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REVISED DRAFT <br />November 15, 2002 <br />reinitiate Section 7 consultation on any of the water related activities covered by the <br />Program until such a final determination is made. <br />If Milestones are not being met, and FWS makes a preliminary determination that the <br />Program is not providing ESA compliance, FWS agrees that it will not request <br />reinitiation of section 7(a)(2) consultation for any water related activity which relied upon <br />the Program as a component of its ESA compliance and which is subject to reinitiation <br />pursuant to 50 C.F.R. § 402.16, unless it requests reinitiation for all such water related <br />activities. FWS further agrees that it will expeditiously pursue all available means, to <br />consult on all agency actions for which it requested reinitiation, and if it identifies new or <br />additional measures, that it will expeditiously pursue all available means to amend or <br />modify the agency authorizations. If a state agrees to and continues to carry out the <br />responsibilities it had under the Program, there is a presumption that such actions are <br />sufficient to provide ESA compliance with respect to all water related activities in that <br />state pending completion of any reinitiated consultations. When a state agrees to and <br />continues to carry out the responsibilities it had under the Program, that state and any <br />water related activities covered retain the ability to argue that the responsibilities <br />undertaken are sufficient to constitute the long -term ESA compliance for the reinitiated is <br />consultations. FWS agrees to consider these undertakings in any reinitiated section 7 <br />consultations, including in the development of new reasonable and prudent alternatives or <br />other measures. <br />F. When reinitiating section 7 consultation for a particular water related activity, the <br />FWS agrees to consider the cause of the expiration or termination of the Program, as <br />appropriate. [QUESTION: Is the first sentence of this paragraph necessary? What <br />purpose does it serve ?] In developing any new measures to meet the requirements of <br />the ESA, FWS agrees to recognize any contributions made to this Program by the <br />relevant state or the owner or operator of the water related activity under the July 1997 <br />Cooperative Agreement and/or the Program, and the degree to which the relevant state or <br />owner or operator met its obligations under the July 1997 Cooperative Agreement or the <br />Program. <br />G. No person or entity undertaking or proposing to undertake any water related activity <br />will be required to accede to the provisions of this document or to rely on this Program. <br />Reliance on the Program shall be voluntary. In the event such person or entity chooses <br />not to so rely, or chooses to revoke reliance on the Program at any time, FWS will not <br />23 0 <br />