[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 212 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61287-61288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24124]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0122; FXES11130400000EA-123-FF04EF4000]


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.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from VK Avalon Groves LLC (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

[[Page 61288]]

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 December 6, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0122 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-2021-0122.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2021-0122; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 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]. 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 (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from VK Avalon Groves LLC (Serenoa 
Commercial) 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 commercial 
development (project) in Lake 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. 
4231 et seq.). To make this determination, we used our environmental 
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also 
available for public review.

Project

    The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take sand skinks through the 
conversion of approximately 1.2 acres (ac) of occupied sand skink 
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a 
commercial development located on a 24-ac parcel in Section 13; 
Township 24 South; Range 26 East, Lake County, Florida, identified by 
Parcel ID numbers 3-24-26-0200-X01-00000 and 13-24-26-0200-C8B-00000. 
The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skink by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 2.4 acres of occupied habitat from Lake Wales 
Ridge Conservation Bank or another Service-approved conservation bank 
prior to any clearing activities.

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 measures, 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 over time 
result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or 
resources.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 
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 
above 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 PER0015886-0 to VK Avalon Groves LLC.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) 
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-24124 Filed 11-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P