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®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

NMFS Imposes Strict IQA Pre-Dissemination Review on ESA Biological Opinions
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has stringent pre-dissemination review requirements under the Information Quality Act. These requirements apply to all information disseminated by NMFS. Consequently, it is laudable but not surprising that NMFS Southwest Region included a Separate IQA pre-dissemination review section in a Biological Opinion the Region recently issued.

This BiOp is dated June 4, 2009. It is issued under the Section 7 formal consultation provisions of the Endangered Species Act. It addresses the proposed long-term operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project in the Central Valley, California, and its effects on listed anadromous fishes and marine mammal species. The action agency is the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Section 8 of the BiOp is entitled Information Quality Act - Pre-Dissemination Review & Documentation Form. It contains the Region's signed and detailed certificate of compliance with NMFS' IQA pre-dissemination review procedures and requirements. These procedures and requirements are available online at http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/iqa/iqa.jsp, where NMFS explains:
    "Compliance with the NOAA Information Quality Guidelines is crucial. NOAA Fisheries has developed procedures to assist staff with the Information Quality Act pre- dissemination review process."
CRE commends NMFS for developing and requiring this IQA pre-dissemination review process. CRE commends NMFS' Southwest Region for following the process in this BiOp.
  • Click here to read NMFS Biological Opinion