[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22478-22479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07764]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044; FXES11130400000-223-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay; Indian River
County, FL; 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 Remington Stewart, LLP (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened Florida
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) incidental to the construction and
operation of a commercial development in Indian River County, Florida.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on 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 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044, 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 one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-469-4234 or via email at
alfredo_begazo@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 Remington Stewart, LLP
(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) (scrub-jay) incidental to the
construction and operation of a commercial development in Indian River
County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which
includes the applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on 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 5-year ITP to take scrub-jays via the
conversion of approximately 0.93 acre (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering scrub-jay habitat incidental to the
construction of a commercial development on a 3.11-ac parcel in Section
30; Township 38 South; Range 30 East; Indian River County, Florida. The
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the scrub-jays by purchasing
credits equivalent to 1.86 ac of scrub-jay-occupied habitat from a
Service-approved conservation bank. The Service would require the
applicant to purchase the credits prior to engaging in any construction
phase of 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 the construction of a commercial
building, driveway, parking space, green areas, stormwater pond, and
associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines)--
would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the scrub-
jay 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 scrub-jay 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'' ITP is one that would result in
(1) minor or nonsignificant 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
reasonable foreseeable actions, would not result in significant
cumulative effects to the human environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments 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. After considering the preceding and
other matters, 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 PER0563271 to Remington Stewart, LLP.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16
[[Page 22479]]
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).
Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-07764 Filed 4-12-23; 8:45 am]
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