[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16554-16556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6776]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2012-N057: 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of
Applications for Incidental Take Permits; Availability of Proposed Low-
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; Sarasota
County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
[[Page 16555]]
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of incidental take permit (ITP) applications and a Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP). Walter and Marilyn Krieseder, Brian and Pamela
Sullivan, and Fritz and Ping Faulhaber (applicants) request ITPs under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants
anticipate taking approximately 0.43 acres of nesting habitat of
endangered and threatened sea turtle species in Sarasota County,
Florida, for the construction of a shoreline armoring structure. The
applicants' HCP describes the minimization and mitigation measures
proposed to address the effects of the project on nesting sea turtles.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP applications and HCP should be sent
to the South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES) and
should be received on or before April 20, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may request documents by email, U.S. mail, or fax (see
below). These documents are also available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the office below. Send your
comments or requests by any one of the following methods.
Email: Trish_Adams@fws.gov. Use ``Attn: Permit numbers TE65165A-0,
TE65167A-0, and TE65168A-0'' as your message subject line.
Fax: Trish Adams, (772) 562-4288, Attn: Permit numbers TE65165A-0,
TE65167A-0, and TE65168A-0.
U.S. mail: Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator, South Florida Ecological
Services Field Office, Attn: Permit numbers TE65165A-0, TE65167A-0, and
TE65168A-0, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero
Beach, FL 32960-3559.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular
business hours at the above office address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator,
South Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see
ADDRESSES); telephone: 772-562-3909, extension 232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicants anticipate taking beach
nesting habitat of the threatened loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta
caretta), endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea),
endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), endangered hawksbill sea
turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and endangered Kemp's ridley sea
turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) in Sarasota County, Florida. The Service
listed both the leatherback and hawksbill sea turtle as endangered on
June 2, 1970 (35 FR 8491), and the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle as
endangered on December 2, 1970 (35 FR 18320). The Service listed the
loggerhead as threatened and the green sea turtle as endangered in the
same final rule, on July 28, 1978 (43 FR 32800).
Applicants' Proposed Project
We have received applications for incidental take permits, along
with a proposed habitat conservation plan. The applicants request 5-
year permits under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (87 Stat. 884; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we approve the permits, the applicants
anticipate taking a total of 0.43 acres of sea turtle nesting habitat
for the installation of a geotextile dune core system (an engineered
dune feature constructed with tiered sand-filled geotextile containers
as its core that is regularly maintained with 3 feet of beach
compatible sand), dune crossovers (a stairway over the engineered dune
to the beach), and native vegetation; post-construction maintenance
throughout the life of the project (e.g., ongoing placement and regular
maintenance of sand cover); and response to Emergency Management Events
(e.g., events triggered by exposure or less than 3 feet of sand cover
over the core). The project is located at latitude 27.1563, longitude -
82.4848, Sarasota County, Florida. The project includes Sarasota County
Parcels 0159-25-0006, 0159-24-0003, and 0159-24-0001. Parts of these
parcels include sea turtle nesting habitat.
The applicants propose to mitigate for potential take of sea
turtles as a result of the project through implementation of a predator
control program. The applicants will contract with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture to implement a trap and removal program targeting
raccoons; this program would begin during the first nesting season post
ITP issuance. The applicants' ability to financially cover the costs of
implementing the HCP--such as mitigation, sea turtle monitoring,
physical monitoring, maintenance of sand coverage, and removal of the
dune core container system--are assured by: (a) Funds that will be
placed annually in an escrow managed by the Coastal Engineer of Record
(CEOR) in an amount equal to the estimated costs of mitigation, sea
turtle monitoring, HCP Coordinator, and physical monitoring; and (b) a
Financial Assurance Agreement between applicants, the State of Florida,
and Sarasota County that is guaranteed by a major financial
institution(s) in accordance with Chapter 62B-56.090 F.A.C.
All annual fees are to be paid into an escrow account managed by
the CEOR. The account will be managed in accordance with a Joint
Maintenance Agreement signed by each applicant. Approximately $243,900
has been committed for physical and biological monitoring, sand
placement construction, and mitigation over the course of the requested
5-year permit. In addition, $122,500 has been committed for anticipated
removal/restoration costs for the entire project, including the small
portion of the dune core system located on the Crouse (2315 Cay Key
Road) and Meekison (2207 Casey Key Road) properties, to tie into the
seawalls on these properties.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicants' project, including the proposed minimization and mitigation
measures, will individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, issuance of the
ITPs is a ``low-effect'' action and qualifies as a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR
1506.6), as provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2
Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1), and as defined in our Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996).
We base our determination that issuance of the ITPs qualifies as a
low-effect action on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation
of the project would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
Implementation of the project would result in minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3) Impacts of
the project, considered together with the impacts of other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would
not result, over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained
in our environmental action statement and associated Low-Effect
Screening Form, the applicants' proposed project qualifies as a ``low-
effect'' project. This preliminary determination may be revised based
on our review of public comments that we receive in response to this
notice.
[[Page 16556]]
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments received to
determine whether the applications meet the requirements of section
10(a) of the Act. The Service will also evaluate whether issuance of
the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs complies with section 7 of the Act by
conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation. The results of this
consultation, in combination with the above findings, will be used in
the final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITPs. If it
is determined that the requirements of the Act are met, the ITPs will
be issued for the incidental take of loggerhead, green, leatherback,
hawksbill, and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.
Submitting Comments
If you wish to submit comments or information, you may do so by any
one of several methods. Please reference permit numbers TE65165A-0,
TE65167A-0, and TE65168A-0 in such comments. You may mail comments to
the Service's South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES).
You may also submit comments via email to trish_adams@fws.gov. Please
also include your name and return address in your email message. If you
do not receive a confirmation from us that we have received your email
message, contact us directly at the telephone number listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally, you may hand deliver comments to
the Service office listed under ADDRESSES.
Availability of Public Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the Act and NEPA
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 15, 2012.
Larry Williams,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-6776 Filed 3-20-12; 8:45 am]
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