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Endangered Species

BILL NUMBER & TITLE:

S.1180, ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT PROTECTION ACT OF 1997

INTRODUCED BY:

Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID)

REFERRALS:

Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:

A bill to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA was last reauthorized in 1988 and expired in 1992. This legislation is the product of negotiations between Senators Kempthorne (R-ID), John Chafee (R-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Max Baucus (D-MT), and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit. The legislation has not received the endorsement of the Clinton Administration, however, Secretary Babbit has praised it as a good start. Environmentalists were quick to condemn the legislation, while industry groups were confident that it addressed most of their major issues.

Among the key provisions are:

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee moved quickly to approve legislation to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act. On September 30, the committee approved S.1180, legislation that had been introduced by Senators John Chafee and Dirk Kempthorne only a week before. The legislation has the support of the Clinton administration and is expected to be enacted this year.

MAJOR CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO DATE:

09/16/97 -- In The SENATE

09/23/97 -- In The SENATE 09/24/97 -- In The SENATE 09/30/97 -- In The SENATE

AMSA ACTIONS:

AMSA will monitor the progress of this legislation. Recently, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service cirualted a final draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) defining specific roles of federal agencies when addressing Endangered Species Act (ESA) issues in the context of NPDES permitting, state NPDES program approvals and state water quality standards. Section 7 requires that all federal agencies consult with Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries when taking an action which may impact an endangered or threatened species. The AMSA National Office is arranging a meeting with representatives from the above agencies and EPA to discuss the ramifications of the memo on AMSA member agencies. Several AMSA member agency representatives will be invited to participate. Members will be updated on the meeting through a Regulatory Alert.


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