[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50044-50045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17885]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090; FXES11140400000-178-FF04EF2000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole
Skink, Polk County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
[[Page 50045]]
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Tampa Electric Company (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink and
blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the construction of an electrical
power substation in Polk County, Florida. We request public comment on
the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination
that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded,
under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 16,
2020.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Nester, by telephone at 772-
469-4226 or via email at lindsay_nester@fws.gov. Individuals who are
hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce
receipt of an application from Tampa Electric Company (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 sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and
blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregious lividus) (skinks) incidental
to the construction of an electrical power substation in Polk 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 this HCP qualifies as ``low-
effect,'' categorically excluded, under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make this determination,
we used our environmental action statement and low-effect screening
form, which are also available for public review.
Project
Tampa Electric Company requests a 10-year ITP to take skinks
through the conversion of approximately 0.233 acres of occupied skink
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of an
electrical power substation located on a 3.13-acre parcel in Section
17, Township 27 South, Range 25 East in Polk County, Florida. The
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing
credits equivalent to 0.47 acres of skink-occupied habitat from a
Service-approved conservation bank in Polk County. The Service would
require the applicant to purchase the credits prior to engaging in any
phase of the project.
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. While you may request that we
withhold your personal identifying information, 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 project, including land clearing, construction of an
electrical substation, and the proposed mitigation measure, would
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the
skinks and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded
that the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion,
and the HCP would be low effect under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR
46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that would result in (1)
minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and
candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts that, when
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonable foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
over time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to
determine whether to issue the requested permit. 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 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 TE77447D-0 to Tampa Electric Company.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) (16 U.S.C.
1539(c)) of the ESA and NEPA regulation 40 CFR 1506.6.
Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-17885 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
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