§ 80.20 Prosecution of work.

(a) The State shall carry projects through to a state of completion acceptable to the Secretary with reasonable promptness. Failure to render satisfactory performance reports or failure to complete the project to the satisfaction of the Secretary shall be cause for the Secretary to suspend the project until the project provisions are satisfactorily met. Projects may be terminated upon determination by the Secretary that satisfactory progress has not been maintained. The Secretary shall have the right to inspect and review work being done at any time.

(b) Research work shall be continuously coordinated by the State with studies conducted by others to avoid unnecessary duplication.

(c) All work shall be performed in accordance with applicable State laws, except when in conflict with Federal laws or regulations, in which case Federal laws or regulations shall prevail.

§ 80.21 Contracts.

The State may use its own regulations in obtaining services provided that they adhere to applicable Federal laws, regulations, policies, guidelines, and requirements. The State is the responsible authority, without recourse to the Federal agency regarding the settlement of contractual issues.

§ 80.22 Management and maintenance of completed projects.

The State shall exercise all reasonable means to insure permanent and proper management and maintenance of each completed acquisition or development of lands or waters.

§ 80.23 Production of income.

Federal Aid funds shall not be spent for the purpose of producing income. However, income produced as a result of federally aided activities which is incidental to the project activities is allowable. Such income shall be credited to the project as directed by the Secretary.

§ 80.24 Inspection.

Supervision of each project by the State shall include adequate and continuous inspection. The project will be subject at all times to Federal inspection.

§ 80.25 Federal aid payments.

Federal Aid payments to States are made either through a letter of credit under the comprehensive fish and wildlife plan option or by Treasury check under the traditional project option. Payments under the Federal Aid Acts, including such preliminary costs and expenses as may be incurred in and about such projects, shall not be made unless all documents that may be necessary or required in the administration of these Acts, shall have first been submitted to and approved by the Secretary. Payments shall be made for expenditures reported and certified by the State fish and game departments. Payments shall be made only to the State office or official designated by the State Fish and Game Department and authorized under the laws of the State to receive public funds of the State.

(a) Federal Aid payments shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of a project or the amount specified in the agreement, whichever is less: Provided, That Federal Aid payments to the territorial areas of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall not exceed the amount specified in the agreement and in no event shall they be required to pay an amount which will exceed 25 percent of the cost of any project.

(b) Federal Aid payments on projects terminated prior to completion shall be limited to the cost of benefits produced as of the date of the termination and in conformance with the Project Agreement.

(c) Payments for acquired real property, including all associated acquisition and relocation assistance expenses, shall not exceed 75 percent of the fair and reasonable cost of acquiring property in accordance with the Uniform Relocation and Land Acquisitions Policy Act (84 Stat. 1894) and the regulations and procedures pro

mulgated thereunder by the Secretary.

(d) Preliminary costs which are clearly tied to an approved project may be reimbursed provided the claims are supported by accurate records.

(e) Payments for administrative costs in the form of overhead or indirect costs for State central services outside of the State fish and game department must be in accord with an approved cost allocation plan and shall not exceed in any one fiscal year 3 percent of the annual apportionment.

§ 80.26 Form of vouchers.

Vouchers on forms provided by the Secretary and certified as therein prescribed, showing amounts expended and the amount of Federal Aid funds claimed to be due on account thereof, shall be submitted to the Secretary by the State fish and game department.

§ 80.27 Records and reporting.

Reports shall be furnished as requested by the Secretary. Cost records shall be maintained separately for each project. In projects containing multiple activities, costs by activity shall be segregated. The accounts and records maintained by the State, together with all supporting documents, shall be open at all times to the inspection of authorized representatives of the United States, and copies thereof shall be furnished when requested.

§ 80 28 Records retention period.

The records, accounts, and supporting documents required to be maintained under the regulations in this part for each project shall be retained by the State fish and game department until the expiration of 3 years after submission of the final expenditure report.

§ 80.29 Convict labor.

The State shall not employ any persons undergoing sentence of imprisonment at hard labor to perform work on projects approved under the Federal Aid Acts.

§ 80.30 Water pollution control.

In the performance of each project, the State shall take necessary action to avoid pollution of water as a direct or indirect result of project activity. Water quality must be maintained at a level consistent with applicable water quality standards.

§ 80.31 Purchase of equipment.

Advance approval by the Secretary is required for the purchase with Federal Aid participation of items of equipment costing in excess of $2,500.

§ 80.32 Patents and inventions.

Determination of the patent rights in any inventions or discoveries resulting from work under cooperative agreements entered into pursuant to the Act shall be governed by the Statement of Government Patent Policy promulgated by the President in his memorandum of October 10, 1963 (3 CFR 1963, Supp. p. 238, 28 FR 10943).

§ 80.33 Utilization of excess Federal personal property.

In the interest of achieving program objectives at minimum cost, expanding abilities, and enhancing program accomplishments, States are encouraged to consider fulfilling personal property requirements through utilization of excess Federal property. Such utilization will be applied to needs documented in approved projects according to law and related policy.

