[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56081-56082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19711]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0122; 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 CG Citrus, 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 and blue-
tailed mole skink incidental to the construction of a residential 
development 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-2022-0122; 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-2022-0122;
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0122; U.S. Fish and Wildlife

[[Page 56082]]

Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-469-4234 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, 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 CG Citrus, LLC (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 and operation of a residential development 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 4.08 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a residential development on an 80.56-ac parcel in 
Section 6, Township 30 South, Range 28 East, Polk County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 8.16 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 construction of multiple single-
family residences, driveways, parking spaces, green areas, stormwater 
pond, and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer 
lines)--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 0050424 to CG Citrus, 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. 2022-19711 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P