Billing Code 4333–15
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–0086; FXES11140400000–245–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.
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an
application from Columnar Partnership Holding I, LLC (Withers Elementary School)
(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 an elementary school in Orange 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–2024–0086 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–2024–0086.

•

U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–
0086; 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 Columnar Partnership Holding I, LLC (Withers
Elementary School) (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 sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) (skink), listed as threatened under the
ESA, incidental to the construction and operation of an elementary school in Orange
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 low-effect screening form, both of which are also
available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the conversion of
approximately 0.7 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, foraging, and sheltering skink habitat
incidental to the construction and operation of an elementary school on 15.00 ac on
Parcel #29-24-27-7805-19-002 in Section 29, Township 24 South, Range 27 East, Orange
County, Florida. The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing
credits equivalent to 1.40 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 proposed
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 human 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 sand skink 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
PER6167047 to Columnar Partnership Holding I, LLC (Withers Elementary School).
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 part 1500–1508 and 43 CFR part 46).
Robert L. Carey,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review,

Florida Ecological Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-13754 Filed: 6/21/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/24/2024]