[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: [email protected].
     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]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P