Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Scrub-Jay, Volusia County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

Published date12 September 2019
Record Number2019-19725
SectionNotices
CourtFish And Wildlife Service
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 48168-48169]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-19725]
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                DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                Fish and Wildlife Service
                [Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0087; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]
                Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
                Habitat Conservation Plan for the 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 KBC Development (applicant) for an incidental
                take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant
                requests the ITP to take the federally listed scrub-jay 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 October 15,
                2019.
                ADDRESSES:
                 Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
                in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0087 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-2019-0087.
                 U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
                Attn: Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0087; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
                MS: JAO/1N, 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 [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
                announce receipt of an application from KBC Development for an
                incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
                [[Page 48169]]
                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) incidental to the construction of an
                industrial/warehouse 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
                 The KBC Development requests a 10-year ITP to take scrub-jays
                incidental to the conversion of approximately 6.8 acres of occupied
                scrub-jay foraging and sheltering habitat for the construction of an
                industrial/warehouse development located on a 20.6-acre parcel in
                Section 4, Township 19 South, Range 30 East, Volusia County, Florida.
                The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the scrub-jays by
                contributing $208,447.20 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 on the parcel.
                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 measure, would individually
                and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the 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 over time
                result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or
                resources.
                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
                above 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 TE 41049D-0 to KBC Development.
                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.
                [FR Doc. 2019-19725 Filed 9-11-19; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
                

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