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FAST-41 Missed Date:Endangered Species Act Consultation (DOI-FWS): ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action)

Submitted by Anonymous on

Agency Milestone Date of 08/11/2026 for ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action) has passed by 1 business days

Action
Project Name:
Black Bear Natural Gas Development
Responsible Agency:
Fish and Wildlife Service
Agency Status: Cooperating under FAST-41
Status:
Planned
POC Name:
Catherine Yeargan
POC Title:
Fish and Wildlife Service Administrator
POC Email:
catherine_yeargan@fws.gov

Milestones:

ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action)
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    The milestone for initiation of Section 7 Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation was not met due to an oversight in the project development process during a change in lead agency designation as well as the need to obtain a complete SF-299 before initiating consultation to provide sufficient project-specific information to inform development of the draft Biological Assessment (BA). Initiating the Section 7 consultation process without the complete SF-299 information could have resulted in an incomplete or inaccurate BA and required subsequent revisions, potentially creating additional delays in the consultation process.BLM along with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are preparing aBiological Assessment (BA) for the project and anticipates submitting the draft BA to USFWSwithin the next two weeks and a final BA within 45 days. Upon submission of the final BA,BLM will request initiation of Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation.
Current Target Date:
FWS determines ESA Consultation Package is Complete - Formal (Agency Action)
Current Target Date:
ESA Consultation Concludes (Agency Action)
Current Target Date:


View Action's Modification History

Milestone
ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action)
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    The milestone for initiation of Section 7 Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation was not met due to an oversight in the project development process during a change in lead agency designation as well as the need to obtain a complete SF-299 before initiating consultation to provide sufficient project-specific information to inform development of the draft Biological Assessment (BA). Initiating the Section 7 consultation process without the complete SF-299 information could have resulted in an incomplete or inaccurate BA and required subsequent revisions, potentially creating additional delays in the consultation process.BLM along with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are preparing aBiological Assessment (BA) for the project and anticipates submitting the draft BA to USFWSwithin the next two weeks and a final BA within 45 days. Upon submission of the final BA,BLM will request initiation of Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation.
Current Target Date:
Project

All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.

In Progress

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS

icon_calendar

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
04/11/2027

0 out of 5

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED

Conventional Energy Production

SECTOR
Conventional Energy Production

Project Category

CATEGORY
Project Category FAST-41 Covered Projects

Department of the Interior

LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies

Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

Department of the Army

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory

Department of the Interior

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Description:

The Black Bear Natural Gas Development Project is located in the Angelina National Forest in San Augustine County, Texas and includes up to four gas well pads, access roads to the well pads, a main trunk pipeline for the transportation of natural gas and gathering pipelines connecting the well pads. Each well pad will have up to eight proposed wells that will be horizontally drilled into both private and U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed minerals with the intent of producing primarily natural gas.

The Executive Director granted a Bureau of Land Management request to extend completion dates for all actions on June 25, 2026.  The Executive Director Determination is posted here.

field_status
Rejected
System Comments
Agency Milestone Date of 08/11/2026 for ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action) has passed by 1 business days
Approver Comments
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;color:rgb(36, 36, 36);direction:ltr;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-language-override:inherit;font-optical-sizing:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:15px;font-stretch:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-emoji:inherit;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-position:inherit;font-variation-settings:inherit;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:inherit;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><em><i data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">The milestone for initiation of Section 7 Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation was not met due to an oversight in the project development process during a change in lead agency designation as well as the need to obtain a complete SF-299 before initiating consultation&nbsp;to provide sufficient project-specific information to inform development of the draft Biological Assessment (BA). Initiating the Section 7 consultation process without the complete SF-299 information could have resulted in an incomplete or inaccurate BA and required subsequent revisions, potentially creating additional delays in the consultation process.</i></em></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;color:rgb(36, 36, 36);direction:ltr;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-language-override:inherit;font-optical-sizing:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:15px;font-stretch:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-emoji:inherit;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-position:inherit;font-variation-settings:inherit;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:inherit;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><em>BLM along with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are preparing a</em><br><em>Biological Assessment (BA) for the project and anticipates submitting the draft BA to USFWS</em><br><em>within the next two weeks and a final BA within 45 days. Upon submission of the final BA,</em></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;color:rgb(36, 36, 36);direction:ltr;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-language-override:inherit;font-optical-sizing:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:15px;font-stretch:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-emoji:inherit;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-position:inherit;font-variation-settings:inherit;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:inherit;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><em>BLM will request initiation of Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation.</em></div>
Previous Action Status
Planned
New Action Status
Planned
Missed Date Process
Yes
Missed Date Triggered by Extension
No
Agency Notified Date
New Milestone
ESA Consultation Request Package Submitted (Agency Action)
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    The milestone for initiation of Section 7 Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation was not met due to an oversight in the project development process during a change in lead agency designation as well as the need to obtain a complete SF-299 before initiating consultation to provide sufficient project-specific information to inform development of the draft Biological Assessment (BA). Initiating the Section 7 consultation process without the complete SF-299 information could have resulted in an incomplete or inaccurate BA and required subsequent revisions, potentially creating additional delays in the consultation process.BLM along with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are preparing aBiological Assessment (BA) for the project and anticipates submitting the draft BA to USFWSwithin the next two weeks and a final BA within 45 days. Upon submission of the final BA,BLM will request initiation of Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation.
Current Target Date:
Response Date
Reporting Agency
Bureau of Land Management