[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42200-42201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15099]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0089; FXES11130400000-223-FF04EF4000]


Renewal of an Incidental Take Permit for Florida Key Deer and 
Other Protected Species on Big Pine Key and No Name Key, Monroe 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, announce receipt of an 
application from Monroe County (applicant) for a renewal of incidental 
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. If granted, the 
expiration date of the existing ITP, which authorizes take of the 
Florida Key deer, the Lower Keys marsh rabbit, and the eastern indigo 
snake incidental to commercial and residential construction in Monroe 
County, Florida, would be extended for an additional 3 years. The 
applicant is seeking an extension of the ITP expiration date from June 
30, 2023, to June 30, 2026. The application for renewal does not 
include a request to increase the amount of take authorized by the ITP 
or to modify the covered activities under the ITP and the associated 
habitat conservation plan (HCP). We request public comment on the 
application, which includes the applicant's existing HCP and the 
Service's preliminary determination that this ITP renewal 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 August 15, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0089 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 one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0089.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0089; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Powell, by telephone at (772) 
469-4315 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 Monroe County (applicant) for 
renewal of incidental take permit (ITP) TE083411-0 under the Endangered 
Species Act by extending the permit expiration date by 3 years. The ITP 
authorizes take of the Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus 
clavium), the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), 
and the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), via 
destruction of these species' feeding, breeding, and sheltering habitat 
incidental to commercial and residential construction (covered 
activity). The renewal of the ITP would not change the amount of 
covered area, the covered activity, or the amount or type of take or 
the species covered by the HCP and permit. The applicant's mitigation 
for the incidental take of the species also would not change.
    The requested extension will allow the term of the ITP to match the 
County's Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) timeframe (i.e., the timeframe 
for the County to issue building permits for new houses commensurate 
with the ability to safely evacuate the population in the event of a 
major storm). On January 22, 2020, the Monroe County Board of County 
Commissioners (BOCC) extended the timeframe for issuing the remaining 
building permits to match the ROGO for an additional 3 years, from 2023 
to 2026, to provide the County additional time to distribute ROGO 
allocations while the new hurricane evacuation model is run. The 
extension also would allow the County to implement other strategies to 
help transition land into public ownership, reducing the potential for 
fifth amendment takings claims and addressing the overall future build-
out of the Florida Keys.
    We request public comment on the application, which includes the 
applicant's HCP and the Service's preliminary determination that 
renewal of the ITP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded, 
under the National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 42201]]

(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 only to extend the ITP expiration date for 3 
years, from June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2026, and does not seek any 
other modifications, including but not limited to alterations of the 
FWS's original and analyses of the initial ITP application.

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 extending the 
expiration date of the ITP by three additional years would individually 
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the covered 
species and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded 
that renewal of the ITP would qualify for categorical exclusion and 
that this action is low effect under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR 
46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect action 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 received 
to determine whether to renew the ITP by extending the expiration date. 
We will also conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 
7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects of the requested renewal. After 
considering the above findings, we will determine whether the issuance 
criteria for ITP renewal in 50 CFR 13.22 have been met. If met, the 
Service will renew Monroe County, Florida's ITP number PER 0039939 by 
extending the expiration date by 3 years (from June 30, 2023, to June 
30, 2026. The ITP number has been updated to reflect the Service's new 
permit tracking system (ePermits).

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 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-15099 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P