Petition of the day

Issue: (1) Whether the Secretary of the Interior, when concluding that a federal agency action will jeopardize a species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, must address in the administrative record the economic and technical feasibility of proposed “reasonable and prudent alternatives,” including the effects of the proposed alternatives on third parties; (2) whether the Secretary may disregard the “best scientific data” on the ground that considering the data would lead to a less “conservative” result, because scientific certainty is impossible, or because the Secretary has considered a range of data in reaching a conclusion; and (3) whether, once the Secretary’s consultation is triggered by some discretion in operating a water project, the Secretary may apply the no-jeopardy mandate of Section 7(a)(2) to actions involved in water project operations that are compelled by specific legal obligations.