DOI regulatory review plan call for consideration of ESA regulations
On May 27, 2011, the White House released a series of regulatory review plans mandated under a January executive order that called for all federal agencies to analyze their regulations to ensure they are not “outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome.”
The Department of the Interior Preliminary Plan for Retrospective Regulatory Review calls for, among other things, review of “outdated” Endangered Species Act implementation regulations. The relevant discussions appear on pages 3-4 and 10-11. Particularly, the preliminary plan identifies “candidate” regulations to be reviewed in the next two years. The plan also notes that a number of stakeholders identified the need to update ESA regulations— these were the comments that NESARC and individual members filed with DOI in March of this year.
According to the plan, the Administration will consider changes to the ESA implementing regulations or policies to:
• Minimize requirements for written descriptions of critical habitat boundaries in favor of map- and internet-based descriptions.
• Map- and internet-based descriptions are clearer and more accessible methods of showing critical habitat boundaries. Additionally, reducing written boundary description requirements will save taxpayer money. [Proposed in Federal Register last week 76 FR 28405-28413 05/17/2011]
• Clarify, expedite, and improve procedures for the development and approval of conservation agreements with landowners, including habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and candidate conservation agreements.
• Expand opportunities for the states to engage more often and more effectively in the implementation of the ESA’s various provisions, especially those pertaining to the listing of species.
• Review and revise the process for designating critical habitat to design a more efficient, defensible, and consistent process.
• Clarify the definition of the phrase “destruction or adverse modification” of critical habitat, which is used to determine what actions can and cannot be conducted in critical habitat.
• Clarify the scope and content of the incidental take statement, particularly with regard to programmatic actions or other actions where direct measurement is difficult. An incidental take statement is a component of a biological opinion that specifies the impact of an incidental taking of an endangered or threatened species and provides reasonable and prudent measures that are necessary to minimize those impacts. Greater flexibility in the quantification of anticipated incidental taking could reduce the burden of developing and implementing biological opinions without any loss of conservation benefits.
• Working through an interagency workgroup of senior policy leaders from FWS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to craft a multi-faceted strategy to address the challenge of the conservation of endangered species and the administration of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). One major element of this effort is to address core scientific issues underlying the effective integration of FIFRA and ESA responsibilities. One major element of this effort is to address core scientific issues underlying the effective integration of FIFRA and ESA responsibilities.
The DOI preliminary plan may be found at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/2011-regulatory-action-plans/DepartmentoftheInteriorPreliminaryRegulatoryReformPlan.pdf
The NESARC comments that were submitted to DOI on March 28th may be found at
http://nesarc.org/nesarc-responds-to-doi-request-for-input-on-esa-regulations
Additional plans and information on the President’s regulatory review initiative may be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/actions/21st-century-regulatory-system
A Joint FWS/NOAA statement on the release of the preliminary plan may be found at
http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=fws&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=127251&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=True