[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25007-25008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08714]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0045; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole 
Skink; Osceola County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Legacy Westside Apartments, 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 
(Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole-skink (Eumeces egregius 
lividus) incidental to the construction and operation of a residential 
development in Osceola 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 May 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0045, 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-2023-0045.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0045; 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 by 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 Legacy Westside Apartments, 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 Osceola 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 proposed ITP qualifies as low

[[Page 25008]]

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. We invite comment 
from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take the two skink species 
via the conversion of approximately 2.86 acres (ac) of occupied 
nesting, foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the 
construction of a residential development on an 18.7-ac parcel, located 
in Section 7, Township 25 South, Range 27 East in Osceola County, 
Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by 
purchasing credits equivalent to 5.72 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 proposed project--including the construction of multiple 
apartments, driveway, parking space, green areas, 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 
skinks 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 nonsignificant 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 ITP. 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 PER0607408 to Legacy Westside Apartments, LLC.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-08714 Filed 4-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P