[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38887-38888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12714]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0063; 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.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Unicorp National Developments, LLC (Sutton 
Lakes) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the 
Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the 
federally listed sand skink 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 July 14, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0063 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-2023-0063.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0063; 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 Unicorp National Developments, 
LLC (Sutton Lakes) (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 
threatened 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'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 skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 3.49 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a residential development on 137.60 ac on parcel 
numbers 31-24-27-0000-00-009, 31-24-27-0000-00-010, 31-24-27-0000-00-
038, and 31-24-27-0000-00-045 in sections 31 and 32, township 24 south, 
range 27 east, Orange County, Florida. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 
6.98 ac of skink-occupied habitat within the Collany 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 or 
negligible effect on the skinks

[[Page 38888]]

and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that 
the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a low-effect ITP 
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 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 PER1097491 to Unicorp National 
Developments, 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,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-12714 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P