Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole-Skink, Polk County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from the City of Davenport (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed threatened sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the expansion of the city's utility infrastructure 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the 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, both of which are available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.