ELR Citation: ELR 20083
No(s). 90-10037 (11th Cir. Apr 1, 2008)

The Eleventh Circuit held that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) §7 when it failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concerning its administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the Florida Keys. FEMA has discretion to consider endangered and threatened species in its administration of the NFIP. Further, FEMA's administration of the NFIP was a cause of development that jeopardized listed species. While FEMA is not required to independently analyze FWS recommendations for reasonable alternatives to actions jeopardizing listed species, FEMA is required to execute its programs in a manner consistent with the conservation of endangered and threatened species. And FEMA's modified community rating program, which provides communities with credits and reduced insurance rates for adopting a habitat conservation plan, was insufficient to meet the obligations of ESA §7. The rating program had no effect, as FEMA cited no record evidence that even a single community had developed or adopted such a plan over the program's nine years.