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‘‘(B) requirements in a Cooperative Man-
agement Agreement in effect under section
6(b).’’; and
(4) in subsection (b)(3)(A) by striking the sec-
ond sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘If jeop-
ardy is found the Secretary shall suggest reasonable
and prudent alternatives (considering those reason-
able and prudent alternatives undertaken by other
Federal agencies) that are consistent with subsection
(a)(2) and that impose the least socioeconomic
costs.’’.
(b) SCOPE OF CONSULTATION FOR CERTAIN FED-
ERAL
AGENCY
ACTIONS.—Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C.
1536(a)) is further amended by adding after paragraph
(6) (as added by subsection (a) of this section) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(7)(A) Consultation under paragraphs (2) and (3)
regarding an agency action described in subparagraph (B)
shall be limited to consideration of the direct effects that
result from the maintenance or modification that com-
prises the action.
‘‘(B) A Federal agency action referred to in subpara-
graph (A) is a Federal agency action that consists solely
of—
HR 1490 SC3
‘‘(i) routine maintenance to an existing Federal,
State, or private project or facility; or
‘‘(ii) a modification required by any Federal,
State, or local government agency for safety pur-
poses.’’.
(c) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL AGENCY RESPON-
SIBILITIES.—Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is further
amended—
(1) in paragraph (2) in the second sentence by
inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, and
shall, in addition to considering other obligations
and responsibilities under statutes, treaties, inter-
state compacts, and contractual agreements, con-
sider the opinion and any reasonable and prudent al-
ternatives developed pursuant to subsection (b)(3)’’;
and
(2) by adding after paragraph (7) (as added by
subsection (b) of this section) the following:
‘‘(8) If the head of a Federal agency determines that
compliance with paragraph (2) is not consistent with other
obligations and responsibilities of the agency under stat-
utes, treaties, interstate compacts, and contractual agree-
ments, the agency head shall—
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‘‘(A) determine what pending action would have
been authorized, funded, or carried out except for
subsection (a)(2); and
‘‘(B) provide to the applicant, if any—
‘‘(i) a written statement summarizing the
information on which the determination is
based, and
‘‘(ii) a notice of the opportunity for an ex-
emption under subsection (e).’’.
(d) PARTICIPATION IN CONSULTATIONS.—Section 7
(16 U.S.C. 1536) is further amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(3) by inserting ‘‘with the
involvement of,’’ after ‘‘at the request of,’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(4) by inserting after ‘‘con-
fer with the Secretary’’ the following: ‘‘and any pro-
spective permit or license applicant’’; and
(3) in subsection (b)(1) by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(C) In any agency action involving a prospective per-
mit or license applicant, the prospective applicant shall
have the right to participate fully in any consultation
under this section regarding the action.
‘‘(D) A person that is a party to a written contract
with a Federal agency to purchase a product or service
that is provided as a result of a Federal agency action
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is entitled to participate in any consultation or conference
under this paragraph with respect to the agency action.’’.
SEC. 108. ESTABLISHING CONSULTATION PROCEDURES
WITH RESPECT TO PRIVATE ACTIONS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Section 7
(16 U.S.C. 1536) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(q) CONSULTATIONS
REGARDING
PRIVATE
AC-
TIONS.—
‘‘(1) INITIATION OF CONSULTATION.—A non-
Federal person may initiate a consultation with the
Secretary concerning any action of the person that
may affect a species that is determined by the Sec-
retary under section 4 to be an endangered species
or threatened species.
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—If a person initiates a
consultation under this subsection, the Secretary
shall—
‘‘(A) consult with the person; and
‘‘(B) conclude the consultation not later
than 90 days after the date on which it is initi-
ated by the person, or on another date on which
the Secretary and the person agree.
‘‘(3) WRITTEN OPINION.—Upon the conclusion
of a consultation under this subsection, the Sec-
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retary shall promptly provide to the person that ini-
tiated the consultation a written opinion that de-
scribes in detail—
‘‘(A) whether the action that is the subject
of the consultation affects endangered species
and threatened species, including a description
of the impact of any taking of the species that
is incidental to the action; and
‘‘(B) a summary of the information on
which the opinion is based.
‘‘(4) REASONABLE
AND
PRUDENT
ALTER-
NATIVES; TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ACTION.—
‘‘(A) A written opinion of the Secretary
under paragraph (3) shall set forth the matters
described in subparagraph (B) if the Secretary
determines through consultation under this sub-
section that an action of a person is likely to—
‘‘(i) jeopardize the continued existence
of any endangered species or threatened
species;
‘‘(ii) destroy or adversely modify any
habitat that is designated by the Secretary
as critical habitat of such a species in a
manner that is likely to jeopardize the con-
tinued existence of the species; or
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‘‘(iii) adversely affect activities under
a habitat conservation plan under section
10.
