[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47866-47867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19713]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2012-N191; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of
Applications for Two Incidental Take Permits; Availability of Proposed
Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plans; Reed Motors, Inc. and Clermont
Land Development, LLC, Lake 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), have received two
applications for incidental take permits (ITP). Reed Motors, Inc. and
Clermont Land Development, LLC each request a 5-year ITP under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request public
comment on the permit applications and accompanying proposed habitat
conservation plans (HCPs), as well as on our preliminary determination
that the plans qualify as low-effect under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). To make this determination, we used our
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which are
also available for review.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
September 10, 2012.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the applications and HCPs, you may
request documents by email, U.S. mail, or phone (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: northflorida@fws.gov. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE81294A-0''
for Reed Motors, Inc. and/or ``Attn: Permit number TE81293A-0'' for
Clermont Land Development, LLC as your message subject line.
Fax: David L. Hankla, Field Supervisor, (904) 731-3045, Attn.:
Permit number TE81294A-0 for Reed Motors, Inc. and/or Attn: Permit
number TE81293A-0 for Clermont Land Development, LLC.
U.S. mail: David L. Hankla, Field Supervisor, Jacksonville
Ecological
[[Page 47867]]
Services Field Office, Attn: Permit number TE81294A-0 for Reed Motors,
Inc. and/or Attn: Permit number TE81293A-0 for Clermont Land
Development, LLC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 7915 Baymeadows Way,
Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 32256.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular
business hours at the above office address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, telephone: (904) 731-
3121; email: erin_gawera@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we
issue permits to authorize incidental take--i.e., take that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise
lawful activity.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. The
Act's take prohibitions do not apply to federally listed plants on
private lands unless such take would violate State law. In addition to
meeting other criteria, an incidental take permit's proposed actions
must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife,
or plants.
Applicants' Proposals
The applicants are requesting combined take of approximately 2.65
ac of occupied sand skink foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to
construction of commercial developments, and they each seek a 5-year
permit. The 10-ac Reed Motors, Inc. project is located on parcel
09-22-26-110000700001 within Section 26, Township 22 South,
Range 26 East, Lake County, Florida. The 2.49-ac Clermont Land
Development, LLC project is located on parcel 09-22-26-
160000000100 within Section 29, Township 22 South, Range 26 East, Lake
County, Florida. The projects include construction of two commercial
developments and the associated infrastructure, and landscaping. Reed
Motors, Inc. proposes to mitigate for the take of the sand skink by the
purchase of 1.0 mitigation credits within the Hatchineha Ranch
Conservation Bank. Clermont Land Development, LLC proposes to mitigate
for the take of the sand skink by the purchase of 4.34 mitigation
credits within the Morgan Lake Wales Preserve Conservation Bank.
Our Preliminary Determination
We have determined that the applicant's proposals, including the
proposed mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or
negligible effects on the species covered in the HCPs. Therefore, we
determined that the ITPs are ``low-effect'' projects and qualify for
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), as provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2
Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1). A low-effect HCP is one involving
(1) Minor or negligible effects on federally listed or candidate
species and their habitats, and (2) minor or negligible effects on
other environmental values or resources.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the HCPs and comments we receive to determine
whether the ITP applications meet the requirements of section 10(a) of
the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we determine that the applications
meet these requirements, we will issue ITP TE81294A-0 and ITP
TE81293A-0. We will also evaluate whether issuance of the
section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs comply with section 7 of the Act by conducting
an intra-Service section 7 consultation. We will use the results of
this consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our final
analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITPs. If the
requirements are met, we will issue the permits to the applicants.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit applications, HCPs, and
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods
in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of 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
We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Act and NEPA
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: August 6, 2012.
David L. Hankla,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-19713 Filed 8-9-12; 8:45 am]
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