[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46150-46151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11656]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2024-0001; FXES11140800000-234-FF08EVEN00]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail, San Luis 
Obispo County, CA; 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 Ken Carlson (applicant) for an incidental take 
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests 
the ITP to take the federally listed Morro shoulderband snail 
(Helminthoglypta walkeriana) incidental to construction of a single-
family residence at 2045 Pine Avenue, San Luis Obispo County, 
California. We request public comment on the application, which 
includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and 
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 June 27, 
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-R8-ES-2024-0001 at 
https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments in writing by one of 
the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2024-0001.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: FWS-R8-ES-
2024-0001; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 
Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Brandt, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by email at [email protected], via phone at 805-644-
1766, or by U.S. mail at 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. 
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 Ken Carlson (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 Morro shoulderband snail 
(Helminthoglypta walkeriana) incidental to construction of a single-
family residence at 2045 Pine Avenue, San Luis Obispo County, 
California. 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 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.

Background

    On December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613), the Service listed the 
Arctostaphylos morroensis (Morro manzanita) as threatened and the Morro 
shoulderband snail as endangered. The Service subsequently reclassified 
the Morro shoulderband snail from endangered to threatened on February 
3, 2022 (87 FR 6063). Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish 
and wildlife species listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538), where take 
is defined to include the following activities: ``to harass, harm, 
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to 
attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). The take 
prohibitions of section 9 are extended to species listed as threatened 
at the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, 
and were extended to Morro shoulderband snail, with exceptions. The 
Service published a 4(d) rule, which includes exceptions to incidental 
take associated with native habitat enhancement and fire reduction 
activities (February 3, 2022, 87 FR 6063).
    Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we 
may issue permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species 
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an 
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take 
permits for endangered and threatened species are in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. 
Issuance of an ITP also must not jeopardize the existence of federally 
listed fish, wildlife, or plant species. The permittee would receive 
assurances under our ``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) 
and 17.32(b)(5)).

Applicant's Proposed Activities

    The applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of the 
Morro shoulderband snail. The take would occur in association with 
activities necessary for the construction of a single-family home, 
installation of a driveway, and installation of a septic system and 
utilities on 0.41 acres of low-quality Morro shoulderband snail 
habitat. A Fire Hazard Reduction Plan has been approved by the Service 
for the parcel. As a result, fire hazard reduction activities on the 
remaining 1.59 acres will be exempt from section 9 take prohibitions 
under the 4d Rule exemption.
    The HCP includes avoidance and minimization measures for the Morro 
shoulderband snail, and mitigation for unavoidable loss of occupied 
habitat. The applicant will commensurately

[[Page 46151]]

offset impacts through a Service-approved mechanism such as an in-lieu 
program, conservation bank, or species account, which would go toward 
accomplishing the recovery goals for the species, such as restoration 
and protection of habitat.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public view, 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 would individually and cumulatively have a 
minor effect on the Morro shoulderband snail 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 species 
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'' ITP 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 reasonable foreseeable actions, would not 
result in significant cumulative effects to the human environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 
to determine whether to issue the requested ITP. 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 an ITP to the applicant.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations 
(50 CFR 17.22 and 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).

Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2024-11656 Filed 5-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P