Notice2024-20084
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Audubon's Crested Caracara; Hardee County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
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Published
September 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take a portion of the breeding territory of the federally listed crested caracara (Audubon's) [FL DPS] (Caracara plancus audubonii) incidental to the construction and operation of a phosphate mine in Hardee 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72882-72883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20084]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0134; FXES11140400000-245-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Audubon's Crested Caracara; Hardee
County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicant requests the ITP to take a portion of the breeding territory
of the federally listed crested caracara (Audubon's) [FL DPS] (Caracara
plancus audubonii) incidental to the construction and operation of a
phosphate mine in Hardee 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 October 7,
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-2024-0134 at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
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:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0134.
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-
[[Page 72883]]
ES-2024-0134; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg
Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Begazo, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-226-8134, or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#26474a405443424979444341475c496640515508414950"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b5a575d495e5f5464595e5c5a41547b5d4c48155c544d">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC
(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 crested caracara (Audubon's) [FL
DPS] (Caracara plancus audubonii) (caracara), federally listed as
threatened under the ESA, incidental to the construction and operation
of a phosphate mine in Hardee County, Florida. We request public
comments 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 part 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 approximately 42.7
acres (ac) of the 70-ac primary zone of a caracara breeding territory
incidental to the construction and operation of a phosphate mine on a
4,386.1-ac parcel in Hardee County. The primary zone of a caracara
breeding pair is considered of vital importance for breeding success.
The project site is located east of the South Fort Meade Mine and north
of State Road 64, in sections 1-4 and 12-14, Township 33 South, Range
26 East, sections 5, 6, 8, 9, 14-16, 21-23, and 26-28, Township 33
South, and Range 27 East, at Latitude 27[deg]36'10.1''/longitude
81[deg]36'1.4'', Hardee County, Florida. The applicant proposes to
minimize disturbance on nesting caracaras by conducting all mining
activities within the 70-ac primary zone during the non-breeding
season. To mitigate for the 47-ac portion of unavoidable impacts on the
caracara's primary zone, the applicant proposes to donate $38,000 to
restore 70 ac of caracara habitat per the Service's Audubon's crested
caracara conservation guidelines.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's proposed project, including the construction and operation
of a phosphate mine and associated infrastructure, would individually
and cumulatively have a minor effect on the caracara 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 caracara
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 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 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 ITP number PER11778402 to Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC.
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. If you submit a comment at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, your entire comment, including any personal
identifying information, will be posted on the website. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, such
as your address, phone number, or email address, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
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. 2024-20084 Filed 9-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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