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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />members an opportunity to review the action, and incorporate the action into the L.P.. lfthe <br />reasonable and prudent alternative is not incorporated into the L.P. by the Coordination <br />Committee, the Service will work with the federal agency and project proponent in complying <br />with Section 7. Incorporation of new actions into the L.P. under this paragraph is expected to <br />be a rare event. Revisions to the L.P., including insertion of actions needed to achieve <br />recovery, will occur in the annual review and update of the L.P., and all parties to the RIP, <br />including the Service, will make recommendations <br /> <br />o <br />o <br />f"":.'" <br />.;::.. <br /> <br />...~. <br /> <br />7. The Service will work with project proponents to attempt to identify mutually agreeable <br />opportunities to minimize project impacts. It is also recognized that 1) it is the responsibility <br />of the project sponsor to make the final determination of the scope of the project subject <br />brought to consultation, and 2) it is the Service's responsibility to identify reasonable and <br />prudent alternatives for the project. <br /> <br />8. The Service has ultimate authority and responsibility for determining whether the RIP has <br />provided or can provide a reasonable and prudent alternative. <br /> <br />9. The RIP will be responsible for monitoring implementation of all Program actions, <br />including those identified as reasonable and prudent alternatives in biological opinions, and <br />reporting results on an annual basis to the Service. <br /> <br />10. Certain situations may result in the Service determining that the recovery actions in the <br />long range plan incorporated into previously rendered biological opinions are no longer <br />serving as a reasonable and prudent alternative. These situations may include, but are not <br />limited, to: <br /> <br />a) critical deadlines for specified recovery actions are missed; <br />b) specified recovery actions are determined to be infeasible; and/or <br />c) significant new information about the needs or population status of the fishes <br />becomes available. <br /> <br />The Service will notify the Coordination Committee when a situation may result in the RIP <br />not serving as a reasonable and prudent alternative. The Coordination CommiUee will work <br />with the Service to evaluate the situation and develop the most appropriate response to restore <br />the RIP as a reasonable and prudent alternative (such as adjusting the L.P. so the action can <br />be achieved, developing a supplemental recovery action for incorporation into the L.P., <br />shortening the time frame on other recovery actions, etc.). <br /> <br />11. If the RIP cannot be restored to provide the reasonable and prudent alternative per item <br />10 above, as a last resort the Service will develop a reasonable and prudent alternative, if <br />available, with the lead Federal Agency and the project proponent. (RIP participants <br />recognize that such actions would be inconsistent with the intended operation of the RIP). <br />The option ofrequesting <br />other measures on new or historic projects will only be used in the event that the L.P. is not <br />or cannot be amended to serve as a reasonable and prudent alternative. In this situation, the <br />reasonable and prudent alternative will be consistent with the intended purpose of the action, <br /> <br />9 <br />