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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2971-2972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00751]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0247; FXES11140400000-245-FF04EF4000]

Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole 
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 St. John Methodist Church of Sebring Inc. 
(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) and blue-tailed mole-skink 
(Eumeces egregius lividus) incidental to the construction of a 
residential development in Highlands 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

[[Page 2972]]

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 February 16, 
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-2023-0247 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-2023-0247.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0247; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by telephone at 772-
469-4234 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 St. John Methodist Church of 
Sebring Inc. (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 
church in Highlands 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 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 1.33 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a church on a 16.33-ac parcel in Section 22, Township 
34 South, Range 28 East, Highlands County, Florida. The applicant 
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits 
equivalent to 2.66 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 construction phase of the project.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project, including the construction of a church, driveways, 
parking spaces, green areas, stormwater pond, and associated 
infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines), would 
individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the skinks and the 
human 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 PER5348829 to St. John Methodist 
Church of Sebring Inc.

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,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-00751 Filed 1-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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