[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43546-43547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15580]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094; FXES11140400000-212-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 comments and information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Troon Creek 2, LLC (Troon Creek Preserve) 
(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 the construction of a residential 
development 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. 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 August 22, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094; 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 U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), or via phone at 904-731-3121. Individuals in the United 
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech 
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Troon Creek 2, LLC (Troon Creek 
Preserve) (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

[[Page 43547]]

listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) incidental to the construction of 
a residential development (project) in Lake County, Florida. We request 
public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's 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, 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 1.7 acres (ac) of occupied sand skink 
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a 
residential development located on a 34.0-ac parcel in Sections 2, 3, 
and 11, Township 19 South, Range 25 East, Lake County, Florida, 
identified by Parcel ID number 02-19-25-0003-000-05100. The applicant 
proposes to mitigate for take of the sand skinks by the purchase of 3.4 
credits from Lake Wales Ridge Conservation Bank or another Service-
approved conservation bank. The Service would require the applicant to 
purchase the credits prior to engaging in activities associated with 
the project on the parcel.

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, 
residence construction, landscaping, construction, other ground 
disturbance and site preparation activities and the proposed mitigation 
measures--would individually and cumulatively have a minor or 
negligible effect on the sand skink and the environment. Therefore, we 
have preliminarily concluded that the ITP for this project would 
qualify for categorical exclusion and that 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 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 and other 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 PER0028774 to Troon Creek 2, 
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 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-15580 Filed 7-20-22; 8:45 am]
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