37602 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2017–N093; 

FXES11140800000–178–FF08EVEN00] 

Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan 

for the Morro Shoulderband Snail; 

Rothman Parcel, Community of Los 

Osos, San Luis Obispo County, 

California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application from Philip R. Rothman 

and Pamela J. Rothman for a 10-year 

incidental take permit (ITP) under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended. The application addresses the 

potential for ‘‘take’’ of the federally 

endangered Morro shoulderband snail 

likely to occur incidental to the 

construction and maintenance of a 

single-family residence on an existing 

legal parcel and associated 

infrastructure/landscaping in the 

unincorporated community of Los Osos, 

San Luis Obispo County, California. We 

invite comments from the public on the 

application package, which includes a 

draft low-effect habitat conservation 

plan (HCP) and draft low-effect 

screening form and environmental 

action statement, which constitutes our 

proposed National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) compliance. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by 

September 11, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy 

of the draft HCP and draft low-effect 

screening form and environmental 

action statement on the internet at 

http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you 

may request copies of the documents by 

U.S. mail to our Ventura office, or by 

phone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT). Please address written 

comments to Stephen P. Henry, Field 

Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 

93003. You may alternatively send 

comments by facsimile to (805) 644– 

3958. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

M. Vanderwier, Senior Fish and 

Wildlife Biologist, at the Ventura office 

address or by phone at (805) 677–3400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have 

received an application for an incidental 

take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species 

Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 

application addresses take of the 

federally endangered Morro 

shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta 

walkeriana) likely to occur incidental to 

the construction and maintenance of a 

single-family residence and associated 

infrastructure/landscaping. The 

requested permit term is 10 years, and 

the permit would be subject to renewal. 

We invite comments from the public on 

the application package. Issuance of an 

ITP pursuant to this HCP has been 

determined to be eligible for a 

categorical exclusion under NEPA. 

Background 

The Morro shoulderband snail was 

listed as endangered on December 15, 

1994 (59 FR 64613). Section 9 of the Act 

and its implementing regulations (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) prohibit the take of 

fish or wildlife species listed as 

endangered or threatened. Under the 

Act, ‘‘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). Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

Act, we may issue permits to authorize 

take of listed species if it is incidental 

to other lawful activities and not the 

purpose of carrying out that activity. 

The Code of Federal Regulations 

provides those regulations governing 

incidental take permits for threatened 

and endangered species at 50 CFR 17.32 

and 17.22. Issuance of an incidental take 

permit must not jeopardize the 

existence of any federally listed fish, 

wildlife, or plant species. 

The Applicant’s Proposed Project 

The project involves the construction 

and maintenance of a single-family 

residence and associated infrastructure/ 

landscaping on an existing, legal parcel 

in the Cabrillo Estates subdivision of 

Los Osos, County of San Luis Obispo, 

California. The HCP provides the 

support necessary for the Service to 

issue an ITP that would authorize take, 

in this instance, of the Morro 

shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta 

walkeriana). The County of San Luis 

Obispo requires demonstration that the 

property owner is in compliance with 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act), as part of their 

permitting requirements. 

The draft HCP contains two 

alternatives to the proposed action: ‘‘No 

Action’’ and ‘‘Project Redesign.’’ Under 

the ‘‘No Action’’ alternative, an ITP for 

the Rothman single-family residence 

would not be issued. The Rothman 

single-family residence could not legally 

be built, and the mitigation fee would 

not be available to contribute to 

recovery actions for Morro 

shoulderband snails. Since the property 

is privately owned, there are ongoing 

economic considerations (e.g., payment 

of property taxes) associated with 

continued ownership of a property and 

its intended use. The sale of the 

property for purposes (e.g., as a 

conservation easement) other than the 

identified activity is not economically 

feasible. For these reasons, the ‘‘No 

Action’’ alternative has been rejected. 

The ‘‘Project Redesign’’ alternative 

would involve redesign of the Rothman 

project to reduce or avoid altogether 

take of Morro shoulderband snail. This 

alternative was not selected, due to the 

parcel’s small size and marginal value to 

the long-term conservation of the Morro 

shoulderband snail of habitat on the 

site. A reduction or redesign of the 

project footprint would not meet the 

applicants’ needs and would not 

significantly reduce the effects of the 

taking of Morro shoulderband snails 

such that there would be a greater 

benefit to species survival and recovery. 

For these reasons, the ‘‘Project 

Redesign’’ alternative has also been 

rejected. 

