[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25672-25673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08918]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0060; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Orange 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 Ashton Orlando Residential, LLC (applicant; Lake 
Dennis project) 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) incidental to the 
construction of a residential development in Orange 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 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0060; 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-2023-0060;
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0060; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

[[Page 25673]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 904-731-3121 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 Ashton Orlando Residential, LLC 
(applicant; Lake Dennis project) 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) (skink) incidental to the 
construction and operation of a residential development in Orange 
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 
(DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI 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 skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 4.90 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a residential development on a 45.19-ac parcel in 
Section 18, Township 24 South, Range 27 East, Orange County, Florida. 
The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 9.80 ac of skink-occupied habitat within the Lake 
Wales Ridge Conservation Bank or another 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 
single-family residences, driveways, parking spaces, green areas, 
stormwater ponds, and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, 
and sewer lines)--would individually and cumulatively have a minor 
effect on the human environment. 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 
sand skink and may qualify for application of a categorical exclusion 
pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 
CFR 1501.4), DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual 
(516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). 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 reasonably 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 0055690 to Ashton Orlando 
Residential, 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. 2023-08918 Filed 4-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P