EPA has initiated formal consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on the potential 

effects of certain pesticides to Pacific salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act 

as either threatened or endangered. As EPA receives draft Biological Opinions relative to these 

consultations, they will be posted to www.epa.gov/espp and included in a public docket EPA-HQ-OPP2008-0654 so EPA may receive public input on any changes to a pesticide’s registration recommended 

by the National Marine Fisheries Service. 

BACKGROUND 

The Endangered species Act (ESA) requires that Federal Agencies assess their “actions” to 

determine whether species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, may be affected by 

those actions, or whether critical habitat may be adversely modified. The registered uses of a 

pesticide constitute an EPA "action" under the ESA. 

If EPA determines a pesticide's registered uses are likely to adversely affect a federally listed 

threatened or endangered species (listed species) or modify its critical habitat, EPA initiates "formal 

consultation" with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service (the 

Service or Services), as appropriate. In response to a Federal Agency initiating formal consultation, the 

Service(s) develops a Biological Opinion (BO) in which it provides its opinion on whether the "action" is 

likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species or is likely to adversely modify 

designated critical habitat and, if so, describes alternatives to avoid jeopardy. 

PUBLIC INPUT 

In 2005, EPA published in the Federal Register (FR 70 No. 211 pp. 66392-66402), a document 

titled Endangered Species Protection Program Field Implementation. That notice of how EPA 

intends to implement its responsibilities under the ESA, states (p 66401): 

"If EPA must formally consult with the Services, after the Services issue a draft 

Biological Opinion, EPA will welcome input from State, Tribal and local governments 

on draft reasonable and prudent measures and alternatives. The purpose of this 

review would be to determine whether the alternatives or measures can be 

reasonably implemented and whether there are different measures that may provide 

adequate protection but result in less impact to pesticide users. The Agency will 

consider this input in developing its response to draft Biological Opinions." 
COMMENTS 

Draft Biological Opinions are being included in the docket (insert Docket ID) and posted to EPA’s Web 

site (http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/endanger/litstatus/effects) to seek input on the Service’s 

recommended reasonable and prudent measures and alternatives, as noted above. Such input 

should be submitted by April 5, 2011 in order to be considered in EPA’s response to the Draft 

Biological Opinion. Comments received by EPA on other aspects of the Draft Biological Opinion, will 

be forwarded to the Service for their consideration. 

As stated in the Services’ regulations (50 CFR 402.14(g)(5)): 

“All comments on the draft Biological Opinion must be submitted to the Service 

through the Federal agency, although the applicant may send a copy of its 

comments directly to the Service.” 

Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, 

One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted 

during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays). Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805. 

Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001. 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 

submitting comments. 

You may submit your comments, identified by the docket identification (ID) number EPAHQOPP-2008-0654 and the pesticide to which the Biological Opinion pertains, by one of the 

following methods: 

SUBMITTING YOUR COMMENTS 

gy g[pp

pesticide registrant] as outlined in 50 CFR section 402 through the following: The 

applicant is entitled to review draft Biological Opinions obtained through the 

action agency and to provide comments through the action agency. The 

Service will discuss the basis of their biological determination with the 

applicant and seek the applicant’s expertise in identifying reasonable and 

prudent alternatives ...”. 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider 

your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, 

and be free of any defects or viruses. 

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index available in regulations.gov. To 

access the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then 

``Docket Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the ``Submit'' button. 

Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov website to view the docket index or access 

available documents. Although, listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 

CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy 

form. Publicly available docket materials are available either in the electronic docket at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in 

Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 

operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.