[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52493-52494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13753]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0085; FXES11140400000-245-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Polk 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 Vivek Investment Corporation (Watersong Phase
III) (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 bluetail mole skink (skinks) incidental
to the construction of a residential development in Polk 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 July 24,
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-2024-0085 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-2024-0085.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0085; 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 904-404-2464, 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 Vivek Investment Corporation
(Watersong Phase III) (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 bluetail mole skink (Eumeces
egregius lividus) (skinks), both of which are listed as threatened
under the ESA, incidental to the construction and operation of a
residential development in Polk 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 10-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 1.82 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of a residential development on 102.99 ac on
[[Page 52494]]
Parcel 27-26-24-706192-002760 in Section 24, Township 26 S, Range 27 E,
Polk County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of
the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 3.62 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 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 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 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 PER6735377 to Vivek Investment
Corporation (Watersong Phase III).
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. If you submit a comment at https://www.regulations.gov, your entire comment, including any personal
identifying information, will be posted on the website. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, such
as your address, phone number, or email address, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
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 parts
1500-1508 and 43 CFR part 46).
Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-13753 Filed 6-21-24; 8:45 am]
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