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<br />Agenda item 23 j <br />January 26-27, 2000 Board Meeting <br />Page 10 of 13 <br /> <br />The purpose of the minor depletion allowance is to avoid imposing inefficient and <br />unnecessary administration of Section 7 on water development and management <br />activities clearly causing minimal impacts to the endangered fish and critical habitat, <br />individually and collectively. <br /> <br />Between March, 1992 and December, 1998, the Service consulted individually on <br />approximately 58 proposed "minor depletions" that ranged in quantity from 0.02 AF/yr to <br />500 AF/yr, lasting from a few weeks to perpetuity. No biological opinions were issued <br />under the initial minor depletion account after December 1998. On September 21,1999, <br />the Service issued an "Intra-Service Section 7 Consultation for Minor Depletions of 100 <br />AF or less from the San Juan River Basin." This opinion provides for an additional 3,000 <br />AF/yr of new minor depletions in the San Juan Basin. <br /> <br />The following guidelines will be used by the Service in conducting Section 7 consultation <br />on minor depletions: <br /> <br />a) A minor depletion is defined as a depletion of 100 AF/yr or less, However, <br />the Service may use its discretion to allow larger depletions to be included in <br />the minor depletion account. <br /> <br />b) In rendering biological opinions on federal actions resulting in minor <br />depletions, the Service will consider all new information conceming impacts <br />and the status of the listed species and their habitats, and good faith <br />implementation of the Program in determining if the Program can provide the <br />reasonable and prudent altemative and/ or measure for minor depletions, <br /> <br />c) The aggregate of all minor depletions subject to section 7 consultation in <br />a single biological opinion may result in a total annual depletion of not more <br />than 3,000 acre-feet/year. When and if the 3,000 AF/yr limit is reached, the <br />Service may consider issuing another opinion to cover additional minor <br />depletions. Consultations completed under any previous minor depletion <br />account will not be required to reinitiate consultation if a new account is <br />established, and will be included in the environmental baseline for the San <br />Juan River, <br /> <br />d) The Service will review each application for consideration under the <br />minor depletion opinion and utilize that opinion to facilitate consultation so <br />long as a proposed depletion fits within the 3,000 acre-feet/year ceiling and <br />does not compromise the purposes for which the minor depletion opinion was <br />issued. <br /> <br />e) Depletions that were in existence as of October 25, 1991, the date of the <br />issuance of the first Animas- La Plata Biological Opinion are included in the <br />environmental baseline and will not be counted against any minor depletions <br />account. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br />