[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2933 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2933

 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to reform the process for 
              designating critical habitat under that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2003

   Mr. Cardoza (for himself, Mr. Dooley of California, Mr. Carson of 
 Oklahoma, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Baca, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Hall, Mr. Berry, Mr. 
   Ross, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Herger, Mr. Peterson of 
 Minnesota, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Calvert, and Mr. 
 Young of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to reform the process for 
              designating critical habitat under that Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Habitat Reform Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT CONCURRENT WITH APPROVAL OF 
              RECOVERY PLAN; STANDARD.

    (a) In General.--Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(3)(A) The Secretary, by regulation promulgated in accordance 
with subsection (b) and to the maximum extent practicable, economically 
feasible, and determinable--
            ``(i) shall, concurrent with the approval of a recovery 
        plan for a species under subsection (f), designate any habitat 
        of such species that is then considered to be critical habitat; 
        and
            ``(ii) may, from time-to-time thereafter as appropriate, 
        revise such designation.
    ``(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary may not 
designate an area as critical habitat of a species, and any designation 
of critical habitat of a species shall not apply to an area, if the 
area is subject to--
            ``(i) a habitat conservation plan under section 10(a)(2) 
        that the Secretary determines provides protection for habitat 
        of the species that is substantially equivalent to the 
        protection that would be provided by such designation; or
            ``(ii) a State or Federal land conservation program that 
        the Secretary determines provides protection for habitat of the 
        species that is substantially equivalent to the protection that 
        would be provided by such designation.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4(b)(6)(C) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(6)(C)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``concurrently'' and all that follows 
        through ``(ii)'' and inserting ``concurrently with the approval 
        of a recovery plan for the species under subsection (f), unless 
        the Secretary determines that''; and
            (2) by striking ``, to the maximum extent prudent,''.

SEC. 3. BASES FOR DETERMINATION.

    Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(2)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) In determining whether an area is critical habitat, the 
Secretary shall seek and, if available, consider information from local 
governments in the vicinity of the area, including local resource data 
and maps.
    ``(C) Consideration of economic impact under this paragraph shall 
include--
            ``(i) the direct, indirect, and cumulative economic impacts 
        of the designation, including consideration of lost revenues to 
        landowners and to the Federal Government and State and local 
        governments; and
            ``(ii) costs associated with the preparation of reports, 
        surveys, and analyses required to be undertaken, as a 
        consequence of a proposed designation of critical habitat, by 
        landowners seeking to obtain permits or approvals required 
        under Federal, State, or local law.''.

SEC. 4. CONTENT OF NOTICES OF PROPOSED DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT.

    Section 4(b)(5)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)(5)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i) by striking ``, and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in clause (ii)--
                    (A) by striking ``and to each'' and inserting ``to 
                each''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, and to the county and any 
                municipality having administrative jurisdiction over 
                the area, and'' after ``to occur''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iii) with respect to a regulation to designate 
                or revise a designation of critical habitat--
                            ``(I) maintain, on a publicly accessible 
                        Internet page of the Department, Geographical 
                        Information System maps and coordinates of the 
                        area; and
                            ``(II) include in each of the notices 
                        required under this subparagraph a reference to 
                        the Internet page referred to in subclause 
                        (I).''.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF CRITICAL HABITAT.

    Section 3(5) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1532(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(D)(i) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i)--
            ``(I) the term `geographical area occupied by the species' 
        means the specific area currently used by the species for its 
        essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and 
        sheltering; and
            ``(II) the term `essential to the conservation of the 
        species' means, with respect to a specific area, that the area 
        has those physical or biological features that are absolutely 
        necessary and indispensable to conservation of the species 
        concerned.
    ``(ii) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), the term `essential 
for the conservation of the species' means, with respect to a specific 
area, that the area is absolutely necessary and indispensable to 
conservation of the species concerned.''.
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