[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56082-56083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19708]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0121; FXES11130400000-223-FF04EF4000]


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.

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 Polk County, Florida (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 roadway 
improvements at an existing paved-road intersection 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. 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 October 13, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0121 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-2022-0121.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0121; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wrublik, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-469-4282 or via email at 
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY,

[[Page 56083]]

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 the Polk County, Florida 
(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 egregius 
lividus) (skinks) incidental to the construction of improvements at an 
existing paved-road intersection in Polk 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.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 2.09 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
of safety improvements at the intersection of County Road 547 and 
Orchid Drive/Holly Hill Road, within a 2.09-ac parcel at latitude 
28.157638[deg], longitude -81.631621[deg], Polk County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 4.19 ac of skink-occupied habitat from a Service-
approved conservation bank. 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 the installation of turn lanes and 
traffic signals at an existing paved roadway intersection, 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 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 
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 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 PER 0049071 to Polk County, 
Florida.

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. 2022-19708 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
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