[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53515-53516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16913]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0149; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay; Brevard 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 CenterPoint Integrated Solutions, LLC
(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 Brevard
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 September 7,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0149, 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-2023-0149;
or
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0149; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by telephone at 772-
469-4234, or via email at [email protected]. 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 CenterPoint Integrated
Solutions, 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; scrub-jay) incidental to
the construction and operation of a commercial development in Brevard
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
[[Page 53516]]
approximately 3.4 acre (ac) of occupied nesting, foraging, and
sheltering scrub-jay habitat incidental to the construction of a
commercial development on a 11.87-ac parcel in Section 20, Township 28
South, Range 37 East, Brevard County, Florida. The applicant proposes
to mitigate for take of the scrub-jays by purchasing credits equivalent
to 6.8 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 proposed 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 PER2768044 to CenterPoint Integrated Solutions,
LLC.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act
(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. 2023-16913 Filed 8-7-23; 8:45 am]
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