‘‘(B) The matters referred to in subpara-
graph (A) are the following:
‘‘(i) Reasonable and prudent alter-
natives that the Secretary believes would
not violate this Act and are necessary to
minimize the impact of the action on en-
dangered species and threatened species.
‘‘(ii) Terms and conditions with which
the person shall comply in implementing
the measures specified in clause (i).
‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF TAKING IN ACCORDANCE
WITH WRITTEN OPINION.—Notwithstanding sections
4(d) and 9(a)(1) (B) and (C) of this Act, sections
101 and 102 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972, or any regulation promulgated to imple-
ment any of those sections, a taking of a species in
the course of an action of a person that is the sub-
ject of a written opinion provided to the person by
the Secretary under paragraph (3) shall not be con-
sidered to be a prohibited taking if the taking—
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‘‘(A) results from the person implementing
an alternative included in the opinion pursuant
to paragraph (4)(B)(i); or
‘‘(B) is in compliance with the terms and
conditions included in the opinion pursuant to
paragraph (4)(B)(ii).’’.
(b) NON-FEDERAL PERSON DEFINED.—Section 3
(16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended by inserting after paragraph
(10) the following:
‘‘(11) The term ‘non-Federal person’ means a
person other than an officer, employee, agent, de-
partment, or instrumentality of—
‘‘(A) the Federal Government; or
‘‘(B) a foreign government.’’.
TITLE II—PROVIDING SIGNIFI-
CANCE TO THE RECOVERY
PLANNING PROCESS
SEC. 201. ENSURING PREPARATION AND USE OF TIMELY,
COMPREHENSIVE, AND EFFECTIVE RECOV-
ERY PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Act is amended—
(1) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1532) by redesig-
nating paragraphs (15) through (21) as paragraphs
(16) through (22), respectively, and by inserting
after paragraph (14) the following:
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‘‘(15) The term ‘recovery plan’ means a plan devel-
oped under section 5.’’;
(2) in section 4(h)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1533(h)(4))
by striking ‘‘subsection (f) of this section’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 5’’;
(3) by redesignating section 5 (16 U.S.C. 1534)
as section 5A; and
(4) by inserting after section 4 the following:
‘‘RECOVERY PLANS
‘‘SEC. 5. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall de-
velop and implement a plan for the conservation and sur-
vival of each species determined to be an endangered spe-
cies or a threatened species pursuant to section 4, unless
the Secretary finds upon completion of assessments re-
quired by this section that a plan is not necessary to pro-
mote the conservation and survival of the species. If the
Secretary finds that a recovery plan is not necessary, the
Secretary shall prepare and publish in the Federal Reg-
ister findings stating the basis upon which the determina-
tion is made.
‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In the development and implemen-
tation of a recovery plan for a species, the Secretary shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to—
‘‘(1) the development of an integrated recovery
plan for two or more endangered species or threat-
ened species that are likely to benefit from an inte-
HR 1490 SC3
grated recovery plan, that addresses the conservation
and survival needs of those species;
‘‘(2) those geographic areas where conflicts be-
tween the conservation of species and development
projects or other forms of economic activity exist or
are likely to exist; and
‘‘(3) the implementation of recovery measures
that have the least socioeconomic costs.
‘‘(c) RECOVERY TEAM.—For each recovery plan the
Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) appoint a recovery team consisting of—
‘‘(A) appropriate biologists, economists,
and land use specialists from the department of
the Secretary, other Federal agencies, and the
private sector;
‘‘(B) a representative from each affected
State nominated by the Governor of the State;
and
‘‘(C) representatives nominated by affected
local governments; and
‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to the recovery
team.
‘‘(d) RECOVERY TEAM ASSESSMENTS.—A recovery
team shall make the following assessments with respect
to development of a recovery plan for a species:
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‘‘(1) BIOLOGICAL.—An assessment of—
‘‘(A) the biological considerations nec-
essary to achieve the purposes of this Act;
‘‘(B) the biological significance of the spe-
cies;
‘‘(C) the species’ precise geographical
range;
‘‘(D) the species’ current population;
‘‘(E) the species’ population trend;
‘‘(F) the technical practicality of recover-
ing the species;
‘‘(G) potential conservation measures de-
signed to recover the species or to reduce risks
to survival of the species;
‘‘(H) any captive breeding programs that
would contribute to the goals of conservation of
the species; and
‘‘(I) whether conservation measures will re-
quire any releases of experimental populations
outside the current range of the species and, if
so, identification of candidate geographical
areas for the releases.
