Habitat Conservation Plan Assurances (``No Surprises'') Rule

This final rule codifies the Habitat Conservation Plan assurances provided through section 10(a)(1)(B) permits issued under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Such assurances were first provided through the ``No Surprises'' policy issued in 1994 by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), (jointly referred to as the ``Services,'') and included in the joint FWS and NMFS Endangered Species Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook issued on December 2, 1996 (61 FR 63854). The No Surprises policy announced in 1994 provides regulatory assurances to the holder of a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) incidental take permit issued under section 10(a) of the ESA that no additional land use restrictions or financial compensation will be required of the permit holder with respect to species covered by the permit, even if unforeseen circumstances arise after the permit is issued indicating that additional mitigation is needed for a given species covered by a permit. The Services issued a proposed rule on May 29, 1997 (62 FR 29091) and the comments received on that proposal have been evaluated and considered in the development of this final rule. This final rule contains revisions to parts 17 (FWS) and 222 (NMFS) of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations necessary to implement the Habitat Conservation Plan assurances.