[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 150 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46511-46512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18985]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2012-N066; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of
Application for Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Proposed Low-
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; Charlotte
County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) application and Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP). Wayne Cimato (applicant) requests an ITP under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant
anticipates taking about 1 acre of Florida scrub-jay habitat in
Charlotte County, Florida, for the construction of a single-family
residence and associated
[[Page 46512]]
infrastructure. The applicant's HCP describes the minimization and
mitigation measures proposed to address the effects of the project on
the scrub-jay.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application and HCP should be sent
to the South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES) and
should be received on or before September 4, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may request documents by email, U.S. mail, or fax (see
below). These documents are also available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the office below. Send your
comments or requests by any one of the following methods.
Email: Trish_Adams@fws.gov. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE74559A-0''
as your message subject line.
Fax: Trish Adams, 772-562-4288, Attn.: Permit number TE74559A-0.
U.S. mail: Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator, South Florida Ecological
Services Field Office, Attn: Permit number TE74559A-0, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular
business hours at the above office address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator,
South Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see
ADDRESSES), telephone: 772-469-4232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Wayne Cimato (applicant) anticipates taking
1 acre of habitat used for breeding, feeding, and sheltering by the
Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) in Charlotte County,
Florida. The Service listed the scrub-jay as threatened on June 3, 1987
(52 FR 20715). The listing became effective July 6, 1987.
Applicant's Proposed Project
We received an application for an incidental take permit (ITP),
along with a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP). The applicant
requests a 2-year permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (87 Stat.
884; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we approve the permit, the applicant
anticipates taking 1 acre of Florida scrub-jay habitat for construction
of a single family residence and associated infrastructure. The project
is located on parcel 402413451002 at latitude 26.993037, longitude -
81.866754, Charlotte County, Florida.
The applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 1 acre of
occupied scrub-jay habitat by on-site establishment of a 2-acre
conservation easement to be managed by Charlotte Harbor Environmental
Center, along with a fee of $6,000.00 for perpetual maintenance of the
donated land, within 180 days of permit issuance or before the
commencement of clearing and construction activities, whichever is
sooner.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's project, including the proposed mitigation and minimization
measures, will individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, issuance of the
ITP is a ``low-effect'' action and qualifies as a categorical exclusion
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6), as
provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1), and as defined in our Habitat Conservation
Planning Handbook (November 1996).
We base our determination that issuance of the ITP qualifies as a
low-effect action on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation
of the project would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the project would result in minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of
the plan, considered together with the impacts of other past, present,
and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not
result, over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained
in our environmental action statement and associated Low-Effect
Screening Form, the applicant's proposed project qualifies as a ``low-
effect'' project. This preliminary determination may be revised based
on our review of public comments that we receive in response to this
notice.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) of the Act. The Service will also evaluate whether issuance of
the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP would comply with section 7 of the Act by
conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation. The results of this
consultation, in combination with the above findings, will be used in
the final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP. If it
is determined that the requirements of the Act are met, the ITP will be
issued for the incidental take of the Florida scrub-jay.
Submitting Comments
If you wish to submit comments or information, you may do so by any
one of several methods. Please reference permit number TE74559A-0 in
such comments. You may mail comments to the Service's South Florida
Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via
email to trish_adams@fws.gov. Please also include your name and return
address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation
from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly
at the telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Finally, you may hand deliver comments to the Service office listed
under ADDRESSES.
Availability of Public Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the Act and NEPA
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: July 26, 2012.
Larry Williams,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-18985 Filed 8-2-12; 8:45 am]
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