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Allows the Secretary to issue short-term exemptions from certain Endangered Species Act requirements when water is needed for critical human uses such as drinking water, firefighting, public health, or food security. Exemptions must meet defined conditions, include required documentation, be time-limited with narrow renewal rules, and are subject to monthly and annual reporting; the Secretary must issue implementing regulations within 180 days and judicial review is limited.
Adds a new subsection (q), titled “Human needs exemptions for water resources,” to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536), creating a framework for exemptions for critical human water needs.
Defines “critical human water need” to include water for municipal drinking water supply, emergency services (including firefighting), maintaining public health and safety (as determined by the Secretary or a relevant water management agency), and food security (as determined by the Secretary).
Defines “water management agency” as any Federal, State, or local agency with authority to manage or allocate water resources.
Authorizes the Secretary to grant an exemption from the requirements of subsection (a)(2) for any agency action by a water management agency to fulfill a critical human water need, notwithstanding other provisions of the Act.
Condition A: The Secretary may grant an exemption only if the ESA requirements would directly conflict with fulfilling the critical human water need.
Direct impacts: public water systems, water utilities, and local governments could gain a faster legal route to access water during emergencies for drinking, firefighting, public health, or food production; agricultural users and other water-dependent industries may use the exemption pathway in acute shortages. The rule creates administrative responsibilities for applicants (documentation, monthly updates) and for the Department (processing requests, oversight, annual reporting).
Environmental impacts: temporarily relaxing certain ESA requirements could increase short-term stress on listed species and habitats if exemptions are used frequently or without adequate conservation safeguards. Time limits and reporting requirements are intended to reduce long-term ecological harm, but outcomes will depend on how the Secretary defines eligibility and applies safeguards in the implementing regulations.
Legal and institutional effects: narrowing judicial review accelerates administrative action but reduces avenues for immediate court intervention, potentially raising tensions with environmental groups and tribes that rely on ESA litigation. State and Tribal water managers may need to coordinate with federal authorities to use the exemption process. The 180-day regulatory deadline compresses the timeline for agencies to craft detailed procedures, increasing immediate workload for agency rulewriters and compliance offices.
Equity and public services: the provision prioritizes human health and safety uses of water (drinking, firefighting, public health, food security), which may benefit vulnerable communities during crises, but could also shift short-term ecological costs onto communities dependent on healthy ecosystems (fisheries, recreation, cultural resources).
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Cynthia M. Lummis · Last progress February 4, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate