USA proposed to improve endangered species consultation

In an August 17, 2012, Federal Register notice, U.S. EPA announced that it is seeking comments on a proposal jointly developed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“the Services”) to enhance opportunities for stakeholder input during pesticide registration reviews and endangered species consultations. Highlights include:

• Emphasis on coordination across these federal agencies.

• Expanded role for USDA and the pesticide user community in providing current pesticide use information to inform and refine EPA’s ecological risk assessments.

• "Focus” meetings at the start of registration review for each pesticide active ingredient, to clarify current uses and label directions and consider the potential for early risk reduction.

• Formal ESA consultations later in the registration review process, allowing time to engage stakeholders in the development of more refined ecological risk assessments and more focused consultation packages including mitigation for listed species.

• Outreach to potentially affected pesticide users to discuss the technical and economic feasibility of draft Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs), intended to avoid jeopardy to threatened and/or endangered species.

• Descriptions of the processes by which (1) EPA will summarize and organize comments on RPAs and provide those comments to the Services and (2) the Services will prepare a document for the administrative record for the consultation explaining how comments were considered and, if appropriate, how the final biological opinion was modified to address the comments received.

Comments must be submitted by October 16, 2012 and the EPA, the USDA and the Services are available to meet with affected stakeholders to discuss and clarify the process changes described.