[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25680-25681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08928]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0059; FXES11140400000-234-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Lake 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 Lake County (Hooks Street Extension) (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) incidental to the construction of a roadway in Lake 
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-2023-0059; 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-2023-0059;
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0059; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

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 Lake County (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) (skink) 
incidental to the construction and operation of a roadway (Hooks Street 
Extension) in Lake 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 10-year ITP to take skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 1.63 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a roadway on a 17.0-ac in Sections 9 and 27, Township 
22 South, Range 26 East, Lake County, Florida. The applicant proposes 
to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 
3.26 ac of skink-occupied habitat from the Lake Livingston 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 the roadway 
and associated infrastructure--would individually and cumulatively have 
a minor or negligible 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 sand 
skink 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

[[Page 25681]]

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 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 PER 0124344 to Lake County.

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. 2023-08928 Filed 4-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P