Billing Code 4333–15
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–0085; FXES11140400000–245–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.
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an
application from Vivek Investment Corporation (Watersong Phase III) (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 residential 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 [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS
AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
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–2024–0085 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–2024–0085.

•

U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–
0085; 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 erin_gawera@fws.gov.
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 Vivek Investment Corporation (Watersong Phase
III) (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 listed sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and bluetail mole skink (Eumeces
egregius lividus) (skinks), both of which are listed as threatened under the ESA,
incidental to the construction and operation of a residential development in Polk County,
Florida. We request public comment 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 loweffect screening form, both of which are also available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 10-year ITP to take skinks via the conversion of
approximately 1.82 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, foraging, and sheltering skink habitat
incidental to the construction and operation of a residential development on 102.99 ac on
Parcel 27-26-24-706192-002760 in Section 24, Township 26 S, Range 27 E, Polk
County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing
credits equivalent to 3.62 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 project—
including the construction of the buildings and associated infrastructure (e.g., electric,
water, and sewer lines)—would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the
skinks and the 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 nonsignificant 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 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
PER6735377 to Vivek Investment Corporation (Watersong Phase III).
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 1500–1508 and 43 CFR part 46).
Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review,

Florida Ecological Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-13753 Filed: 6/21/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/24/2024]