PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Federal agencies must talk with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state wildlife agency before they build or change dams, divert water, deepen channels, or otherwise alter streams or other bodies of water for any reason. The Interior Department and the state must do surveys and give specific reports about how the project could hurt wildlife and what steps would prevent or fix the harm and help wildlife improve. Federal project reports to Congress or to officials who approve projects must include and consider those recommendations and add reasonable wildlife measures to the plans. Money to plan, build, or maintain those wildlife measures counts as part of the project cost, but only for land buys, specific facilities recommended in reports, project changes, and changes in operations — not for running wildlife facilities. Federal builders can give funds to the Fish and Wildlife Service to carry out investigations. Project reports must estimate wildlife benefits or losses, the costs for wildlife measures, how much of joint facilities is for wildlife, and any part to be repaid by non-Federal parties. The rules apply to projects authorized before or after the law unless a project is already substantially completed (60% or more of estimated construction cost obligated). The rules do not apply to impoundments smaller than 10 acres or to federal land-management programs on federal lands.

Title 16, §662

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Consultations between agencies

Except as hereafter stated in subsection (h) of this section, whenever the waters of any stream or other body of water are proposed or authorized to be impounded, diverted, the channel deepened, or the stream or other body of water otherwise controlled or modified for any purpose whatever, including navigation and drainage, by any department or agency of the United States, or by any public or private agency under Federal permit or license, such department or agency first shall consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, and with the head of the agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the particular State wherein the impoundment, diversion, or other control facility is to be constructed, with a view to the conservation of wildlife resources by preventing loss of and damage to such resources as well as providing for the development and improvement thereof in connection with such water-resource development.

(b)Reports and recommendations; consideration

In furtherance of such purposes, the reports and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior on the wildlife aspects of such projects, and any report of the head of the State agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the State, based on surveys and investigations conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and such State agency for the purpose of determining the possible damage to wildlife resources and for the purpose of determining means and measures that should be adopted to prevent the loss of or damage to such wildlife resources, as well as to provide concurrently for the development and improvement of such resources, shall be made an integral part of any report prepared or submitted by any agency of the Federal Government responsible for engineering surveys and construction of such projects when such reports are presented to the Congress or to any agency or person having the authority or the power, by administrative action or otherwise, (1) to authorize the construction of water-resource development projects or (2) to approve a report on the modification or supplementation of plans for previously authorized projects, to which this Act applies. Recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior shall be as specific as is practicable with respect to features recommended for wildlife conservation and development, lands to be utilized or acquired for such purposes, the results expected, and shall describe the damage to wildlife attributable to the project and the measures proposed for mitigating or compensating for these damages. The reporting officers in project reports of the Federal agencies shall give full consideration to the report and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior and to any report of the State agency on the wildlife aspects of such projects, and the project plan shall include such justifiable means and measures for wildlife purposes as the reporting agency finds should be adopted to obtain maximum overall project benefits.

(c)Modification of projects; acquisition of lands

Federal agencies authorized to construct or operate water-control projects are authorized to modify or add to the structures and operations of such projects, the construction of which has not been substantially completed on the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and to acquire lands in accordance with section 663 of this title, in order to accommodate the means and measures for such conservation of wildlife resources as an integral part of such projects: Provided, That for projects authorized by a specific Act of Congress before the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (1) such modification or land acquisition shall be compatible with the purposes for which the project was authorized; (2) the cost of such modifications or land acquisition, as means and measures to prevent loss of and damage to wildlife resources to the extent justifiable, shall be an integral part of the cost of such projects; and (3) the cost of such modifications or land acquisition for the development or improvement of wildlife resources may be included to the extent justifiable, and an appropriate share of the cost of any project may be allocated for this purpose with a finding as to the part of such allocated cost, if any, to be reimbursed by non-Federal interests.