§ 80.34 Environmental impact statements.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 852, January 1, 1970) requires environmental impact statements on Federal or federally assisted programs that significantly affect the quality of human environment. Statements covering major Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration activities will be on file with the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President. Environmental impact statements will be required for proposed Federal Aid activities which will have a significant effect on human environment and which are not ade

quately described in the impact statements on file.

§ 80.35 Comprehensive plan alternative.

As an alternative to submission of individual project application, a State may present to the Secretary a comprehensive fish and wildlife resource plan as program documentation. A comprehensive fish and wildlife management plan is comprised of: A strategic plan which identifies program goals and objectives and is based on 15-year projections of resource availability and demands; and a 5-year operation plan of definite actions for accomplishing such program goals and objectives. It also incorporates system of frequent or continuous evaluation and updating. The plan shall be presented over the signature of the State fish and game director with evidence that it has been reviewed by the Governor of the State or his designee. Standards for the scope and quality of a plan which will be acceptable to the Secretary are published in the Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration Manual.

a

§ 81.1 Definitions.

As used in this part, terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section.

(a) Agreements. Signed documented statements of the actions to be taken by the State(s) and the Secretary in furthering the purposes of the Act. They include:

(1) A Cooperative Agreement entered into pursuant to section 6(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and containing provisions found in section 6(d)(2) of the Act.

(2) A Project Agreement which includes a statement as to the actions to be taken in connection with the conservation of endangered or threatened species, benefits derived, cost of actions, and costs to be borne by the Federal Government and by the States.

or

(b) Conserve, conserving, and conservation. The use of all methods and procedures which are necessary to bring any endangered species threatened species to the point at which the measures provided pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 are no longer necessary. Such methods and procedures include, but are not limited to, all activities associated with scientific resources management such as research, census, law enforcement, habitat acquisition and maintenance, propagation, live trapping, and transplantation, and, in the extraordinary case where population pressures within a given ecosystem cannot be otherwise relieved, may include regulated taking.

(c) Endangered species. Any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range (other than a species of the Class Insecta as determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of The Endangered Species Act of 1973 would present an overwhelming and overriding risk to man).

(d) Fish or wildlife. Any member of the animal kingdom, including without limitation any mammal, fish, bird (including any migratory, nonmigratory, or endangered bird for which protection is also afforded by treaty or other international agreement), am

phibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod or other invertebrate, and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof.

(e) Plant. Any member of the plant kingdom, including seeds, roots, and other parts thereof.

(f) Program. A State-developed plan for the conservation and management of all species of fish and wildlife that exist in the wild in that State during any part of their life which are endangered or threatened, which includes goals, objectives, strategies, action, and funding necessary to be taken to accomplish the objectives on an individual basis.

(g) Secretary. The Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative.

(h) Species. This term includes any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants and any other group of fish or wildlife of the same species or smaller taxa in common spatial arrangement that interbreed when mature.

(i) State. Any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(j) State agency. The State agency or agencies, department, board, commission, or other governmental entity which is responsible for the management and conservation of fish or wildlife resources within a State.

(k) Threatened species. Any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range, as determined by the Secretary.

(1) Project. A subssantial undertaking to conserve the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction.

(m) Act. The Endangered Species Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

(n) Project segment. An essential part or a division of a project, usually separated as a period of time, occasionally as a unit of work.

(0) Resident species. For the purposes of the Endangered Species Act

of 1973, a species is resident in a State if it exists in the wild in that State during any part of its life.

§ 81.2 Cooperation with the States.

The Secretary is authorized by the act to cooperate with any State which establishes and maintains an adequate and active program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. In order for a State program to be deemed an adequate and active program, the Secretary must find and reconfirm, on an annual basis, that:

(a) Authority resides in the State agency to conserve resident species of fish and wildlife determined by the State agency or the Secretary to be endangered or threatened;

(b) The State agency has established an acceptable conservation program, consistent with the purposes and policies of the act, for all residents species of fish and wildlife in the State which are deemed by the Secretary to be endangered or threatened; and has furnished a copy of such program together with all pertinent details, information, and data requested to the Secretary;

(c) The State agency is authorized to conduct investigations to determine the status and requirements for survival of resident species of fish and wildlife;

(d) The State agency is authorized to establish programs, including the acquisition of land or aquatic habitat or interests therein, for the conservation of resident endangered or threatened species; and

(e) Provisions are made for public participation in designating resident species of fish and wildlife as endangered or threatened.

[41 FR 15016, Apr. 9, 1976]

§ 81.3 Cooperative Agreement.

Upon determination by the Secretary that a State program is adequate and active, the Secretary shall enter into an Agreement with the State. A Cooperative Agreement is necessary before a Project Agreement can be approved for endangered or threatened species projects. It must be reconfirmed annually to reflect new laws, species lists, rules and regulations, and