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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102160-102161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29656]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0189; FXES11140400000-256-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 and information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from RWLC Development Sub, LLC (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 
commercial 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 January 16, 
2025.

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-2024-0189 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-2024-0189; 
or
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0189; 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

[[Page 102161]]

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 RWLC Development Sub, LLC 
(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) and bluetail mole skinks (Eumeces egregius lividus) 
(skinks), federally listed as threatened under the ESA, incidental to 
the construction and operation of a commercial development in Polk 
County, Florida. We request public comments 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 1.68 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction 
and operation of a commercial development on 12.64 ac on Parcel #: 27-
26-29-706500-030310 and 27-26-29-706500-030300 in Section 29, Township 
26 S, Range 27 E, Polk County, Florida. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 
3.36 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 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 or 
negligible 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 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 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 ITP. 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 PER13163374 to RWLC Development Sub, LLC.

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 through 1508 and 43 CFR part 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-29656 Filed 12-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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