[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10202-10203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03287]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2013-N032; FXES11120400000-134-FF04EF2000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Proposed
Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan; Martin 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 a
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). SP Behavioral, LLC (the applicant)
requests an ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 2.99 acres of foraging,
breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the Florida scrub-jay
(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay), Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon
courais cooperii) (indigo snake), and gopher tortoise (Gopherus
polyphemus), incidental to land preparation and for the construction of
the Sandy Pines Residential Treatment Center Addition in Martin County,
Florida. The applicant's HCP describes the minimization and mitigation
measures proposed to address the effects of the project on the covered
species.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on the ITP application and
HCP on or before March 15, 2013.
ADDRESSES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for
information on how to submit your comments on the ITP application and
HCP. You may obtain a copy of the ITP application and HCP by writing
the South Florida Ecological Services Office, Attn: Permit number
TE95653A-0, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero
Beach, FL 32960-3559. In addition, we will make the ITP application and
HCP available for public inspection by appointment during normal
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Landrum, Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see
ADDRESSES); telephone: 772-469-4304.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments
If you wish to comment on the ITP application and HCP, you may
submit comments by any one of the following methods:
Email: Elizabeth_Landrum@fws.gov. Use Attn: Permit number
``TE95653A-0'' as your message subject line.
Fax: Elizabeth Landrum, 772-562-4288, Attn.: Permit number
``TE95653A-0.''
U.S. mail: Elizabeth Landrum, South Florida Ecological Services
Field Office, Attn: Permit number ``TE95653A-0,'' U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off comments or request
information during regular business hours at the above office address.
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
request in your comments that your personal identifying information be
withheld from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Applicant's Proposed Project
We received an application from the applicant for an incidental
take permit, along with a proposed habitat conservation plan. The
applicant requests a 15-year permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we approve the permit, the applicant
anticipates taking a total of approximately 2.99 acres of scrub-jay,
indigo snake, and gopher tortoise breeding, feeding, and sheltering
habitat, incidental to land preparation and construction of additional
residential and educational facilities, installation of associated
infrastructure, construction of courtyards for recreation, expansion of
the parking area and storm water management facility, and construction
of a stabilized service road, in Martin County, Florida. Construction
activities associated with the project will take place within Section
24, Township 40S, Range 42E, Martin County, Florida.
The applicant proposes to mitigate for impacts by one of the three
following methods: (1) Establish and manage in perpetuity a 6-acre on-
site conservation area; (2) establish and manage in perpetuity a 4.54-
acre on-site conservation area and contribute $53,375 to the Florida
Scrub-jay Conservation Program Fund; or (3) contribute $219,348 to the
Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Program Fund. The Service listed the
scrub-jay as threatened in 1987 (June 3, 1987; 52 FR 20715), effective
July 6, 1987. The Service listed the indigo snake as threatened in 1978
(January 31, 1978; 43 FR 4028), effective March 3, 1978. The Service
identified the gopher tortoise as a candidate species in the eastern
portion of its range in 2011 (July 27, 2011; 76 FR 45130) and
determined that listing this species as threatened was warranted but
precluded by higher priority listing actions.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's project, including the mitigation 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'' project and qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by the Department
of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1
[[Page 10203]]
and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1). We base our preliminary 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 project, 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. 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 complies 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.
Authority:
We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Endangered Species
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: February 6, 2013.
Larry Williams,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2013-03287 Filed 2-12-13; 8:45 am]
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