[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50044-50045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17885]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090; FXES11140400000-178-FF04EF2000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole 
Skink, Polk County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

[[Page 50045]]


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

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Tampa Electric Company (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink and 
blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the construction of an electrical 
power substation in Polk 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.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 16, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090 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-2020-0090.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2020-0090; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Nester, by telephone at 772-
469-4226 or via email at [email protected]. Individuals who are 
hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce 
receipt of an application from Tampa Electric Company (applicant) 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) and 
blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregious lividus) (skinks) incidental 
to the construction of an electrical power substation in Polk County, 
Florida. We request public comment on the application, which includes 
the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on 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. 4321 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

    Tampa Electric Company requests a 10-year ITP to take skinks 
through the conversion of approximately 0.233 acres of occupied skink 
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of an 
electrical power substation located on a 3.13-acre parcel in Section 
17, Township 27 South, Range 25 East in Polk County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 0.47 acres of skink-occupied habitat from a 
Service-approved conservation bank in Polk County. The Service would 
require the applicant to purchase the credits prior to engaging in any 
phase of 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, construction of an 
electrical substation, and the proposed mitigation measure, would 
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the 
skinks and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded 
that the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion, 
and the HCP would be 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 
reasonable 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 matters, 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 TE77447D-0 to Tampa Electric Company.

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.

Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-17885 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P