[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3940-3941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01067]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0117; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF1000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink, Lake County, FL; 
Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Holland Development, Inc. (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink 
incidental to construction in Lake County, Florida. We request public 
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed 
habitat conservation plan (HCP) and the Service's preliminary 
determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically 
excluded, under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this 
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review.

[[Page 3941]]


DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before February 24, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents 
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0117 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
     Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0117.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0117; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
MS: JAO/1N, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by telephone at 904-
731-3121 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Holland Development, Inc. for 
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests 
the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) 
incidental to the construction of a housing development (project) in 
Lake County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, 
which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) 
and the Service's preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as 
``low-effect,'' categorically excluded, under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). To make this 
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, which are also available for public review.

Project

    Holland Development, Inc. requests a 5-year ITP to take sand skinks 
by converting approximately 2.8 acres of occupied skink foraging and 
sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a housing 
development on a 26.89-acre property with parcel ID number 09-22-26-
0700-017000000 in Section 19, Township 22 South, Range 26 East, Lake 
County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the 
sand skinks by purchasing 5.6 credits from the Lake Wales Ridge 
Conservation Bank or another Service-approved sand skink conservation 
bank. The Service would require the applicant to make this purchase 
prior to engaging in activities associated with the project.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we 
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee 
that we will be able to do so.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project, including land clearing, infrastructure building, 
landscaping, and the proposed mitigation measure, would individually 
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on sand skinks and 
the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded that the 
ITP for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion and the 
HCP is low effect under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and 
46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that would result in (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 in 
significant cumulative effects to environmental values or resources 
over time.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to 
determine whether to issue the requested permit. We will also conduct 
an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to 
evaluate the effects of the proposed take. After considering the 
preceding findings, we will determine whether the permit issuance 
criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the 
Service will issue ITP number TE 57069D-0 to Holland Development, Inc.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) (16 U.S.C. 
1539(c)) of the ESA and NEPA regulation 40 CFR 1506.6.

Jay Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, South Atlantic-Gulf & 
Mississippi-Basin Regions.
[FR Doc. 2020-01067 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P