^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

EPA Extends Comment Period for Its Endangered Species Climate Change Guidance
EPA is extending its original 30-day public comment period for its draft document titled, "A Framework for Categorizing the Relative Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change." EPA is granting this extension at the request of interested parties. Notice of the extension is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 23, 2010.

EPA's original 30-day public comment period began on November 25, 2009 and closed on December 28, 2009. All comments received to date will be considered, including those received after the close of the original public comment period. The additional 30-day comment period will begins on the date the extension notice is published in the Federal Register. The additional comment period will end 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The draft document in question describes an evaluative framework that may be used to categorize the relative vulnerability of species to climate change. To illustrate the use of this framework, it was applied to six U.S. threatened and endangered species: the golden-cheeked warbler, the salt marsh harvest mouse, the Mount Graham red squirrel, the Lahontan cutthroat trout, the desert tortoise and the bald eagle.

An external peer review of this report has been completed. The public comment period and the external peer review are separate processes.

EPA's draft publication notice of the extension states that the agency,

"released this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination review and comment under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination."