Notice2022-15580
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink, Lake County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Troon Creek 2, LLC (Troon Creek Preserve) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink incidental to the construction of a residential development in Lake 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 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43546-43547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15580]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094; FXES11140400000-212-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink, Lake 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 Troon Creek 2, LLC (Troon Creek Preserve)
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally
listed sand skink incidental to the construction of a residential
development in Lake 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 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 22,
2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
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:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2022-0094; 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 U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), or via phone at 904-731-3121. 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 Troon Creek 2, LLC (Troon Creek
Preserve) (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
[[Page 43547]]
listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) incidental to the construction of
a residential development (project) in Lake County, Florida. We request
public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's HCP,
and on 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. 4321 et seq.). To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take sand skinks through the
conversion of approximately 1.7 acres (ac) of occupied sand skink
foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a
residential development located on a 34.0-ac parcel in Sections 2, 3,
and 11, Township 19 South, Range 25 East, Lake County, Florida,
identified by Parcel ID number 02-19-25-0003-000-05100. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for take of the sand skinks by the purchase of 3.4
credits from 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 activities associated with
the project on the parcel.
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 land clearing, infrastructure building,
residence construction, landscaping, construction, other ground
disturbance and site preparation activities and the proposed mitigation
measures--would individually and cumulatively have a minor or
negligible effect on the sand skink 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 46.205 and 46.210. 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 reasonable foreseeable similarly situated projects,
would not result in significant cumulative effects to environmental
values or resources over time.
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 PER0028774 to Troon Creek 2,
LLC.
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).
Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-15580 Filed 7-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 21, 2022.
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