Our Preliminary Determination 

We have determined that the 

applicants’ proposal will have a minor 

or negligible effect on the Morro 

shoulderband snail and that the HCP 

qualifies for processing as a low-effect 

plan consistent with our Habitat 

Conservation Planning and Incidental 

Take Permit Processing Handbook 

(December 2016). Three criteria form the 

basis for our determination: (1) The 

proposed project as described in the 

HCP would result in minor or negligible 

effects on federally listed, proposed, 

and/or candidate species and their 

habitats; (2) implementation of the HCP 

would result in minor negligible effects 

on other environmental values or 

resources; and (3) HCP impacts, 

considered together with those of other 

past, present, and reasonably 

foreseeable future projects, would not 

result in cumulatively significant 

effects. It is our preliminary 

determination that HCP approval and 

ITP issuance qualify for categorical 

exclusion under the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), as provided by the 

Department of the Interior 

implementing regulations in part 46 of 

title 43 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 

46.215). However, we may revise our 

determination based upon review of 

public comments received in response 

to this notice. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices 37603 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the permit 

application, including the draft HCP 

and comments we receive, to determine 

whether it meets the requirements of 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will 

also evaluate whether issuance of the 

ITP would comply with section 7 of the 

Act by conducting an intra-Service 

consultation pursuant to section 7(a)(2). 

Public Review 

We request comments from the public 

regarding our preliminary determination 

that the applicant’s proposal will have 

a minor or negligible effect on the Morro 

shoulderband snail and that the HCP 

qualifies for processing as low effect. 

We will evaluate comments received 

and make a final determination 

regarding whether the application meets 

the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) 

of the Act. We will incorporate the 

results of our intra-Service consultation, 

in combination with the above findings, 

in our final analysis to determine 

whether to issue the ITP. If all of our 

requirements are met, we will issue the 

ITP to the applicant. Permit issuance 

would not occur less than 30 days after 

the publication date of this notice. 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

application, HCP, and associated 

documents, you may submit comments 

by either of the methods provided in 

ADDRESSES. 

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. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act and the NEPA public 

involvement regulations (40 CFR 

1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and 1506.6). 

Dated: August 7, 2017. 

Stephen P. Henry, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Ventura, California. 

[FR Doc. 2017–16976 Filed 8–10–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2017–0043; 

FXIA16710900000–178–FF09A30000] 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Receipt of Applications for Permit 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications 

for permit. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered and threatened species. 

With some exceptions, the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities 

with listed species unless Federal 

authorization is acquired that allows 

such activities. 

DATES: We must receive comments or 

requests for documents on or before 

September 11, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submitting Comments: You 

may submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2017–0043. 

• U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 

FWS–HQ–IA–2017–0043; U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

When submitting comments, please 

indicate the name of the applicant and 

the PRT# you are commenting on. We 

will post all comments on http://

www.regulations.gov. This generally 

means that we will post any personal 

information you provide us (see Public 

Comments, below, for more 

information). 

Viewing Comments: Comments and 

materials we receive will be available 

for public inspection on http://

www.regulations.gov, or by 

appointment, between 8 a.m. and 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays, at the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Division of 

Management Authority, 5275 Leesburg 

Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803; 

telephone 703–358–2095. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Russell, Government Information 

Specialist, Division of Management 

Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters, MS: IA; 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803; telephone 703–358–2023; 

facsimile 703–358–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Comment Procedures 

A. How do I request copies of 

applications or comment on submitted 

applications? 

Send your request for copies of 

applications or comments and materials 

concerning any of the applications to 

the contact listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION. Please include the Federal 

Register notice publication date, the 

PRT-number, and the name of the 

applicant in your request or submission. 

We will not consider requests or 

comments sent to an email or address 

not listed under ADDRESSES. If you 

provide an email address in your 

request for copies of applications, we 

will attempt to respond to your request 

electronically. 

Please make your requests or 

comments as specific as possible. Please 

confine your comments to issues for 

which we seek comments in this notice, 

and explain the basis for your 

comments. Include sufficient 

information with your comments to 

allow us to authenticate any scientific or 

commercial data you include. 

The comments and recommendations 

that will be most useful and likely to 

influence agency decisions are: (1) 

Those supported by quantitative 

information or studies; and (2) Those 

that include citations to, and analyses 

of, the applicable laws and regulations. 

We will not consider or include in our 

administrative record comments we 

receive after the close of the comment 

period (see DATES) or comments 

delivered to an address other than those 

listed above (see ADDRESSES). 

B. May I review comments submitted by 

others? 

Comments, including names and 

street addresses of respondents, will be 

available for public review at the street 

address listed under ADDRESSES. The 

public may review documents and other 

information applicants have sent in 

support of the application unless our 

allowing viewing would violate the 

Privacy Act or Freedom of Information 

Act. 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 review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES