Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Quail Meadows Apartments Project, City of Encinitas, CA; Categorical Exclusion

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Quail Meadows Properties, LLC (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher incidental to construction of the Quail Meadows Apartments Project, in the City of Encinitas, San Diego County, California. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan, and the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a joint draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which is also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.