[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 97 (Friday, May 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43428-43429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10891]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0069; 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 and information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners 
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally 
listed sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the 
construction of a fire station 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 June 17, 
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-2024-0069 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-2024-0069; 
or
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0069; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-226-8134, 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 Osceola County Board of 
County Commissioners (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 and 
operation of a fire station in Osceola 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 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 2.82 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a 
fire station on a 4.2-ac parcel listed by the Osceola County Property 
Appraiser as 03-25-27-3359-0001-0010, in Osceola County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 5.64 ac of skink-occupied habitat from a 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 project--including the construction of a fire station, 
driveways, parking spaces, green areas, stormwater pond, and associated 
infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines)--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 
skinks and may qualify for application of a categorical exclusion 
pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's

[[Page 43429]]

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 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 PER4412845 to the Osceola County 
Board of County Commissioners.

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 part 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-10891 Filed 5-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P