[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 47396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16983]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0088; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay, Volusia 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 Freedom Construction USA, LLC (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-
jay, a bird species, incidental to construction in Volusia 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 September 4,
2020.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0088 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-2020-0088.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2020-0088; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 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. Individuals who are
hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce
receipt of an application from Freedom Construction USA, LLC
(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), a bird species, incidental to the
construction of multi-family homes (project) in Volusia 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 low-effect screening
form, which are also available for public review.
Project
Freedom Construction USA, LLC requests a 5-year ITP to take Florida
scrub-jays through the conversion of approximately 0.17 acres of
occupied Florida scrub-jay foraging and sheltering habitat incidental
to the construction of multi-family homes located on a 0.64-acre parcel
in Sections 13 and 14, Township 18 South, and Range 31 East, in Volusia
County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the
Florida scrub-jays by the contribution of $5,180.58 to the Florida
Scrub-Jay Conservation Fund 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 Florida 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 result in
significant cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
over time.
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
preceding 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 TE76013D-0 to Freedom Construction USA,
LLC.
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. 2020-16983 Filed 8-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P