[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15259-15260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05666]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2022-0016; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Alabama 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 Rhonda H. Barber (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 April 18, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents 
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0016 at https://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: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0016.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0016; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Lynn, Project Manager, by 
telephone at 251-441-5868 or via email at [email protected]. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Rhonda H. Barber (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 Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus 
polionotus

[[Page 15260]]

ammobates) (ABM) incidental to the construction of a single-family home 
(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 ABM by converting 
approximately 0.20 acre (ac) of occupied ABM foraging and sheltering 
habitat incidental to the construction of a single-family home located 
on a 1.397-ac parcel in Baldwin County, Alabama. The previous single-
family home that was located on the site was destroyed in 2004 by 
Hurricane Ivan. The site was left fallow, and 0.832 acr of ABM foraging 
and sheltering habitat formed on the site. The applicant would impact 
0.20 ac of the occupied 0.832 ac of ABM habitat in constructing the 
single-family home. An existing concrete driveway (0.053 ac) will be 
used in the redevelopment plan to minimize new impacts to the species. 
The concrete driveway may need to be replaced and, if it is replaced, 
additional concrete will be used. The applicant proposes to donate a 
$2.30-per-square-foot in-lieu fee totaling $20,037.60 to the Alabama 
Coastal Heritage Trust (ACHT) for the 0.20-ac impact. ACHT will use the 
donation to manage, maintain, or acquire ABM habitat within the City of 
Orange Beach or elsewhere within the range of the ABM.
    The applicant also proposes to implement standard minimization and 
mitigation measures to remove the remaining nonnative vegetation on 
0.429 ac on the site and restore the area to ABM habitat. The standard 
mitigation and minimization measures to be implemented on the site 
include installing sea turtle-friendly lighting and tinted windows, 
landscaping with native vegetation, enhancing the frontal dune area, 
constructing a concrete driveway that will not disperse in a storm 
surge, implementing refuse-control measures during construction and 
also requiring that future residents utilize such measures, and 
restoring ABM habitat after tropical storms. Free-roaming cats and the 
use of exterior rodenticide will be prohibited within the parcel. Post-
construction ABM habitat on site should total 1.14 ac of the 1.397-ac 
parcel. The Service would require the applicant to donate the total 
contribution to ACHT prior to engaging in any activities on the parcel 
that are 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 and minimization measures, 
would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect 
on the Alabama beach mouse and the environment. Therefore, we have 
preliminarily concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for 
categorical exclusion and that the HCP is low effect under our NEPA 
regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305. 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 on the species. We will 
consider all of the above in determining 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 PER0027719 to Rhonda H. Barber.

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).

William J. Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Service Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-05666 Filed 3-16-22; 8:45 am]
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