‘‘(2) ECONOMIC.—An assessment of—
‘‘(A) the socioeconomic impacts that may
result from the listing of the species and poten-
HR 1490 SC3
tial conservation measures identified pursuant
to this subsection, including a description of the
direct and indirect costs to the public and pri-
vate sectors;
‘‘(B) the effects on employment; and
‘‘(C) the impacts on the use and value of
property.
‘‘(3) INTERGOVERNMENTAL.—An assessment of
the impact of the listing of the species and potential
conservation measures identified pursuant to this
subsection on State and local land use laws, con-
servation measures, and water allocation policy of
affected States.
‘‘(e) RECOVERY TEAM REPORTS.—A recovery team
shall report its assessments under subsection (d) to the
Secretary. The Secretary shall use the assessments as a
baseline in the formation and development of a recovery
plan, including alternatives developed pursuant to sub-
section (f).
‘‘(f) ALTERNATIVES.—The Secretary, based on the
assessments under subsection (d), shall include in each
draft recovery plan alternative strategies for the recovery
and survival of the species. Alternative strategies shall
range from strategies that do not require Federal manage-
ment to strategies that may require intensive Federal
HR 1490 SC3
management. Each alternative strategy shall recommend
a balance of goals and requirements pursuant to this Act,
and shall contain—
‘‘(1) an estimate of the risks to the survival and
recovery of the species that the alternative would en-
tail;
‘‘(2) a description of the direct and indirect
costs to the public and private sectors, including ef-
fects on employment, that may result from the alter-
native;
‘‘(3) a description of any social dislocation that
may result from the alternative;
‘‘(4) an analysis of any impacts the alternative
would have on the use and value of property;
‘‘(5) a description of site-specific management
actions necessary to achieve the goals of the alter-
native;
‘‘(6) a description of any captive breeding pro-
gram that would contribute to the goals of the alter-
native;
‘‘(7) a discussion of whether the alternative
would require any releases of experimental popu-
lations outside the current range of the species and,
if so, identification of candidate geographical areas
for the releases;
HR 1490 SC3
‘‘(8) a clear differentiation between—
‘‘(A) those actions recommended generally
for Federal agencies to conserve the species
pursuant to section 7(a)(1),
‘‘(B) those actions recommended for Fed-
eral agency actions that are the subject of con-
sultation pursuant to section 7(a)(2), and
‘‘(C) those actions recommended to be
taken by any person to avoid any take of the
species pursuant to section 4(d) or 9(a)(1);
‘‘(9) objective, measurable criteria for recovery,
including a population level target, that, if met,
would result in a determination, pursuant to section
4, that the species be removed from a list published
pursuant to section 4(c)(1); and
‘‘(10) estimates of the time and costs required
to carry out those actions needed to achieve the
goals of the alternative and to achieve intermediate
steps to the goals.
‘‘(g) PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), for each species for which the Secretary
is required to develop a recovery plan under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall—
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‘‘(A) publish a draft recovery plan by not
later than one year after the date of the publi-
cation under section 4(b)(6) of the final regula-
tion to implement that determination; and
‘‘(B) issue a final recovery plan by not
later than 18 months after that date of publica-
tion.
‘‘(2) EXPEDITED ISSUANCE.—For any species
that was determined by the Secretary under section
4 to be an endangered species or threatened species
before January 1, 1993, and for which a final recov-
ery plan was not published before that date, the Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(A)(i) publish a draft recovery plan by
not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of the Endangered Species Act Pro-
cedural Reform Amendments of 1993; and
‘‘(ii) publish a final recovery plan by not
later than 2 years after the date of enactment;
or
‘‘(B) publish in the Federal Register a de-
termination that a recovery plan is not required
under this section, by not later than 18 months
after that date of enactment.
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‘‘(3) PUBLICATION
AND
PUBLIC
COMMENT.—
The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register—
‘‘(i) each draft recovery plan;
‘‘(ii) each final recovery plan; and
‘‘(iii) each revision proposed to be
made to a draft recovery plan or final re-
covery plan;
‘‘(B) publish with each draft recovery plan,
final recovery plan, and proposed revision a re-
quest for the submission of comments on the
plan or revision; and
‘‘(C) publish a summary of each draft and
final recovery plan in a newspaper of general
circulation in each affected county or parish.
