[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56083-56084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19712]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124; FXES11130400000-223-FF04EF4000]
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.
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 Robbins Investment Company, LLC (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 and operation of
a commercial development 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. 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 October 13,
2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124, 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:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-469-4234 or via email at
afredo_begazo@fws.gov. 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 Robbins Investment Company, LLC
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
[[Page 56084]]
1531 et seq.). The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally
listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole-skink
(Eumeces egregius lividus) (skinks) incidental to the construction and
operation of a commercial development in Polk County, Florida. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's 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, both of which are also available for public
review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 4.47 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
of a commercial development on a 25.76-ac parcel in in Section 32,
Township 26 South, Range 27 East, Polk County, Florida. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits
equivalent to 9.2 ac of skink-occupied habitat from a Service-approved
conservation bank. 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 the construction of multiple commercial
buildings, driveway, parking space, green areas, stormwater pond, and
associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines)--
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 that the HCP is 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
reasonably 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 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 PER 0050427 to Robbins
Investment Company, LLC.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32),
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).
Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-19712 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
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