[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 217 (Monday, November 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77603-77604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24895]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0196; 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 Enterprise Leasing Company of Orlando, LLC
(Enterprise Car Rental and Sales Clermont, applicant) for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant
requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink (Neoseps
reynoldsi) incidental to the construction of a commercial development
in Lake 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 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 December 13,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0196 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-2023-0196.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0196; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), 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),
[[Page 77604]]
announce receipt of an application from Enterprise Leasing Company of
Orlando, LLC (Enterprise Car Rental and Sales Clermont, 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 federally listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) (skink)
incidental to the construction and operation of a commercial
development in Lake County, Florida. We request public comment on the
application, which includes the applicant's 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 applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 0.182 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of a commercial development on 6.50-ac on Lake County
Parcels 2922260602000001A0 and 2922260602000001C0 in Section 29,
Township 22 South, Range 26 East, Lake County, Florida. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits
equivalent to 0.38 ac of skink-occupied habitat within the Lake
Livingston Conservation Bank or another Service-approved conservation
bank. The Service would require the applicant to purchase the credits
prior to engaging in any construction phase of the project.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's proposed project, including the construction of the
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 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 4062128 to Enterprise
Leasing Company of Orlando, LLC (Enterprise Car Rental and Sales
Clermont; applicant).
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.
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,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-24895 Filed 11-9-23; 8:45 am]
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