[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53514-53515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16936]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0150; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Lake County, FL;
Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Helen Crittenden et al. (Helen Crittenden,
Alexander van den Berg, and Nancy van den Berg; applicants) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicants request the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink
incidental to the construction of a residential development in Lake
County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which
includes the applicants' proposed 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. To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and
Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 7,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0150 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-2023-0150;
or
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0150; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by telephone at 904-731-
3121 or via email at [email protected]. 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 Helen Crittenden et al. (Helen
Crittenden, Alexander van den Berg, and Nancy van den Berg)
(applicants) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The
applicants request the ITP to take federally listed sand skinks
(Neoseps reynoldsi) (skink) incidental to the construction and
operation of a commercial and residential development in Lake County,
Florida. We request public comment on the application, which includes
the applicants' habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's
preliminary determination that this proposed 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)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared
a draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form,
both of which are also available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicants request a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 0.63 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of a commercial and residential development on 111.53-ac
on parcel numbers 22-21-25-0003-0000-1800, 22-21-25-0003-0000-1000, 22-
21-25-0003-0000-1901, 22-21-25-0003-0000-1902, and 22-21-25-0003-0000-
1700 in Sections 21, 22, 27 and 28, Township 21 South, Range 25 East,
Lake County, Florida. The applicants propose to mitigate for take of
the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 1.26 ac
[[Page 53515]]
of skink-occupied habitat within the Lake Wales Ridge Conservation Bank
or another Service-approved conservation bank. The Service would
require the applicants to purchase the credits prior to engaging in any
construction 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
applicants' proposed project, including the construction of commercial
and residential buildings and associated infrastructure (e.g.,
electric, water, and sewer lines), would individually and cumulatively
have a minor effect on the sand skink and the human environment.
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a low-effect ITP that individually
or cumulatively would have a minor effect on the sand skink 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 incidental
take permit 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 and the comments to
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. 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 PER0549463 to the applicants.
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).
Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-16936 Filed 8-7-23; 8:45 am]
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