[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29278-29279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11416]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0049; FXES11140400000-212-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 comment and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Spring Grove, LLC (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 housing development in Orange County, Florida. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's
preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,''
categorically excluded, under the National Environmental Policy Act. To
make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before July 1, 2021.
[[Page 29279]]
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0049 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0049.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2021-0049; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by telephone at 904-
731-3121 or via email at erin_gawera@fws.gov. Individuals who are
hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce
receipt of an application from Spring Grove, LLC (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)
incidental to the construction of a housing development (project) 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 this HCP
qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded, under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form.
Project
Spring Grove, LLC (Cross Property) requests a 5-year ITP to take
sand skinks through the conversion of approximately 9.60 acres (ac) of
occupied sand skink foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the
construction of a housing development in Orange County, Florida, on a
204-ac parcel located in Section 18 and 19, Township 24 South, Range 27
East on Parcel ID numbers 18-24-27-0000-00-003, 18-24-27-0000-00-004,
19-24-27-0000-00-001, 19-24-27-0000-00-017, 19-24-27-0000-00-018 and
19-24-27-0000-00-019. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of
the sand skinks by purchasing 19.20 credits from 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 activities associated with 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 project, including land clearing, infrastructure building,
landscaping, and the proposed mitigation, would individually and
cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on sand skinks and the
environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily concluded that the ITP
for this project would qualify for categorical exclusion and that the
HCP is low effect under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR 419.2005 and
419.2010. A low-effect HCP is one that would result in (1) minor or
negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species
and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and, (3) impacts that, when
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
over time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
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 findings, 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 ESPER0007024 to Spring Grove, LLC.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32)
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).
Gianfranco Basili,
Action Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-11416 Filed 5-28-21; 8:45 am]
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