Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 3.djvu/1126

 92 STAT. 3758

PUBLIC LAW 95-632—NOV. 10, 1978 '

" (i) there are no reasonable and p r u d e n t alternatives to the agency action; " ( i i) the benefits of such action clearly outweigh the benefits of alternative courses of action consistent with conserving the species or its critical habitat, and such action is in the .3 public interest; and " (iii) the action is of regional or national significance; and - -: " (B) it establishes such reasonable mitigation and enhancement measures, including, but not limited to, live propagation, transplantation, and habitat acquisition and improvement, as 1 are necessary and appropriate to minimize the adverse effects of the agency action upon the endangered species, threatened species, or critical habitat concerned. Any final determination by the Committee under this subsection shall be considered final agency action for purposes of chapter 7 of title 5 5 USC 701 ef 569. of the United States Code. " (2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an exemption for an agency action granted under subsection (h) shall constitute a permanent exemption with respect to all endangered or threatened, species for the purposes of completing such agency action: Provided, That a biological assessment has been conducted under subsection (c). " (B) A n exemption shall not be permanent under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary finds, based on the best scientific and commercial data available, that such exemption would result in the extinction of the species. If the Secretary so finds, the Committee shall determine within 30 days after such finding whether to g r a n t an exemption for the agency action notwithstanding the Secretary's finding. Certification.

" (i) REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF STATE.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of this Act, the Committee shall be prohibited from considering for exemption any application made to it, if the Secretary of State, after a review of the proposed agency action and its potential implications, and after hearing, certifies, in writing, to the Committee within 60 days of any application made under this section that the g r a n t i n g of any such exemption and the carrying out of such action would be in violation of an international t r e a t y obligation or other international Publication in obligation of the United States. The Secretary of State shall, at the Federal Register, time of such certification, publish a copy thereof in the Federal Register. Exemption. " (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Committee shall g r a n t an exemption for any agency action if the Secretary of Defense finds that such exemption is necessary for reasons of national security. "(k)

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SPECIAL PROVISIONS.—An exemption decision by the

Com-

mittee under this section shall not be a major Federal action for pur-••] poses of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.): Provided, That an environmental impact statement which discusses the impacts upon endangered species or threatened species or their critical habitats shall have been previously prepared w i t h respect to any agency action exempted by such order. "(1) COMMITTEE ORDERS.— (1) I f the Committee determines under subsection (h) that an exemption should be granted with respect to any agency action, the Committee shall issue an order g r a n t i n g the exemption and specifying the mitigation and enhancement measures established pursuant to subsection (h) which shall be carried out and p a i d for by the exemption applicant in implementing the agency

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