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4 Endangered Species Tech. Bull. 1 (1979)

handle is hein.animal/endanspb0004 and id is 1 raw text is: January 1979, Vol. IV, No. I COMMITTEE EXEMPTS GRAYROCKS; DENIES EXEMPTION FOR TELLICO DAM In the first session of its kind, the newly created Endangered Species Committee met on January 23 and voted to deny an exemption for TVA's nearly completed Tellico dam while conditionally exempting the Grayrocks project from compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Established through recent amend- ments to the 1973 Act (see October 1978 BULLETIN), the cabinet-level Committee was directed to consider exempting the two projects, thereby Iruling on the fate of the Endangered species with which they conflict. As defined by the new law, Interior Secretary Andrus serves as Committee chairman, with five additional voting (permanent) members and one collec- tive vote cast by the State represen- tative(s) for the affected States(s). Agriculture Secretary Bergland, Army Secretary Alexander, Council of Eco- nomic Advisors Chairman Schultze, Environmental Protection Agency Ad- ministrator Costle, and National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Frank attended the meet- ing along with Secretary Andrus, all voting in person as required by the amendments. Wyoming's Governor Ed Herschler and Nebraska's Assistant State Attorney General, Paul Snyder, shared the vote on Grayrocks, while William R. Willis, Jr., voted for Ten- nessee on the Tellico exemption. As expressly mandated by the 1978 amendments, Committee members were to exempt the Tellico and Gray- rocks projects only if they determine that (1) there are no reasonable and prudent alternatives to the projects and (2) the benefits of the projects clearly outweigh the benefits of alter- native courses of action consistent with conserving the affected species or their Critical Habitats, and the proj- ects are in the public interest. In the case of the Tellico project, the unanimous decision by the Committee essentially stops completion of the dam and reservoir, which would have impounded the Critical Habitat of the snail darter (Percina tanasi) along the Little Tennessee River. In motioning for a Committee vote denying exemp- tion for the dam, Charles Schultze questioned the cost-effectiveness of the Tellico project, saying the costs clearly outweigh the benefits. It would be difficult to say there are no reason- able and prudent alternatives to this project, Schultze added. A December 1978 TVA report puts forth two alternatives: (1) developing the reservoir and (2) removing part of the dam and developing the river. In its Views and Recommendations, In- Continued on page 6 Secretary Andrus (center) chaired the first session of the cabinet-level Endangered Species Committee on January 23. Digitized from Best Copy Available

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