Opinion ID: 214218
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: May Affect

Text: An agency is required to consult when its action may affect listed species or designated critical habitat. 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(a). An agency can avoid the obligation to consult only if it determines that its action will have no effect on listed species or designated critical habitat. Thomas, 30 F.3d at 1054 n. 8. Once an agency has determined that its action may affect listed species or critical habitat, the agency may proceed with formal consultation or may choose instead to consult informally with the appropriate agency. If the consulting agency determines during informal consultation that the proposed action is not likely to adversely affect any listed species or critical habitat, formal consultation is not required and the process ends. 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(b)(1). Thus, actions that have any chance of affecting listed species or critical habitat even if it is later determined that the actions are not likely to do sorequire an agency at least to consult informally. We have previously explained that may affect is a relatively low ... threshold for triggering consultation. California ex rel. Lockyer v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 575 F.3d 999, 1018 (9th Cir.2009). ` Any possible effect, whether beneficial, benign, adverse or of an undetermined character, triggers the formal consultation[.]' Id. at 1019 (quoting 51 Fed.Reg. 19926, 19949 (June 3, 1986)) (emphasis in Lockyer ). The Secretaries of Interior and Commerce have explained that the threshold for formal consultation must be set sufficiently low to allow Federal agencies to satisfy their duty to `insure' that their actions do not jeopardize listed species or critical habitat under section 7(a)(2). 51 Fed.Reg. at 19949. In response to concerns that the may affect standard is too burdensome, the Secretaries explained that the availability of informal consultations mitigates any burden on the affected agencies. Id. at 19950. The Secretaries therefore rejected the suggestion that the consultation requirement should be triggered on a higher showing than the low may affect threshold. Id. at 19949.