[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3810-3811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02192]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2018-N134; FXES11140400000-178-FF04EF2000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Availability of
Two Habitat Conservation Plans for Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole
Skink, Osceola and Polk Counties, FL
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), have received two
applications for incidental take permits (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act. Florida Bramingham, Inc. (Permit TE94080C-0) and Palmetto
Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC (Permit 94085C-0) (applicants) are requesting
individual ITPs for take of sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink. We
request public comments on these permit applications, each of which
includes a habitat conservation plan (HCP), and our preliminary
determinations that these HCPs qualify as low effect under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To make these determinations, we used
our environmental action statements and low-effect screening forms,
which are also available for review.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before March 15,
2019.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents by any
of the following methods. Be sure to specify clearly the ITP
applications for which you want documents.
Telephone: Alfredo Begazo, at 772-469-4234.
Email: alfredo_begazo@fws.gov.
U.S. mail: Alfredo Begazo, South Florida Ecological
Services Office; Attn: ``Florida Bramingham, Inc. Permit-TE 94080C-0''
and/or ``Palmetto Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC Permit-TE 94085C-0,'' U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; 1339 20th Street; Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
In-person review: The documents are available for public
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the above
address. Please call to make an appointment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alfredo Begazo, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received two applications for incidental take permits (ITPs) under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). Florida Bramingham, Inc. is requesting a 30-year ITP, and
Palmetto Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC is requesting a 5-year ITP for the take
of the federally listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and threatened
blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregious) (skinks). We request public
comment on these permit applications, habitat conservation plans
(HCPs), and on our preliminary determinations that these HCPs qualify
as categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make these determinations, we used
our environmental action statement and low-effect screening forms,
which are also available for review.
[[Page 3811]]
Public Comments
Submitting Comments
If you wish to comment on any of the documents, you may do so via
any one of the following methods. Be sure to specify clearly the ITP
applications on which you are commenting.
Email, U.S. mail, or In-person drop-off: See ADDRESSES.
Fax: Alfredo Begazo, 772-562-4288.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Applicants' Proposed Projects
Each applicant requests a permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act. If we issue either permit, the applicant
anticipates taking sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to
land preparation and construction. The amount of habitat loss for each
proposed project is as follows:
Florida Bramingham, Inc. (TE94080C-0) anticipates
destroying 13.1 acres of species feeding, breeding, and sheltering
habitat incidental to land preparation and construction in Section 14,
Township 25 South, and Range 27 East, in Osceola County, Florida.
Palmetto Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC (TE94085C-0) anticipates
destroying 1.13 acres of species feeding, breeding, and sheltering
habitat incidental to land preparation and construction in Sections 7
and 8, Township 30 South, and Range 29 East, in Polk County, Florida.
Each applicant proposes to mitigate for impacts to the species by
purchasing credits from a Service-approved conservation bank as
follows:
Florida Bramingham, Inc. proposes to purchase the
equivalent of 26.2 acres of credits.
Palmetto Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC proposes to purchase the
equivalent of 2.26 acres of credits.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that each
applicant's project, including the minimization and mitigation
measures, will individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the species covered in its HCP. Therefore, issuance of either
of the ITPs would be a ``low-effect'' action and qualify as a
categorical exclusion under the NEPA, as provided by 43 CFR 46.205 and
46.210. A low-effect HCP is one involving: (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 over time in cumulative effects to
environmental values or resources that would be considered significant.
Next Steps
We will evaluate each HCP and the comments we receive to determine
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service
consultation on each application to evaluate take of the skinks in
accordance with section 7 of the ESA. We will use the results of these
consultations, in combination with the above findings, in our analysis
of whether or not to issue each ITP. If the requirements are met, we
will issue ITP number TE94080C-0 to Florida Bramingham, Inc. and
TE94085C-0 to Palmetto Lake Wales-Hwy 60, LLC.
Authority
We provide this notice under Section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-02192 Filed 2-12-19; 8:45 am]
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