[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9724-9725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03038]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2013-N015; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of 
Application for Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Proposed Low-
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan; Florida Power Corporation, Progress 
Energy Florida Inc., Lake County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an 
application from Florida Power Corporation, Progress Energy Florida 
Inc. (applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP). The applicant 
requests a 20-year ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (Act). We request public comment on the permit application 
(TE93592A-0) and accompanying proposed habitat conservation 
plan (HCP), as well as on our preliminary determination that the plan 
qualifies as low-effect under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA). To make this determination, we used our environmental action 
statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for 
review.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
March 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the application and HCP, you may 
request documents by email, U.S. mail, or phone (see below). These 
documents are also available for public inspection by appointment 
during normal business

[[Page 9725]]

hours at the office below. Send your comments or requests by any one of 
the following methods.
    Email: [email protected]. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE93592A-0'' 
as your message subject line.
    Fax: Dawn Jennings, Acting Field Supervisor, (904) 731-3045, Attn.: 
Permit number TE93592A-0.
    U.S. mail: Dawn Jennings, Acting Field Supervisor, Jacksonville 
Ecological Services Field Office, Attn: Permit number TE93592A-0, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, 
Jacksonville, FL 32256.
    In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular 
business hours at the above office address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, telephone: (904) 731-
3121; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing 
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 
part 17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as 
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined 
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such 
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we 
issue permits to authorize incidental take--i.e., take that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise 
lawful activity.
    Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. The 
Act's take prohibitions do not apply to federally listed plants on 
private lands unless such take would violate State law. In addition to 
meeting other criteria, an incidental take permit's proposed actions 
must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, 
or plants.

Applicant's Proposal

    The applicant is requesting take of approximately 8.95 ac of 
occupied sand skink foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to 
construction of a commercial development, and seeks a 20-year permit. 
The 18.6-ac project site is located on parcel  27-22-26-
000300000700 within Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 26 East, Lake 
County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for the take of the 
sand skink by the purchase of 17.9 mitigation credits within the 
Collany Conservation Bank.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have determined that the applicant's proposal, including the 
proposed mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or 
negligible effects on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, we 
determined that the ITP is a ``low-effect'' project and qualifies for 
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), as provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 
Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1). A low-effect HCP is one involving 
(1) Minor or negligible effects on federally listed or candidate 
species and their habitats, and (2) minor or negligible effects on 
other environmental values or resources.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the HCP and comments we receive to determine 
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of 
the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we determine that the application 
meets these requirements, we will issue ITP  TE93592A-0. We 
will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP 
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service 
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, 
in combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to 
determine whether or not to issue the ITP. If the requirements are met, 
we will issue the permit to the applicant.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit application, HCP, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods 
in ADDRESSES.

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 can 
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.

Authority

    We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Act and NEPA 
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: January 30, 2013.
Dawn Jennings,
Acting Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-03038 Filed 2-8-13; 8:45 am]
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