[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]
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