[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22738-22739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06892]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0035; FXES48020442171-XXX-FF04EF000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Eastern Indigo Snake; Citrus 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 Florida Department of Transportation--Florida's 
Turnpike Enterprise (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) 
under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to 
take the federally listed eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais 
couperii) incidental to the construction of the Suncoast Parkway 2 
Segment 3A from County Road (CR) 486 to CR 495 in Citrus 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 May 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as 
well as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be 
available for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-
0035; 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-2024-0035;
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0035; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zakia Williams, by telephone at 904-
404-2452 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 Florida Department of 
Transportation--Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (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 federally listed eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais 
couperii) incidental to the construction of Suncoast Parkway 2 Segment 
3A from CR 486 to CR 495 in Citrus 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 eastern indigo snakes 
via the conversion of approximately 28 acres (ac) of suitable eastern 
indigo snake foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the 
construction of the Suncoast Parkway 2 Segment 3A from CR 486 to CR 
495, located in Section 34, Township 17S, Range 17E; Sections 2-4, 9, 
11, 13-14, 24 Township 18S, Range 17E; and Sections 19, 30, Township 
18S, Range 18E, Citrus County, Florida. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for take of the eastern indigo snake through a contribution of 
$4,564 to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida's Eastern Indigo 
Snake Conservation Fund. The Service would require the applicant to 
make this purchase prior to engaging in any construction activities 
associated with the project.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's proposed project, including the construction of the 
Suncoast Parkway 2 Segment 3A and associated infrastructure (such as 
land clearing, toll facilities, and storm water ponds), would 
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the

[[Page 22739]]

eastern indigo snake 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 eastern indigo snake and may qualify 
for application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on 
Environmental Quality's NEPA 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 negligible 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 PER 8411208 to Florida 
Department of Transportation--Florida's Turnpike Enterprise.

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.

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. 2024-06892 Filed 4-1-24; 8:45 am]
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