[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18576-18577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06494]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0039; 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.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from JDT of Central Florida (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened sand skink 
(Plestiodon reynoldsi) and the federally threatened blue-tailed mole-
skink (Eumeces egregius lividus) 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 the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the 
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI 
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we 
prepared a draft environmental action statement and low-effect 
screening form, both of which are also available for public review. We 
invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal 
agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before April 28, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0039; 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-2023-0039;
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0039; 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 JDT of Central 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 
(Plestiodon 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 habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination 
that this proposed ITP qualifies as ``low effect,'' and may qualify for 
a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 
1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 
CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make 
this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft 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 two skink species via 
the conversion of approximately 1.53 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a residential development on a 14.34-ac parcel in 
Section 13, Township 26 South, Range 27 East, Polk County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 3.06 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 construction 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,

[[Page 18577]]

stormwater pond, and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, 
and sewer lines)--would individually and cumulatively have a minor 
effect on the skinks and the environment. Therefore, we have 
preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) 
permit would be a ``low-effect'' ITP that individually or cumulatively 
would have a minor effect on the species and may qualify for 
application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on 
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and 
the DOI Departmental Manual. A ``low-effect'' incidental take permit is 
one that would result in (1) minor or negligible effects on species 
covered in the HCP; (2) nonsignificant effects on the human 
environment; and (3) impacts that, when added together with the impacts 
of other past, present, and reasonable foreseeable actions, would not 
result in significant cumulative effects to the human environment.

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 0068766 to JDT of Central 
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 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-06494 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
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