PRRIP Purposes and Overview Draft (2)

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agency authorizations. If a state agrees to and continues to carry out the responsibilities it had under the Program, there is a presumption that such actions are sufficient to provide ESA compliance with respect to all water related activities in that state pending completion of any reinitiated consultations. When a state agrees to and continues to carry out the responsibilities it had under the Program, that state and any water related activities covered retain the ability to argue that the responsibilities undertaken are sufficient to constitute the long-term ESA compliance for the reinitiated consultations. FWS agrees to consider these undertakings in any reinitiated Section 7 consultations, including in the development of new reasonable and prudent alternatives or other measures. F. In developing any new measures to meet the requirements of the ESA, FWS agrees to recognize any contributions made to this Program by (4)-the relevant state or the owner or operator of the water related activity under the July 1997 Cooperative , ?2+the degree to which the relevant state or owner or Agreement andlor the Program and - operator met its obligations under the July 1997 Cooperative Agreement or the Program, aetions G. No person or entity undertaking or proposing to undertake any water related activity will be required to accede to the provisions of this document or to rely on this Program. Reliance on the Program shall be voluntary. In the event such person or entity chooses not to so rely, or chooses to revoke reliance on the Program at any time, FWS will not consider this Program as ESA compliance for such water related activity. FWS believes that revoking reliance on the Program warrants a reopening of any federal action or authorization based thereon, and will reinitiate any ESA Section 7(a)(2) consultation for that water related activity which relied upon this Program. H. Any time that FWS reinitiates Section 7(a)(2) consultation, it will issue a new biological opinion based on then current conditions. FWS believes that the new biological opinion and any subsequent amendment, restatement, or modification of a federal action based on the new biological opinion, would constitute a new federal action for purposes of administrative or judicial appeals. FWS further believes that no person or entity should be deemed to have waived or relinquished any right to challenge the legal, scientific, or technical validity of any aspect of the new biological opinion or agency action by virtue of its acceptance of or reliance on this Program, or by virtue of its support for this Program in other judicial or administrative proceedings. V. PROGRAM COST SHARE AND EXIT STRATEGY A. DOI and the states have determined that each has a responsibility to the success of the Program and that ,(,,,,,., .,ooa l.,n,.,,.,,.o f,. r TcFc vo,.ot„t;,,n ,.., o ort .,,,a „tho,. astiens); contributions for Program elements addressing existing water related activities should be made to the Program on an equitable basis. For purposes of the First Program Increment, DOI and the states agree that federal contribution and the collective state contributions should be as equal as possible. T'nT ^ra *h° s*^*°s h^•,° ^^r°°a *h^* *h^;r Septe rib?November 4-29 2005 Program Document 23 1