[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 128 (Thursday, July 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36148-36149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14508]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0072; FXES11140400000-212-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink, Putnam County, FL; 
Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Vulcan Materials Company (applicant) to amend of 
an existing incidental take permit (TE82956B-0) under the Endangered 
Species Act. The applicant requests the

[[Page 36149]]

amendment of an incidental take permit (ITP) to take an additional 
number of the federally listed sand skink incidental sand mining 
operation in Putman County, Florida. We request public comment on the 
application, which includes the applicant's proposed amended habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination 
that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded, 
under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this 
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before August 9, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0072 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0072.
    <bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2021-0072; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by telephone at 904-
731-3121 or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3451465d5a6b535543514655745243471a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cbaeb9a2a594acaabcaeb9aa8badbcb8e5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals who are 
hearing impaired or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service 
at 800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce 
receipt of an application from Vulcan Materials Company for an 
amendment of an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant 
requests to modify the existing ITP to allow for take of the federally 
listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) in an amount above that 
authorized by the existing permit. The take would be incidental to the 
activities associated with the operation of a sand mine (project) in 
Putnam County, Florida. We request public comment on both the 
application, which includes the applicant's amended proposed habitat 
conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination 
that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded, 
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4231 et 
seq.). To make this determination, we used our environmental action 
statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for 
public review.

Project

    The applicant has an existing 20-year ITP that was issued on 
February 12, 2016, authorizing take of sand skinks via the conversion 
of an unspecified amount of the species' occupied foraging and 
sheltering habitat within 1,183.62 acres that is part of a 6,815.79-
acre tract. The tract is located within Sections 12-13, Township 9 
south, Range 23 east, Sections 7, 17-21, 28-33, Township 9 south, Range 
24 east, and Sections 5-6, Township 10 south, Range 24 east in Putnam 
County, Florida. The parcel numbers are 07-09-24-0000-0020-0010, 12-09-
23-0000-0010-0000, 13-09-23-0000-0030-0000, 17-09-24-0000-0040-0020, 
17-09-24-0000-0010-0010, 18-09-24-0000-0010-0000, 18-09-24-0000-0020-
0000, 19-09-24-0000-0010-0010, 19-09-24-0720-0000-0520, and 20-09-24-
0000-0020-0000. The applicant proposes to expand the current project 
boundary from 1,183.62 acres to 1,683.86 acres, for a net increase of 
500.24 acres. The amount of occupied skink habitat within the expansion 
area is undetermined; however, based on the current USFWS guideline, 
approximately 452.4 acres of the site appear to be suitable for the 
skink. In advance of mining operations occurring within the entire 
area, quantitative surveys will be conducted to determine the extent of 
suitable area that is occupied by the sand skink. The surveys will be 
conducted in accordance with the Service's then guidelines. The 
applicant will mitigate for take of the sand skink within the expansion 
area by purchasing mitigation credits at a 2:1 ratio (2 mitigation 
credits for every 1 acre of occupied skink habitat impacted by the 
project) from the Tiger Creek Conservation Bank or another Service-
approved sand skink bank. The Service will require the applicant to 
purchase the required credits prior to engaging in activities 
associated with the project on occupied habitat within the expansion 
area.

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.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project, including earth moving, grading, and other land 
alteration and construction activities and the proposed mitigation, 
would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect 
on sand skinks and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily 
concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical 
exclusion and that the HCP is low effect under our NEPA regulations at 
43 CFR 419.2005 and 419.2010. A low-effect HCP is one that would result 
in (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and 
candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects 
on other environmental values or resources; and, (3) impacts that, when 
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not over time 
result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or 
resources.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 
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 
above findings, we will determine whether the criteria of section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met to modify the existing ITP. If 
met, the Service will issue the modified permit, ITP number TE82956B-1, 
to Vulcan Materials Company.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) 
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).

Gianfranco Basili,
Deputy State Supervisor, Florida Ecological Services State Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-14508 Filed 7-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P


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