‘‘(4) HEARINGS.—The Secretary shall hold a
public hearing on each draft recovery plan and final
recovery plan in each county or parish to which the
plan applies.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY’S
CONSIDERATION
OF
COM-
MENTS.—Prior to any decision to adopt a final re-
covery plan, the Secretary shall consider and weigh
carefully all information presented during each hear-
ing held pursuant to paragraph (4) or received in re-
HR 1490 SC3
sponse to requests for comments published under
section (3)(B) with respect to the plan.
‘‘(h) PUBLICATION OF REASONS FOR SELECTING AL-
TERNATIVES AND RESPONSE TO COMMENTS AND TESTI-
MONY.—The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister with a final recovery plan a detailed discussion of—
‘‘(1) the reasons for the selection of the species
recovery and survival strategies included in the plan;
‘‘(2) for each alternative strategy included in a
draft recovery plan under subsection (f) that is not
selected for the final recovery plan, the reasons the
alternative was not selected; and
‘‘(3) the response of the Secretary to all infor-
mation referred to in subsection (g)(5).
‘‘(i) ADDITIONAL SERVICES.—The Secretary, in de-
veloping and implementing recovery plans, may use the
services of appropriate public and private agencies and in-
stitutions and of other qualified persons.
‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Federal
Advisory Committee Act does not apply to recovery teams
under this section.
‘‘(k) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report every 2
years to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate and the Committee on Merchant Marine and
Fisheries of the House of Representatives on the status
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of efforts to develop and implement recovery plans for all
species included in a list that is published pursuant to sec-
tion 4(c)(1) and on the status of all species for which such
plans have been developed.
‘‘(l) REVIEW OF RECOVERY PLANS.—The Secretary
shall—
‘‘(1) review each recovery plan before the end of
every 5-year period after the publication of the re-
covery plan; and
‘‘(2) determine whether the plan satisfies the
purposes of this section.’’.
(b) EXISTING RECOVERY PLANS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graphs (2), (3), and (4) a final recovery plan issued
under section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973 Act before January 1, 1993, shall continue in
effect as if this section were not enacted.
(2) REVISIONS.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to a revision to a recovery
plan referred to in paragraph (1).
(3) REVIEWS.—A final recovery plan issued be-
fore the date of the enactment of this Act shall be
reviewed under section 5(l) of the Endangered Spe-
cies Act of 1973 (as added by subsection (a)) on the
HR 1490 SC3
day the plan would have been required to be re-
viewed if—
(A) section 5(l) was in effect on the day
the plan was issued; and
(B) the plan was reviewed at the end of
each 5-year period under section 5(l).
(4) PLANS.—A final recovery plan issued by the
National Marine Fisheries Service before January 1,
1993, shall be reissued in accordance with section 5
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (as added by
subsection (a)).
SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
‘‘(a) SECTION HEADING.—Section 5 (16 U.S.C.
1534) is further amended by amending the section head-
ing to read as follows: ‘‘RECOVERY PLANS’’.
‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents
for the Act is amended by amending the entry for section
5 to read as follows:
‘‘Sec. 5. Recovery plans.’’.
HR 1490 SC3
TITLE III—ENSURING THAT THE
COMPLIANCE 
PROCEDURES
AND STANDARDS FOR NON-
FEDERAL PERSONS ARE NOT
MORE 
BURDENSOME 
THAN
THOSE APPLICABLE TO FED-
ERAL AGENCIES
SEC. 301. DEFINING THE TAKE PROHIBITION IN ACCORD-
ANCE WITH THE INTENT OF CONGRESS.
Section 3(20), as redesignated by section 201(a)(1)
of this Act, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(20) The term ‘take’ means—
‘‘(A) to pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect;
‘‘(B) to attempt to commit an act de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); or
‘‘(C) to harass or harm a member of a spe-
cies to which section 9(a)(1)(B) or (C) ap-
plies—
‘‘(i) in a manner that causes injury to
that member; or
‘‘(ii) in an attempt to cause the in-
jury.’’.
HR 1490 SC3
SEC. 302. CLARIFYING THE APPLICATION OF TAKE PROHI-
BITIONS.
Section 9(a) (16 U.S.C. 1538(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘Except as
provided in sections 6(g)(2) and 10 of this Act,’’ and
inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (3) and
sections 6(g)(2) and 10,’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) Any activity of a non-Federal person is deemed
not to constitute a take of a species if the activity—
‘‘(A) is consistent with the requirements of a
recovery plan under section 5; or
‘‘(B) complies with the requirements of a Coop-
erative Management Agreement in effect under sec-
tion 6(b).
