[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3075-3076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00663]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0001; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Scrub-Jay, Brevard County, FL;
Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Dean Wooley (applicant) for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests
the ITP to take the federally listed scrub-jay incidental to
construction in Brevard County, Florida. We request public comment on
the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP) and the Service's preliminary determination
that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded,
under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before February 18,
2020.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0001 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0001.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0001; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: JAO/1N, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by telephone at 904-
731-3121 or via email at erin_gawera@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce receipt of an application from Dean Wooley (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests the
ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens) incidental to the construction of a residential
development (project) in Brevard County, Florida. We request public
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed
habitat conservation plan (HCP) and the Service's preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically
excluded, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4231 et seq.). To make this determination, we used our environmental
action statement and
[[Page 3076]]
low-effect screening form, which are also available for public review.
Project
Dean Wooley requests a 5-year ITP to take scrub-jays incidental to
converting approximately 1.02 acres (ac) of occupied scrub-jay foraging
and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of residential
homes located on five lots with Tax ID numbers 2943000, 2942922,
2942997, 2942925, and 2942940, totaling 6.73 ac in Section 27, Township
29 South, and Range 37 East, Brevard County, Florida. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for take of the scrub-jays by contributing
$58,507.00 to the Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund, which is
administered by The Nature Conservancy. The Service would require the
applicant to make this contribution prior to engaging in activities
associated with the project.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee
that we will be able to do so.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's project, including land clearing, infrastructure building,
landscaping, and the proposed mitigation measure, would individually
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the scrub-jays
and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded that
the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion and
the HCP is low effect under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and
46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that would result in (1) minor or
negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species
and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts that, when
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not over time
result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or
resources.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether to issue the requested permit. We will also
conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA
to evaluate the effects of the proposed take. After considering the
above findings, we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service
will issue ITP number TE 56400D-0 to Dean Wooley.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) (16 U.S.C.
1539(c)) of the ESA and NEPA regulation 40 CFR 1506.6.
Jay Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-00663 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am]
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