[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20901-20902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07356]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2023-0048; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse, Baldwin County,
AL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Sampath Srikanth (applicant) for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant
requests the ITP to take the federally listed Alabama beach mouse
(Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) incidental to construction on Fort
Morgan Peninsula, Baldwin County, Alabama. We request public comment on
the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination
that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical
exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the Department of the
Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To
make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also
available for public review. We invite comment from the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before May 8, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0048 at https://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: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0048.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0048; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Lynn, Project Manager, by
U.S. mail (see ADDRESSES), via telephone at 251-441-5868, or by email
at william_lynn@fws.gov. Individuals in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce receipt of an application from Sampath Srikanth (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 endangered Alabama beach mouse (ABM;
Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) incidental to the construction of a
single-family home (project) on Fort Morgan Peninsula, Baldwin County,
Alabama. 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 proposed ITP qualifies as
``low effect,'' and may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to
the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the
Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's
Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 25-year ITP to take ABM by converting
approximately 0.079 acre (ac) of occupied ABM foraging and sheltering
habitat incidental to the construction of a single-family home located
on a 0.492-ac parcel within the Government Subdivision #1, located on
the central portion of Fort Morgan Peninsula in Baldwin County,
Alabama. The proposed use of the parcel will provide for a compressed
development footprint, which allows for areas of contiguous habitat to
remain post development. Landforms and vegetative communities on the
parcel consist of 0.418 ac of secondary dune ABM habitat. The applicant
would impact 0.079 ac of the occupied 0.418 ac of ABM habitat in
constructing the single-family home. The remaining 0.34 ac of suitable
[[Page 20902]]
habitat on the parcel will be enhanced and perpetually maintained. The
applicant proposes to donate a $2.30-per-square-foot in-lieu fee
totaling $7,921 to the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust (ACHT) for the
0.079-ac impact. ACHT will use the donation to manage, maintain, or
acquire ABM habitat within Fort Morgan or elsewhere within the range of
the ABM.
The applicant also proposes to implement standard minimization and
mitigation measures to retain habitat within all areas outside the core
footprint of the residence and, where possible, augment such habitat
with native landscaping and topographic enhancement methods. The
standard mitigation and minimization measures to be implemented on the
site include installing sea turtle-friendly lighting and tinted
windows, landscaping with native vegetation, enhancing the frontal dune
area, constructing a concrete driveway that will not disperse in a
storm surge, implementing refuse-control measures during construction
and requiring that future residents utilize such measures, and
restoring ABM habitat after tropical storms. Free-roaming cats and the
use of exterior rodenticide will be prohibited within the parcel. Post-
construction ABM habitat on site should total 0.34 ac of the 0.49-ac
parcel. The Service would require the applicant to donate the total
contribution to ACHT prior to engaging in any construction activities
on the parcel that are 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 proposed project, including land clearing, infrastructure
building, and landscaping, and the proposed mitigation and minimization
measures, would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on
the Alabama beach mouse and the human environment. Therefore, we have
preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit would be a ``low-effect'' ITP that individually or cumulatively
would have a minor effect on the ABM and may qualify for application of
a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual. A ``low-effect'' incidental take permit is one
that would result in (1) minor or negligible effects on species covered
in the HCP; (2) nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and
(3) impacts that, when added together with the impacts of other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable actions, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to the human environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We will also conduct
an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to
evaluate the effects of the proposed take on the species. We will
consider all of the above in determining whether the permit issuance
criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the
Service will issue ITP number PER0271956 to Sampath Srikanth.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32)
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40
CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).
William J. Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Service Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-07356 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
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