[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38886-38887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12713]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0077; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay; Marion County, FL; 
Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from TC Florida Development Inc. (Crossroads 
Industrial; applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the 
Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the 
federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) incidental 
to the construction of a warehouse, loading docks, parking lots, and 
the associated stormwater systems, within an existing industrial park 
in Marion County, Florida. We request public comment on the 
application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination 
that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical 
exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the Department of the 
Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To 
make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental 
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also 
available for public review. We invite comment from the public and 
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before July 14, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0077; 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-2023-0077;
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0077; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 904-731-3121, 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 TC Florida Development Inc. 
(Crossroads Industrial; 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 Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) 
incidental to the construction and operation of a warehouse, loading 
docks, parking lots, and associated stormwater systems within an 
existing industrial park in Marion County, Florida. We request public 
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination 
that this proposed ITP qualifies as low effect, and may qualify for a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 
1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 
CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make 
this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental 
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also 
available for public review.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 10-year ITP to take scrub-jays via the 
conversion of approximately 4.50 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering scrub-jay habitat, incidental to the 
construction and operation of a warehouse, loading docks, parking lots, 
and the associated stormwater systems within an existing industrial 
park on 118.0 ac on parcel numbers 41205-001-01 and 41205-001-02 in 
Section 16, Township 17 South, Range 21 East, Marion County, Florida. 
The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the scrub-jay by 
purchasing credits equivalent to 9.0 ac of scrub-jay occupied habitat 
within the Tippen Bay Conservation Bank or another Service-approved 
conservation bank. The Service would require the applicant to purchase 
the credits prior to engaging in any construction phase of 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 proposed project--including the construction of a 
warehouse, loading docks, parking lots, and the associated stormwater 
systems and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer 
lines)--would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the 
scrub-jay and the human environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily 
determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a 
low-effect ITP that individually or cumulatively would have a minor 
effect on the scrub-jay and may qualify for application of a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's NEPA

[[Page 38887]]

regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. A 
low-effect incidental take permit is one that would result in (1) minor 
or nonsignificant effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) 
nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and (3) impacts that, 
when added together with the impacts of other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable actions, would not result in significant 
cumulative effects to the human environment.

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 
preceding and other matters, 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 PER0046853 to TC Florida 
Development Inc.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-12713 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P