[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 47397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16977]
[[Page 47397]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0087; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay, Volusia County,
FL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from ICI Homes, Inc. (applicant) for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant
requests the ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-jay, a bird
species, incidental to construction in Volusia County, Florida. 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 September 4,
2020.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0087 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0087.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0087; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by telephone at 904-
731-3121 or via email at erin_gawera@fws.gov. Individuals who are
hearing impaired or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service
at 800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce receipt of an application from ICI Homes, 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
the ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens), a bird species, incidental to the construction of a
residential development (project) in Volusia County, Florida. 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, which are
also available for public review.
Project
ICI Homes, Inc. requests a 10-year ITP to take Florida scrub-jays
by converting approximately 9.21 acres of occupied Florida scrub-jay
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a
residential development located on a 113.40-acre parcel in Section 20,
Township 18 South, Range 31 East, in Volusia County, Florida. The
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of Florida scrub-jays by
contributing $282,323.34 to the Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund
administered by The Nature Conservancy. The Service would require the
applicant to make this contribution prior to engaging in activities
associated with 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 land clearing, infrastructure building,
landscaping, and the proposed mitigation funding, would individually
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on Florida scrub-
jays and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded
that the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion
and 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 the comments received
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)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the
Service will issue ITP number TE76784D-0 to ICI Homes, 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.
Jay Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, South Atlantic-Gulf &
Mississippi-Basin Regions.
[FR Doc. 2020-16977 Filed 8-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P