[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56083-56084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19712]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124; 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 Robbins Investment Company, 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 and operation of 
a commercial 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-2022-0124, 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-2022-0124.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0124; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 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 Robbins Investment Company, LLC 
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.

[[Page 56084]]

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 commercial 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 4.47 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
of a commercial development on a 25.76-ac parcel in in Section 32, 
Township 26 South, Range 27 East, Polk County, Florida. The applicant 
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits 
equivalent to 9.2 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 commercial 
buildings, driveway, parking space, 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 0050427 to Robbins 
Investment Company, 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. 2022-19712 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P