[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3074-3075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00680]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N007; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Perdido Key Beach Mouse, 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 the city of Orange Beach (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed Perdido Key 
beach mouse incidental to construction in 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 low-effect screening form, which 
is 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.
     Panama City Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, 1601 Balboa Ave., Panama City, Florida.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so by any one of the following methods. Please 
reference TE48931D-0 in all comments. For additional guidance on 
submitting comments, please see Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.
     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 
Atlanta or the Florida offices.
     Email: You may email comments to [email protected]. 
Please include your name and email address in your message. If you do 
not receive an email confirmation from us that we have received your 
email message, contact us directly at either telephone number in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Willis, Assistant Regional 
HCP Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or by 
telephone at 404-679-7310 or Kristi Yanchis, Project Manager, at the 
Panama City Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES) or by 
telephone at 850-769-0552. If you use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

[[Page 3075]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce 
receipt of an application from the city of Orange Beach, Alabama 
(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 Perdido Key 
beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis; PKBM), incidental to 
construction in occupied PKBM habitat in 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 available for public review.

Project

    The applicant requests a 30-year ITP to take PKBM via the 
conversion of approximately 36.87 acres (ac) of occupied PKBM habitat 
on 73.74-ac parcel incidental to construction. The 73.74-ac parcel also 
contains 32.97 ac of PKBM critical habitat. The city of Orange Beach 
HCP (TE48931D) proposes minimization measures that are consistent with 
the previously approved Escambia County Perdido Key HCP permit 
(TE46592A) including proactive planning, conservation corridors, 
seasonality considerations, predator control, trash collection, dune 
restoration, wildlife lighting, vehicle access management, and public 
education. To mitigate for unavoidable impacts, contributions will be 
made to an in-lieu fee mitigation fund, and annual assessment fees will 
be paid into a PKBM fund.

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 program, including land clearing, infrastructure building, 
landscaping, and proposed minimization and mitigation measures, would 
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the 
PKBM and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded 
that the requested ITP 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 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)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will 
issue ITP number TE48931D to the city of Orange Beach.

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.

Sean Blomquist,
Acting Field Supervisor, Panama City Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-00680 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am]
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