[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 220 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64521-64522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25119]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0121; FXES11140400000-212-FF04EF4000]


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 Maury L. Carter and Associates Inc. (applicant) 
for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the

[[Page 64522]]

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 December 20, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0121 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-2021-0121.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2021-0121; 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]. Individuals who are 
hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce 
receipt of an application from Maury L. Carter and Associates Inc. 
(applicant) (Howland Property) 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 scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) incidental to the 
construction of a mixed-use commercial 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

    Maury L. Carter and Associates Inc. requests a 10-year ITP to take 
scrub-jays by converting approximately 2.20 acres of occupied scrub-jay 
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a 
mixed-use commercial development located on a 36.69-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 the 
contribution of $67,438.80 to the Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund 
(Fund) administered by The Nature Conservancy for the purchase of 4.40 
acres, twice as much habitat as would be destroyed. The Service would 
require the applicant to make this contribution to the Fund within 30 
days following the issuance of the incidental take permit by the 
Service and 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 measure, would individually 
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on 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 PER0017037 to Maury L. Carter and 
Associates Inc.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) 
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-25119 Filed 11-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P