[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41981-41982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13780]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0070; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Scrub-Jay; Marion County, FL;
Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Richard McGinley and Marion County, Florida
(Florida Crossroads Commerce Park) (applicants) for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicants request
the ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens) incidental to the construction of a warehouse, loading
docks, parking lots, and associated stormwater systems within an
existing industrial park, and incidental to Marion County's expansion
of SW 49th Avenue in Marion County, Florida. We request public comment
on the application, which includes the applicants' 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 July 28,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0070 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-2023-0070.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0070; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 904-731-3121, 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 Richard McGinley and Marion
County, Florida (Florida Crossroads Commerce Park) (applicants), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicants request the
ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens) (scrub-jay) incidental to the construction and operation
of a warehouse, loading docks, parking lots, and the associated
stormwater systems, within an existing industrial park, and to Marion
County's expansion of SW 49th Avenue in Marion County, Florida. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicants' 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 applicants request a 20-year ITP to take scrub-jays via the
conversion of approximately 67.20 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering scrub-jay habitat incidental to the
construction and operation of a warehouse, loading docks, parking lots,
and the associated stormwater systems, within an existing industrial
park, and to Marion County's expansion of SW 49th Avenue on 131.9 ac on
parcel numbers 41205-001002, 41205-001-03, 41205-001-04, 41205-001 in
Section 16, Township 17 South, Range 21 East, Marion County, Florida.
The applicants propose to mitigate for take of the scrub-jay by
purchasing credits equivalent to 134.40 ac of scrub-jay occupied
habitat within the Tippen Bay Conservation Bank or another Service-
approved conservation bank. The Service would require the applicants 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.
[[Page 41982]]
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicants' proposed project--including the construction of a
warehouse, loading docks, parking lots, and Marion County's expansion
of SW 49th Avenue, and the associated stormwater systems 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
incidental take permit 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
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 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 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 PER1971641 to Richard McGinley
and Marion County (Florida Crossroads Commerce Park).
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,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-13780 Filed 6-27-23; 8:45 am]
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