[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3072-3073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00672]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N010; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse, City of Orange
Beach, Baldwin County, AL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Brett Real Estate Robinson Development Company,
Inc. (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 incidental to construction in the
City of Orange Beach, 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 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: Documents are available for public inspection
by appointment during regular business hours at either of the following
locations:
Atlanta Regional Office, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345.
Alabama Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1208 Main Street, Daphne, Alabama.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so by either of the following methods. Please
reference TE48280D-0 in all comments.
U.S. mail: You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Atlanta Regional Office.
Hand-delivery: You may hand-deliver comments to the Fish
and Wildlife Service's Atlanta or Alabama Office.
Email: You may email comments to david_dell@fws.gov.
Please include your name and email address in your email. If you do not
receive an email from us confirming that we received your message,
contact us directly at either telephone number in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dell, Regional HCP and Safe
Harbors Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or
by telephone at 404-679-7313, or William Lynn, Project Manager, at the
Alabama Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at
251-441-5868. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce
receipt of an application from Brett Real Estate Robinson Development
Company, Inc. (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 to take the federally listed Alabama
beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) incidental to the
construction of two condominium towers and amenities (project) in the
City of Orange Beach, 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 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, both of which are also
available for public review.
Project
The applicant requests a 50-year ITP to take Alabama beach mouse
(ABM) incidental to the conversion of approximately 0.45 acres (ac) of
the species' occupied habitat for the construction of two condominium
towers (192 units) and amenities on a 5.80-ac parcel in Baldwin County,
Alabama. A condominium was previously located on the parcel but was
destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. The parcel was left fallow, and
1.90 ac of ABM habitat re-formed on the site. The applicant proposes to
implement standard minimization and mitigation measures to mitigate
take of the species. The measures include installing and utilizing sea
turtle friendly lighting and tinted windows, landscaping with native
vegetation, enhancing the frontal dune area, and constructing driveways
with materials that will not disperse in a storm surge. The applicant
also will implement refuse control measures during construction and
require that future residents continue such implementation. Another
measure is restoration of ABM habitat after tropical storms. Free
roaming cats and the use of exterior rodenticide would be prohibited
within the development. There also will be monitoring of the on-site
ABM population via fall and spring trapping surveys (twice a year) over
a period of 5 years. Condominium owners would be required to pay an
annual fee of $201 per unit over the 50-year term of the ITP. The City
of Orange Beach set up a mitigation fund in which fees would be held
and used for habitat acquisition, predator control, and/or improvement
of Alabama beach mouse habitat elsewhere within the City of Orange
Beach limits.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your
[[Page 3073]]
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 minimization and mitigation measures,
would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect
on the Alabama beach mouse and the environment. Therefore, we have
preliminarily determined that the ITP for this project would qualify
for categorical exclusion and that 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 comments 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)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue
ITP number TE48280D-0 to Brett Real Estate Robinson Development
Company, Inc.
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.
William Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-00672 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P