Essential Fish Habitat: Emergency Consultations in the Pacific Islands Region

What is an Emergency?

An emergency is a situation involving an act of God, disasters, casualties, national defense or security emergencies, etc., and includes response activities that must be taken to prevent imminent loss of human life or property. During an emergency a federal agency may not have the time for the administrative work required by normal consultation procedures. Emergency consultation expedites communication and allows agencies to incorporate essential fish habitat (EFH) concerns into their emergency response plans.

During any emergency, NOAA Fisheries' primary objective is to provide technical advice and recommendations for avoiding or minimizing adverse effects to Management Unit Species (MUS) and their designated EFH during emergency response activities.

During emergency events, the primary objective of the responding agency is to protect human life and property. This objective takes precedence if there is a conflict with protective measures for EFH. The protection of MUS and their designated EFH is warranted when it will not interfere with the emergency response to protect human life and property.

Agency Roles During an Emergency

Emergency consultation procedures allow for rapid communication between agencies. They enable the federal action agency, or the responding agency, to incorporate EFH and MUS concerns into their emergency response plans.

A federal action agency’s primary objective during an emergency is to protect human life and property. NOAA Fisheries provides technical advice and recommendations to that agency. These include best management practices for minimizing adverse effects to MUS and their designated EFH.

Essential Fish Habitat Emergency Response Process

Step 1 – Initiate Contact

During an emergency response, the federal action agency must provide us the following information:

• What is the nature of the emergency action?
• What is the justification for the expedited consultation and/or after-the-fact consultation?
• What are the impacts to MUS and their designated EFH?

This information should be emailed to efhesaconsult@noaa.gov, and to Interagency Cooperation Branch Chief, Ron Dean (ron.dean@noaa.gov).

We will provide technical advice and recommendations, including best management practices, for minimizing adverse effects to MUS and their designated EFH during emergency response activities.

Examples of these include:

• Recommendations for general in-water response activities (PDF, 4 pages)
• Recommendations for vessel groundings, crashes, or salvage activities (PDF, 4 pages)
• Recommendations for avoiding or minimizing chemical and nutrient contamination (PDF, 4 pages)
• Recommendations for unexploded ordnance detection and disposal (PDF, 2 pages)

Step 2 – Evaluate Impacts

Once the emergency is over, the federal action agency must:

• Evaluate the emergency consultation measures
• Identify any potential adverse effects to MUS and designated EFH
• Report this information to efhesaconsult@noaa.gov, and to the Interagency Cooperation Branch Chief, Ron Dean (ron.dean@noaa.gov)

Step 3 – Complete Consultation

If the emergency action causes adverse effects to MUS and their designated EFH (e.g., damage to corals and/or seagrass), the action agency should provide NOAA Fisheries with an after-the-fact EFH Assessment. Emergency EFH consultation should be conducted in accordance with Endangered Species Act Emergency Response Process, which also provides notification to personnel for Emergency EFH Consultation. A single email has been established in the Pacific Islands Region for both ESA and EFH Consultations at efhesaconsult@noaa.gov.