Notice2025-16730
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Orange 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
September 2, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Waste Management (Pine Ridge Recycling & Disposal Facility) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink incidental to the construction of an expansion of the existing Pine Ridge Recycling & Disposal Facility in Orange County, Florida. We request public comment on 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual (DM). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, which is available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 167 (Tuesday, September 2, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 167 (Tuesday, September 2, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42427-42428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16730]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0210; FXES11140400000-256-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Orange 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 Waste Management (Pine Ridge Recycling &
Disposal Facility) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP)
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP
to take the federally listed sand skink incidental to the construction
of an expansion of the existing Pine Ridge Recycling & Disposal
Facility in Orange County, Florida. We request public comment on 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 National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual (DM). To make this
preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA
statement for HCPs, which is 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 October 2,
2025.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2024-0210; 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-2024-0210;
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2024-0210; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, Florida Ecological
Services Field Office, by telephone at 904-404-2464 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#086d7a6166576f697f6d7a69486e7f7b266f677e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfbaadb6b180b8bea8baadbe9fb9a8acf1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 Waste Management (Pine Ridge
Recycling & Disposal Facility) (applicant) for an 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 (=Plestiodon) reynoldsi) (skink) incidental to the
construction and operation of the expansion of the existing Pine Ridge
Recycling & Disposal Facility in Orange County, Florida. We request
public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's HCP,
and on the Service's preliminary determination that this proposed ITP
may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), the DOI's NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46), and the
DOI's Departmental Manual DM (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this
preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA
statement for
[[Page 42428]]
HCPs, both of which are available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 15-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 12.52 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of an expansion of the existing Pine Ridge Recycling &
Disposal Facility on 56.8-acs, Parcel #s 18-23-27-0000-00-002 and 06-
23-27-4292-06-080 in Section 18, Township 23 South, Range 27 East,
Orange County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of
the skinks by purchasing credits equivalent to 25.04 ac of skink-
occupied habitat within the Lake Livingston 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 reasonably
foreseeable effects of the applicant's proposed project, including the
construction and expansion of the existing facility, would have a minor
effect on the skink and the human environment, and no extraordinary
circumstances in 43 CFR 46.215 apply. Reasonably foreseeable effects
encompass effects of implementation of the action including effects of
the action in addition to other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future effects.
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a low-effect ITP that may qualify
for an application of a categorical exclusion (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)),
pursuant to NEPA, the DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI DM. A low-
effect ITP is one that would result in (1) negligible or minor effects
on species covered in the HCP; (2) no significant effect on the human
environment; and (3) reasonably foreseeable effects that would not
result in significant 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 PER14094861 to Waste Management
(Pine Ridge Recycling & Disposal Facility).
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32),
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as amended, and the DOI's implementing
regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Jos[eacute] J. Rivera,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-16730 Filed 8-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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