(d)Project costs

The cost of planning for and the construction or installation and maintenance of such means and measures adopted to carry out the conservation purposes of this section shall constitute an integral part of the cost of such projects: Provided, That such cost attributable to the development and improvement of wildlife shall not extend beyond that necessary for (1) land acquisition, (2) facilities as specifically recommended in water resource project reports, (3) modification of the project, and (4) modification of project operations, but shall not include the operation of wildlife facilities.

(e)Transfer of funds

In the case of construction by a Federal agency, that agency is authorized to transfer to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, out of appropriations or other funds made available for investigations, engineering, or construction, such funds as may be necessary to conduct all or part of the investigations required to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f)Estimation of wildlife benefits or losses

In addition to other requirements, there shall be included in any report submitted to Congress supporting a recommendation for authorization of any new project for the control or use of water as described herein (including any new division of such project or new supplemental works on such project) an estimation of the wildlife benefits or losses to be derived therefrom including benefits to be derived from measures recommended specifically for the development and improvement of wildlife resources, the cost of providing wildlife benefits (including the cost of additional facilities to be installed or lands to be acquired specifically for that particular phase of wildlife conservation relating to the development and improvement of wildlife), the part of the cost of joint-use facilities allocated to wildlife, and the part of such costs, if any, to be reimbursed by non-Federal interests.

(g)Applicability to projects

The provisions of this section shall be applicable with respect to any project for the control or use of water as prescribed herein, or any unit of such project authorized before or after the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act for planning or construction, but shall not be applicable to any project or unit thereof authorized before the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act if the construction of the particular project or unit thereof has been substantially completed. A project or unit thereof shall be considered to be substantially completed when sixty percent or more of the estimated construction cost has been obligated for expenditure.

(h)Exempt projects and activities

The provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to those projects for the impoundment of water where the maximum surface area of such impoundments is less than ten acres, nor to activities for or in connection with programs primarily for land management and use carried out by Federal agencies with respect to Federal lands under their jurisdiction.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (h), is act Mar. 10, 1934, ch. 55, 48 Stat. 401, known as the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, which is classified generally to sections 661 to 666c–1 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 661(a) of this title,

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note set out under section 661 of this title, and Tables. The date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, referred to in subsecs. (c) and (g), probably refers to the date of enactment of Pub. L. 85–624, which was approved Aug. 12, 1958, and which amended sections 1 to 4 of the Act generally and enacted the

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. See

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note set out under section 661 of this title.

Amendments

1965—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–72 added cl. (2) to proviso, redesignated cls. (2) and (3) thereof as (3) and (4), struck out “nor the

Construction

of such facilities beyond those herein described” after “wildlife facilities” and struck out a second proviso which applied to projects constructed under Federal reclamation laws and required the Secretary of the Interior, in addition to allocations made under section 485h of Title 43, to make findings on part of estimated cost of the project which can properly be allocated to means and measures to prevent loss and damage to wildlife resources, which costs shall not be reimbursable, and provided for allocation of project costs to development and improvement of wildlife resources, now covered by sections 460l–12 to 460l–21 of this title. 1958—Pub. L. 85–624 amended section generally to require consultations with a view to the conservation of resources by providing for the development and improvement thereof in connection with water-resource development, to provide for inclusion of reports and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior and of the heads of State agencies in reports prepared or submitted by agencies responsible for engineering surveys and

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of projects when such reports are presented to the Congress or to any agency or person having the authority or the power to authorize the

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of water-resource development projects or to approve a report on the modification or supplementation of plans for previously authorized projects, to authorize modification of projects and acquisition of lands, and to require an estimation of benefits or losses to wildlife to be incorporated in the reports submitted to the Congress. 1946—Act Aug. 14, 1946, amended section generally to provide for consultations between any agencies and the Fish and Wildlife Service and head of State agency exercising administration over State wildlife resources prior to the impounding of water in order to prevent loss and damage to wildlife resources. Former provisions of this section are covered by section 665 of this title.

§662 Impounding, Diverting, or Controlling of Waters

Summary

Title 16, §662

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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Transfer of Functions

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