[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 141 (Thursday, July 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43788-43789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18045]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2015-N132;FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Availability of 
Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plans, Lake, Volusia, and 
Brevard County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received 
three applications for incidental take permits (ITPs) under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Lake County Board of 
County Commissioners requests a 5-year ITP; Property Investment Brokers 
requests a 10-year ITP; and Casabella Development, LLC requests a 5-
year ITP. We request public comment on the permit applications and 
accompanying proposed habitat conservation plans (HCPs), as well as on 
our preliminary determination that the plans qualify as low-effect 
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To make this 
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, which are also available for review.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
August 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the applications and HCPs, you may 
request documents by email, U.S. mail, or phone (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: [email protected]. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE71097B-0'' 
as your message subject line for Lake County Board of County 
Commissioners; ``Attn: Permit number TE71095B-0'' for Property 
Investment Brokers; and ``Attn: Permit number TE71098B-0'' for 
Casabella Development, LLC.
    Fax: Field Supervisor, (904) 731-3191, Attn: Permit number [Insert 
permit number].
    U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Ecological Services Field 
Office, Attn: Permit number [Insert permit number], U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 
32256.
    In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular 
business hours at the above office address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, telephone: (904) 731-
3121; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing 
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 
part 17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as 
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined 
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such 
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we 
issue permits to authorize incidental take--i.e., take that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise 
lawful activity.
    Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. The 
Act's take prohibitions do not apply to federally listed plants on 
private lands unless such take would violate State law. In addition to 
meeting other criteria, an incidental take permit's proposed actions 
must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, 
or plants.

Applicants' Proposals

Lake County Board of County Commissioners

    Lake County Board of County Commissioners is requesting take of 
approximately 1.08 ac of occupied sand skink foraging and sheltering 
habitat incidental to construction of a fire station, and they seek a 
5-year permit. The 6.38-ac project is located on parcel numbers 09-22-
26-110003900000, 09-22-26-110003800000, and 09-22-26-110003800002 
within Section 26, Township 22 South, and Range 26 East, Lake County, 
Florida. The project includes construction of a fire station and the 
associated infrastructure, and landscaping. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for the take of the sand skink by the purchase of 2.16 
mitigation credits within the Hatchineha Conservation Bank.

Property Investment Brokers

    Property Investment Brokers is requesting take of approximately 1 
ac of occupied Florida scrub-jay foraging and sheltering habitat 
incidental to construction of an access road and stormwater pond, and 
they seek a 10-year permit. The 36.38-ac project is located on parcel 
numbers 06183104000410, 06183106080010, 06183106080070, 06183104000460, 
06183104000320, 06183104000540, 06183105060010, 06183105070250, 
06183105070010, 06183105080390, 06183105080350, 06183105080310, 
06183105080250, 06183105080120, 06183105080200, 06183105090010, 
06183105100120, 06183105100140, 06183105100200, 06183106050010, 
06183106050070, 06183106050210, 06183106040300, 06183106040240, 
06183106070420, 06183106040180, 06183106070010, 06183106070011, 
06183106040010, 06183106040090, 06183106030260, 06183106030240, 
06183106080410, 06183106080010, 06183106080070 within Section 6, 
Township 18 South, and Range 31 East, Volusia County, Florida. The 
project includes construction of an access road and stormwater pond and 
the associated

[[Page 43789]]

infrastructure, and landscaping. The applicant proposes to mitigate for 
the take of the Florida scrub-jay through the deposit of funds in the 
amount of $30,654.00 to the Nature Conservancy's Conservation Fund, for 
the management and conservation of the Florida scrub-jay based on 
Service Mitigation Guidelines.

Casabella Development, LLC

    Casabella Development, LLC is requesting take of approximately 1.50 
ac of occupied Florida scrub-jay foraging and sheltering habitat 
incidental to construction of a residential development, and they seek 
a 5-year permit. The 12.64-ac project is located on parcel number 26-
36-24-00-00018.0-0000.00 within Section 31, Township 26 South, and 
Range 37 East, Brevard County, Florida. The project includes 
construction of a residential development and the associated 
infrastructure, and landscaping. The applicant proposes to mitigate for 
the take of the Florida scrub-jay through the preservation of 
approximately 3.47 acres of high-quality Florida scrub-jay habitat 
within the Valkaria Site of the Brevard Coastal Scrub Ecosystem. The 
Applicant will preserve and donate two currently unencumbered parcels 
(Brevard County tax account numbers 2952135 and 2400680) to the Brevard 
County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program so that these 
parcels can be managed and maintained as suitable Florida scrub-jay 
habitat in perpetuity. The Applicant will also provide the EEL Program 
with a $1,200.00/acre (totaling $ 4,164.00) management endowment to 
ensure the continued success of monitoring and maintaining these lands 
as suitable Florida scrub-jay habitat.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have determined that the applicants' proposals, including the 
proposed mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or 
negligible effects on the species covered in their HCPs. Therefore, we 
determined that the ITPs for each of the applicants are ``low-effect'' 
projects and qualify for categorical exclusion under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by the Department of the 
Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1). A low-
effect HCP is one involving (1) Minor or negligible effects on 
federally listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor 
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the HCPs and comments we receive to determine 
whether the ITP applications meet the requirements of section 10(a) of 
the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we determine that the applications 
meet these requirements, we will issue ITP numbers TE71097B-0, 
TE71095B-0, and TE71098B-0. We 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. We will use the 
results of this consultation, in combination with the above findings, 
in our final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITPs. If 
the requirements are met, we will issue the permits to the applicants.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit applications, HCPs, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods 
in ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of 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

    We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Act and NEPA 
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: July 16, 2015.
Jay B. Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2015-18045 Filed 7-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P