‘‘(ii) A hearing under this subparagraph—
‘‘(I) shall be initiated by the Secretary not later
than 1 year after publication of notice of proposed
rulemaking, and shall be of not more than 30 days
in duration; and
‘‘(II) shall be conducted in accordance with sec-
tions 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4(b)(5) (16
U.S.C. 1533(b)(5)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C) by adding ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘; and’’
and inserting a period; and
(3) by striking subparagraph (E).
SEC. 4. ENSURING ADEQUATE BASIS FOR REGULATORY AC-
TIONS.
Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1533) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(j) STANDARD FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS.—(1) Not-
withstanding section 706(2) of title 5, United States Code,
the Secretary may not take an action referred to in para-
graph (2) unless that action is supported by substantial
evidence.
‘‘(2) The actions referred to in paragraph (1) are the
following:
‘‘(A) A determination under subsection (a)(1)
that a species is an endangered species or threatened
species.
‘‘(B) The removal of a species from either of
the lists published under subsection (c).
‘‘(C) The approval of a new or revised recovery
plan under subsection (f).’’.
SEC. 5. ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSES.
Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1533) is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(k) ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS.—(1) The Sec-
retary shall prepare and publish with a final rule under
subsection (a)(1) determining that a species is an endan-
gered species or threatened species, or under subsection
(b)(2) designating critical habitat for a species, an anal-
ysis of the economic impacts of the rule.
‘‘(2) An analysis under paragraph (1) for a deter-
mination that a species is an endangered species or threat-
ened species shall describe the geographic area that will
be affected by the determination, including specification
of privately owned property located in that area.’’.
SEC. 6. EXPERIMENTAL POPULATIONS.
Section 10(j) (16 U.S.C. 1539(j)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary may not release any experi-
mental population on or affecting privately owned property
except by a rulemaking.
‘‘(B) Any rule issued under this paragraph shall—
‘‘(i) identify the geographic area affected by the
release;
‘‘(ii) describe the need for the release; and
‘‘(iii) the economic impacts of the release on
private landowners.’’.
SEC. 7. EXPEDITIOUS CONSIDERATION OF INCIDENTAL
TAKE PERMIT APPLICATIONS.
Section 10(a) (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall approve or disapprove an
application for an incidental take permit under paragraph
(1)(B) by not later than 90 days after the date the Sec-
retary receives the application.
‘‘(4)(A) If the Secretary disapproves an application
for an incidental take permit under paragraph (1)(B), the
Secretary shall provide the applicant notice in writing the
specific reasons the application was not approved and
measures that, if included in the amended application,
would result in approval of the application.
‘‘(B) If within 30 days after the date on which such
notice is provided the applicant submits an amended appli-
cation that adequately addresses the reasons for dis-
approval that are specified in the notice, the Secretary
shall promptly issue the permit.
‘‘(5) The Secretary may not charge any fee for proc-
essing a permit under paragraph (1)(B) in an amount that
exceeds the incremental cost to the United States of proc-
essing the permit.’’.
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