WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said yesterday that changes it wants to make to endangered species rules before the president leaves office will have no significant environmental consequences.
That's the conclusion of a draft assessment released by the Interior Department that represents one of the last remaining hurdles for the regulations to become final before Jan. 20.
The administration in August proposed letting federal agencies approve power plants, dams, and other projects without consulting government wildlife specialists in some cases.
Current regulations require government biologists to be consulted in all cases - even when a project is unlikely to harm threatened wildlife or the places they live.
The administration acknowledges the change will reduce the number of consultations required under the 35-year-old law.
But in its evaluation, it concludes that the new regulations will focus government expertise on cases where it is most needed and result in no harm to species or habitats protected by the statute.
Environmentalists, however, say the review - which was completed by lawyers and political appointees rather than scientists - failed to consider all of the environmental repercussions.
