[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84377-84379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24343]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2024-0139; FXES11140800000-234-FF08EVEN00]


Receipt of Application for Renewal of Incidental Take Permit for 
Morro Shoulderband Snail; Kellaway Habitat Conservation Plan; Community 
of Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from Thomas R. Kellaway and Doris J. Redmond 
(permittees), for a renewal of incidental take permit TE48316A (ITP) 
under the Endangered Species Act. The requested renewal would extend 
the ITP by 5

[[Page 84378]]

years from the date of reissuance. The existing ITP authorizes take of 
the federally endangered Morro shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta 
walkeriana) incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with 
the construction of one residence on each of two separate but 
contiguous parcels in Los Osos, an unincorporated community of San Luis 
Obispo County. If renewed, the ITP would not authorize any additional 
take of the species. We request public comment on the application, 
which includes the permittee's 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. We invite comment from 
the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before November 21, 
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-2024-0139 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:
    <bullet> Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2024-0139.
    <bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2024-0139; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debora Kirkland, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6026375836050e14151201293430200617134e070f16"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3375640b65565d474641527a6763735544401d545c45">[email protected]</span></a> 
(email) or 805-677-3321 (phone). 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received an application from Thomas R. Kellaway and 
Doris J. Redmond (permittees), for a renewal of incidental take permit 
TE48316A (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested renewal would extend the 
ITP by 5 years from the date of reissuance. The existing ITP authorizes 
take of the federally endangered Morro shoulderband (=banded dune) 
snail (Helminthoglypta walkeriana) incidental to otherwise lawful 
activities associated with the construction of one residence on each of 
two separate but contiguous parcels in Los Osos, an unincorporated 
community of San Luis Obispo County. If renewed, the ITP would not 
authorize any additional take of the species. We request public comment 
on the application, which includes the permittee's proposed habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination 
that the proposed renewed 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)). We 
invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal 
agencies.

Regulatory History

    The Service listed the Morro shoulderband snail as endangered on 
December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613), and 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, we may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed 
species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the Act as take that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out of an otherwise 
lawful activity. Regulations governing ITPs for endangered and 
threatened species are in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 
17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Issuance of an incidental take permit 
also must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, 
wildlife, or plant species. All species included in the incidental take 
permit would receive assurances under our ``No Surprises'' regulations 
(50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).

Habitat Conservation Plan Area

    The Kellaway HCP area includes two contiguous existing legal 
parcels, one that is 5.08 acres (ac) and the other 0.45 ac, legally 
described as Assessor Parcel Numbers 074-022-042 and 074-483-025, 
respectively. Both are located between Seahorse Lane and San Leandro 
Court in the southwestern portion of the unincorporated community of 
Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California. The current ITP 
authorizes incidental take of Morro shoulderband snail that would 
result from direct impacts to 1.68 ac of coastal dune scrub, maritime 
chaparral, and ruderal habitat occupied by this species. Take would be 
incidental to the otherwise lawful construction of a single-family 
residence on each of the two parcels, along with limited habitat 
enhancement on the larger of the parcels.

Incidental Take Permit History

    We announced receipt of the application from Thomas R. Kellaway and 
Doris J. Redmon (the applicants) for the initial ITP via a Federal 
Register notice published on Friday, July 15, 2011 (76 FR 41811). We 
invited comments from the public on the application, which included the 
Kellaway Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro 
Shoulderband Snail (HCP), which we subsequently determined to be 
eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq; NEPA). We issued 
the ITP on September 21, 2011.
    On September 13, 2016, we announced receipt of an application for 
renewal of the ITP, to extend ITP expiration by 5 years (81 FR 62918). 
We renewed the permit, which did not authorize any additional take of 
the species, and then subsequently renewed the ITP for another 5 years 
on July 6, 2021.
    The current ITP expires on September 20, 2024. The time required to 
process and obtain a coastal development permit from the California 
Coastal Commission was much longer than

[[Page 84379]]

anticipated and required a project redesign. However, this redesign did 
not exceed the 1.68-ac development area or change the amount or form of 
take of Morro shoulderband snail currently authorized in the ITP. The 
permittees have requested no change to the covered species, covered 
activities, or HCP area and commit to fully implement the HCP.

Current Application

    Measures in the HCP to minimize the amount and form of take include 
(1) pre-construction and construction monitoring surveys for Morro 
shoulderband snail within the 1.68-ac impact area, (2) capture and 
moving of all identified individuals of Morro shoulderband snail into 
the conservation easement area by an individual in possession of a 
current valid recovery permit for the species, (3) installation of 
protective fencing, and (4) development and presentation of a 
contractor and employee training program for Morro shoulderband snail. 
Mitigation for unavoidable take of Morro shoulderband snail includes 
(1) preservation in perpetuity of 3.83 ac of coastal dune scrub and 
maritime chaparral habitats occupied by Morro shoulderband snail in a 
conservation easement that will preclude any use not consistent with 
resource management, (2) enhancement of 0.24 ac of disturbed coastal 
dune scrub within the conservation easement to increase its value and 
function for Morro shoulderband snail, (3) post-construction monitoring 
and maintenance of the habitat enhancement activities within 
conservation easement area for a period of 4 years to ensure its 
success, and (4) establishment of a contract with a qualified biologist 
or entity to conduct the Morro shoulderband snail surveys and habitat 
restoration and monitoring to provide assurances that all of the 
minimization and mitigation measures contained in the plan are 
implemented as proposed.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service made the determination in 2016 that ITP renewal would 
not represent a major Federal action that would significantly affect 
the quality of the human environment within the meaning of section 
102(2)(C) of NEPA (September 13, 2016, 81 FR 62918). The project and 
anticipated impacts have not changed since that determination. As such, 
the Service has made a preliminary determination that the applicant's 
proposed project and the proposed mitigation and minimization measures 
would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the species 
and the human environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined 
that renewal of the 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 reasonably foreseeable actions, 
would not result in significant cumulative effects to the human 
environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application for permit renewal and 
the comments received to determine whether to renew the ITP. 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 renew ITP number TE48316A for Thomas 
R. Kellaway and Doris J. Redmond.

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. If you submit 
a comment at https://www.regulations.gov, 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.

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).

Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2024-24343 Filed 10-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>