[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22176-22177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06693]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0036; FXES11140400000-245-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 comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from the Toho Water Authority (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 of the Westside Boulevard 
Extension 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 April 29, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well 
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available 
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0036 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-2024-0036.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0036; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wrublik, by telephone at 772-226-
8130 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 the Toho Water Authority 
(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 of the Westside 
Boulevard Extension 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 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 part 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 9.2 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
of the Westside Boulevard Extension within a 17-ac parcel at latitude 
28.295591[deg], longitude -81.648670[deg], Osceola County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 18.41 ac of skink-occupied habitat from a 
Service-approved conservation bank. The Service would require the 
applicant to purchase the credits within 30 days of the issuance of the 
permit and prior to engaging in any construction phase of the project.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project would individually and cumulatively have a minor or 
negligible effect on the skinks and the human 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 PER 7310948 to the Toho Water 
Authority.

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

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its implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and 43 CFR part 
46).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-06693 Filed 3-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P