[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15346-15347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06379]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N048; FXES11120400000-156-FF04EF2000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of 
Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Low-Effect 
Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; Polk 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), announce the 
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and a habitat 
conservation plan (HCP). Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. 
(applicant) requests ITP TE86106B-0 under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 2.54 
acres of feeding, breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the sand 
skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to land preparation and 
construction in Polk County, Florida. The applicant's HCP describes 
proposed minimization measures and mitigation measures to address the 
effects of development on the covered species.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on the ITP application and 
HCP on or before April 21, 2016.

ADDRESSES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for information on 
how to submit your comments on the ITP application and HCP. You may 
obtain a copy of the ITP application and HCP by writing to the South 
Florida Ecological Services Office, Attn: Permit number TE86106B-0, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-
3559. In addition, we will make the ITP application and HCP available 
for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at 
this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alfredo Begazo, South Florida 
Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: 772-469 -4234.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and a 
habitat conservation plan (HCP). Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, 
Inc. (applicant) requests ITP TE86106B-0 under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 
2.54 acres of feeding, breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the 
sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces 
egregius lividus) (skinks) incidental to land preparation and 
construction in Polk County, Florida. The applicant's HCP describes 
proposed minimization measures and mitigation measures to address the 
effects of development on the covered species.

Submitting Comments

    If you wish to comment on the ITP application or HCP, you may 
submit comments by any one of the following methods:
    Email: [email protected]. Use ``Attn: Permit number 
``TE86106B-0'' as your message subject line.
    Fax: Alfredo Begazo, 772-562-4288, Attn.: Permit number ``TE86106B-
0.''
    U.S. mail: Alfredo Begazo, South Florida Ecological Services Field 
Office, Attn: Permit number ``TE86106B-0,'' U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
    In-person drop-off: You may drop off comments or request 
information during regular business hours at the U.S. mail address.

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 
request in your comments that your personal identifying information be 
withheld from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able 
to do so.

Applicant's Proposed Project

    We received an application for an incidental take permit, along 
with a proposed habitat conservation plan. The applicant requests an 
ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If 
we approve the application, the applicant anticipates taking a total of 
approximately 2.54 acres of skink breeding, feeding, and sheltering 
habitat, incidental to land preparation and construction in Section 14,

[[Page 15347]]

Township 30 South, Range 27 East, Polk County, Florida. The applicant 
currently has neither a time frame for development, nor a specific site 
plan; however, development of this parcel would likely include 
construction of one or more structures and a parking area, and 
installation of associated utilities.
    The applicant proposes to minimize impacts to skinks by preserving 
a total of 5.08 acres of skink-occupied habitat off site. The Service 
listed the skinks as threatened in 1987 (November 6, 1987; 52 FR 
20715), effective December 7, 1987.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have made a preliminary determination that the applicant's 
project, including the mitigation measures, will individually and 
cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the species covered 
in the HCP. Therefore, our proposed issuance of the requested ITP 
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by Department of the Interior 
implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). We base our 
preliminary determination that issuance of the ITP qualifies as a low-
effect action on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of 
the project would result in minor or negligible effects on federally 
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) 
Implementation of the project would result in minor or negligible 
effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3) Impacts of 
the project, 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. This preliminary 
determination may be revised based on our review of public comments 
that we receive in response to this notice.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to 
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 
10(a) of the Act. 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. The results of this consultation, 
in combination with the above findings, will be used in the final 
analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP. If it is 
determined that the requirements of the Act are met, the ITP will be 
issued.

Authority

    We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Endangered Species 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: March 14, 2016.
Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-06379 Filed 3-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P