[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 203 (Monday, October 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72776-72777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23337]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0193; FXES11140400000-234-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 comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Orange County Parks and Recreation Division 
(Horizon West Regional Park, 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) incidental 
to the construction of a recreational park 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 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 November 22, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0193 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the

[[Page 72777]]

documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0193.
    <bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0193; 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 904-731-3121 or via email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5633243f38093137213324371630212578313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9efbecf7f0c1f9ffe9fbecffdef8e9edb0f9f1e8">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 Orange County Parks and 
Recreation Division (Horizon West Regional Park, 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 federally listed sand skinks (Neoseps reynoldsi) (skink) 
incidental to the construction and operation of a recreational park in 
Orange 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 5-year ITP to take skinks via the 
conversion of approximately 11.73 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a recreational park on 40.65 acres within a 211.90-ac 
site, Parcel #272309000000006 in Sections 16, 17, and 21, Township 23 
South, Range 27 East, Orange County, Florida. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 
23.46 ac of skink-occupied habitat within the Lake Livingston 
Conservation Bank or another Service-approved conservation bank. The 
Service would require the applicant to purchase the credits prior to 
engaging in any construction phase of the project.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's proposed 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 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 3877804 to Orange County 
Parks and Recreation Division (Horizon West Regional Park).

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 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-23337 Filed 10-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P


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