**_**: Best Available Scientific Data**
- Requires issuing regulations that establish criteria to determine which data constitute the best available scientific data
- 	The regs. would need to assure:
- Compliance w/ Information Quality Act; and
- Data consist of empirical data; or
- Data are found in sources subject to peer review by qualified individuals recommended by the National Academy of Sciences
-    Applies to:
- Listing Determinations
- Consultations (Biological Assessments)
- Recovery Planning
- HCPs (Changed Circumstances)

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Listing determinations:**
- No other significant changes except for the new requirement to prepare analysis of:
- Economic impact and benefit
- Impact and benefit on national security
- Other relevant impact and benefits

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Repeals all Critical Habitat determinations and requirements**

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Recovery Plans**
- Identify **“areas of special value”** – in the interim, Critical Habitat designations are considered to be areas of special value for recovery
- Must be published within **2 years** of the listing
- To the extent a recovery plan covers more than one state, **delisting/downlisting criteria must be identified on a state-by-state basis**
**Voluntary recovery agreements for landowners**

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Section 7 Consultation**
- The **jeopardy analysis** conducted under Section 7(a)(2) is limited to considering only **the effect of any agency actions that are distinct from a baseline** of all effects upon the species that have occurred or are occurring prior to the action

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Exemptions**
**Terminates the Endangered Species Committee Process**
- Exempts officially declared **disaster areas**
- Exempts operators of water storage reservoirs, water diversion structures, canals or other artificial water delivery facilities from take of aquatic species resulting from effects of **recreational fishing** programs managed by state agencies

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Exemptions (cont.)**
- Exempts **pesticides** that comply with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act until......further effects analyses are completed under FWS/NOAA-Fisheries counterpart regs. with EPA, or five years from enactment of this Act, whichever occurs first

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Private Landowner Exemptions and Compensation**
- Property owners may **request a determination** from the Secretary as to whether a proposed use of the owner’s property will comply with ESA
- A written determination from DOI/FWS must be provided within **180 days**, and failure to issue the determination within the required window deems the proposed use in compliance with ESA
**For actions that are determined to not comply with ESA-- DOI must provide financial compensation**
- The amount of the compensation is based on the **fair market value of the forgone use **of the affected portion of the property

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP)**
**Codifies “No Surprises” policy** and other aspects of current regs. and practices
- Provides that an incidental take permit may be revoked due to **changed circumstances** only if the continued activity would appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the species in the wild **(jeopardy standard)**

## Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005

**Other**
- _Section 21: Consolidation of Programs: _**Transfers all ESA functions currently in Department of Commerce to the Secretary of the Interior**
- _Section 24:_ Requires Secretary of Interior to **survey all BLM and Forest Service lands** to assess value of those lands for management for the recovery of listed species and for addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System