[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 213 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76243-76244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24493]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0199; FXES11140400000-245-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 PMF Leesburg Michigan, LLC (Michigan Property) 
(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 multi-family development 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 December 6, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0199 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-2023-0199.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0199; 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 PMF Leesburg Michigan, LLC 
(Michigan Property) (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 federally listed 
sand skinks (Neoseps reynoldsi) (skink) incidental to the construction 
and operation of a multi-family development

[[Page 76244]]

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 5-year ITP to take skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 1.42 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a multi-family development on 7.78 ac on Parcels 15-
19-24-0605-001-00000 and 15-19-24-0605-003-00100 in Sections 14 and 15, 
Township 19 South, Range 24 East, Lake County, Florida. The applicant 
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits 
equivalent to 2.84 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 phase of the project.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's proposed project, including the construction of the 
buildings and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and 
sewer lines), would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect 
on the sand 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 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 PER1345003 to PMF Leesburg 
Michigan, LLC (Michigan Property).

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.

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. 2023-24493 Filed 11-3-23; 8:45 am]
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