EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Agency:
Activities Considered:
National Marine Fisheries Service
Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation
Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Proposed issuance and implementation of the Vessel
General Permit and the Small Vessel General Permit,
which would authorize discharges incidental to the normal
operation of vessels in waters of the United States from
2013 through 2018
Consultation Conducted by: Endangered Species Act Interagency Cooperation Division
of the Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service
Approved by:
Date:
Section 7(a)(2) ofthe Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2))
requires Federal agencies to insure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat of such species. When a Federal agency's
action "may affect" a protected species, that agency is required to consult formally with the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS;
together, "the Services"), depending upon the endangered species, threatened species, or
designated critical habitat that may be affected by the action (50 CFR 402.14(a)). Federal
agencies are exempt from this general requirement if they have concluded that an action "may
affect, but is not likely to adversely affect" endangered species, threatened species, or designated
critical habitat, and ifNMFS or the FWS concur with that conclusion (50 CFR 402.14(b )).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consulted with the Services on EPA's
proposal to authorize discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels and small vessels
into waters of the United States from 2013 through 2018 under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit program, as authorized by the Clean Water Act. This document
represents NMFS' Biological and Conference Opinion (Opinion) on EPA's issuance and
implementation of its Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP;
together the VGPs) and their effects on ESA-listed and proposed species and designated critical
habitat. This Opinion is based on our review of the EPA's draft VGPs, EPA's Biological
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