[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3072-3073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00672]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N010; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse, City of Orange 
Beach, Baldwin County, AL; 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 Brett Real Estate Robinson Development Company, 
Inc. (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the 
Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the 
federally listed Alabama beach mouse incidental to construction in the 
City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama. 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 February 18, 
2020

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: Documents are available for public inspection 
by appointment during regular business hours at either of the following 
locations:
     Atlanta Regional Office, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345.
     Alabama Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1208 Main Street, Daphne, Alabama.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so by either of the following methods. Please 
reference TE48280D-0 in all comments.
     U.S. mail: You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Atlanta Regional Office.
     Hand-delivery: You may hand-deliver comments to the Fish 
and Wildlife Service's Atlanta or Alabama Office.
     Email: You may email comments to [email protected]. 
Please include your name and email address in your email. If you do not 
receive an email from us confirming that we received your message, 
contact us directly at either telephone number in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dell, Regional HCP and Safe 
Harbors Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or 
by telephone at 404-679-7313, or William Lynn, Project Manager, at the 
Alabama Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at 
251-441-5868. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce 
receipt of an application from Brett Real Estate Robinson Development 
Company, 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 to take the federally listed Alabama 
beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) incidental to the 
construction of two condominium towers and amenities (project) in the 
City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama. 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, both of which are also 
available for public review.

Project

    The applicant requests a 50-year ITP to take Alabama beach mouse 
(ABM) incidental to the conversion of approximately 0.45 acres (ac) of 
the species' occupied habitat for the construction of two condominium 
towers (192 units) and amenities on a 5.80-ac parcel in Baldwin County, 
Alabama. A condominium was previously located on the parcel but was 
destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. The parcel was left fallow, and 
1.90 ac of ABM habitat re-formed on the site. The applicant proposes to 
implement standard minimization and mitigation measures to mitigate 
take of the species. The measures include installing and utilizing sea 
turtle friendly lighting and tinted windows, landscaping with native 
vegetation, enhancing the frontal dune area, and constructing driveways 
with materials that will not disperse in a storm surge. The applicant 
also will implement refuse control measures during construction and 
require that future residents continue such implementation. Another 
measure is restoration of ABM habitat after tropical storms. Free 
roaming cats and the use of exterior rodenticide would be prohibited 
within the development. There also will be monitoring of the on-site 
ABM population via fall and spring trapping surveys (twice a year) over 
a period of 5 years. Condominium owners would be required to pay an 
annual fee of $201 per unit over the 50-year term of the ITP. The City 
of Orange Beach set up a mitigation fund in which fees would be held 
and used for habitat acquisition, predator control, and/or improvement 
of Alabama beach mouse habitat elsewhere within the City of Orange 
Beach limits.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your

[[Page 3073]]

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 minimization and mitigation measures, 
would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect 
on the Alabama beach mouse and the environment. Therefore, we have 
preliminarily determined that the ITP for this project would qualify 
for categorical exclusion and that 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 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 findings, 
we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 
10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue 
ITP number TE48280D-0 to Brett Real Estate Robinson Development 
Company, 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.

William Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-00672 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am]
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