[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 65 (Thursday, April 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16848-16849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06801]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2017-N038; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Availability of 
Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan, Lake County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) from New 
Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (Act). New Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. 
requests a 5-year ITP. We request public comment on the permit 
application 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. 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 
May 8, 2017.

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 hours at the office below. Send your comments or 
requests by any one of the following methods.
    Email: [email protected]. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE19759C-0'' 
as your message subject line for New Beginnings of Central Florida, 
Inc.
    Fax: Field Supervisor, (904) 731-3191, Attn: Permit number 
TE19759C-0.
    U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Ecological Services Field 
Office, Attn: Permit number TE19759C-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: Anthony W. Daly-Crews, telephone: 
(904) 731-3182; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 16849]]

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

    New Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. is requesting take of 
approximately 3.3 acres of occupied sand skink foraging and sheltering 
habitat incidental to the construction of a residential apartment 
complex and seeks a 5-year permit. The sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) 
is listed in 50 CFR 17.11(h) as a threatened species. The 9.67-ac New 
Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. project is located on parcel 09-22-
26-080500900000, within Section 20, Township 22 South, Range 26 East, 
Lake County, Florida. The project includes the construction of a 
residential apartment complex, associated infrastructure, and 
landscaping. New Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. proposes to 
mitigate for the take of sand skinks by purchasing 6.6 mitigation 
credits within the Scrub Conservation Bank.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have determined that the applicant's proposal, including the 
proposed mitigation measures, would have minor or negligible effects on 
the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, we determined that the ITP 
would be for a ``low-effect'' project and qualifies for categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), as provided by the Department of the Interior NEPA 
regulations (43 CFR part 46). 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. If we determine that the application meets these requirements, 
we will issue ITP number TE19759C-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: February 24, 2017.
Jay B. Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2017-06801 Filed 4-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P