SEC. 303. PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTIONS OF PRIVATE AC-
TIONS AND RELIEVING PAYMENT REQUIRE-
MENTS.
(a) EXEMPTION OF NON-FEDERAL PERSONS.—Sec-
tion 7 (16 U.S.C. 1536), as amended by this Act, is fur-
ther amended—
(1) by adding after subsection (q) (as added by
section 108) the following:
‘‘(r) EXEMPTION FOR NON-FEDERAL PERSONS.—
‘‘(1) APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION.—A non-
Federal person (other than an officer, employee,
HR 1490 SC3
agent, department, or instrumentality of a State,
municipality, or political subdivision of a State, and
a State, municipality, or subdivision of a State) may
apply to the Secretary for an exemption by the Com-
mittee of an action of the person if the person—
‘‘(A)(i) receives a written opinion of the
Secretary under subsection (q)(3) with respect
to the action, that includes alternatives and
terms and conditions described in subsections
(q)(4)(B) (i) and (ii), respectively, and
‘‘(ii) does not accept those alternatives and
terms and conditions;
‘‘(B) is denied a permit for the action
under section 10(a)(1); or
‘‘(C) has a permit revoked under section
(10)(a)(2)(G).
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION
OF
APPLICATION.—The
Secretary may accept or deny an exemption applica-
tion, and the Committee may grant or deny an ex-
emption, in accordance with the relevant or applica-
ble provisions of subsections (g), (h), and (l) and
with regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF TAKING PURSUANT TO AN
EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding sections 4(d) and
9(a)(1) (B) and (C) of this Act, sections 101 and
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102 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972,
or any regulation promulgated to implement any of
those sections, any action for which an exemption is
granted under this subsection shall not be consid-
ered to be a taking of any endangered species or
threatened species with respect to any activity which
is necessary to carry out that action.’’;
(2) in subsection (m) by striking ‘‘under sub-
section (h) of this section granting an exemption
from the requirements of subsection (a)(2) of this
section’’ and inserting ‘‘under subsection (h) or (r)
granting an exemption for an agency action or an
activity of a person’’; and
(3) in subsection (n) by inserting ‘‘or activity of
a person’’ after ‘‘agency action’’ each place it ap-
pears.
(b) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF COMPLYING WITH EN-
DANGERED SPECIES COMMITTEE ORDERS.—Section 7(l)
(16 U.S.C. 1536(l)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and paid for’’;
and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in the second sentence by striking
‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence the
costs’’ and inserting ‘‘The costs’’; and
HR 1490 SC3
(B) by striking the fourth sentence.
SEC. 304. AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF GENERAL PERMITS.
Section 10(a) (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)), as amended by
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(4)(A) After providing notice and opportunity for
public hearings, the Secretary may issue general permits
pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) on a county, State, regional,
or nationwide basis for any category of activities that may
affect a species which is included on a list published pursu-
ant to section 4(c)(1) if the Secretary determines that the
activities in that category are similar in nature, will cause
only minimal adverse effects on the species when per-
formed separately, and will have only minimal cumulative
diverse effects on the species generally. A general permit
issued under this paragraph shall set forth the require-
ments and standards that apply to an activity authorized
by the general permit.
‘‘(B) A general permit issued pursuant to subpara-
graph (A) is effective for a period to be specified by the
Secretary, which may not exceed 5 years after the date
of its issuance. The Secretary may revoke or modify a gen-
eral permit if, after providing an opportunity for public
hearing, the Secretary determines that the activities au-
thorized by the general permit have a greater than mini-
HR 1490 SC3
mal adverse effect on a species that is included on a list
published pursuant to section 4(c)(1) or the activities are
more appropriately authorized by individual permits pur-
suant to paragraph (2) or (3).’’.
SEC. 305. IMPROVING THE CONSERVATION PLANNING
PROCESS.
(a) FEDERAL SHARE
OF COSTS; INTERIM PER-
MITS.—Section 10(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)) is
amended by—
(1) redesignating subparagraph (C) as subpara-
graph (G); and
‘‘(2) inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall pay 50 percent of the direct
and indirect cost to implement the terms and conditions
of the permit to the maximum extent practicable.
‘‘(D) For those activities that the Secretary deter-
mines will not appreciably reduce the chances of survival
of a species, the Secretary may issue an interim permit
to any applicant that—
‘‘(i) files an application under this section; and
‘‘(ii) provides evidence of appropriate interim
species conservation activities that—
‘‘(I) are associated with the activity pro-
posed for permitting, and