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###### Department of the Interior

###### Fish and Wildlife Service

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

# AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

# ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

# 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                               ( print 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                         *alfredo_begazo@fws.gov.*                         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