Narrower Endangered-Species Rule Approved

The U.S. Interior Dept. issued final regulations on Dec. 11 that clarify when consultations with other agencies are required under the Endangered Species Act. Interior says the change was needed to prevent lawmakers from using the law as a back door way to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

The new rules were narrower than an August proposal, which was widely criticized by environmental groups. The final version permits agencies to forgo consultation only in limited circumstances, Interior says. Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), the top environment committee Republican, calls the revision “a step in the right direction.” But the National Audubon Society is not satisfied. It wants the Obama administration and new Congress to revise the rules.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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