SUBJECT
title
Approve Agreement with Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, Inc. Boy Scouts of America for the Purchase of Skink Mitigation Credits for the Southeast Wellfield Project (Action)
body
DESCRIPTION
Sand skinks are a federally designated endangered or threatened species that exist in dry habitats, like those along Central Florida's sand ridges. The Florida sand skink is found in only seven Central Florida counties, including Polk County. Under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), the EPA is required to assess the environmental effects of projects receiving federal funds. Therefore, in order to obtain the WIFIA loan, the PRWC had to conduct an environmental assessment of the Southeast and West Polk project under NEPA.
TeamOne has worked with US Fish and Wildlife Service ("USFWS") to assess the environmental impacts of the two projects on endangered and threatened species. The USFWS has allowed a phased-approach to mitigating the impacts of the project to the habitat of the Florida sand sink, since the transmission pipeline and other elements will be finalized in stages.
In May 2023 a final determination of sand skink impacts was completed for the Southeast Water Production Facility. Mitigation was accomplished through the purchase of 27.74 acres of skink mitigation credits from the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, Inc. Boy Scouts of America through the Ancient Islands Conservation Bank. The negotiated price for this purchase was $20,000 per credit, for a total cost of $554,800.
An additional 15.49 credits are now anticipated to be needed for all segments of the Southeast Transmission Main, of which 0.49 credits are needed immediately to proceed with Construction Package 1. The attached negotiated agreement allows the PRWC to purchase 0.49 credits for $9,800 and reserves the right to purchase the additional 15 credits, as needed, at a cost of $20,000 per credit with a $90,000 non-refundable deposit which is applied to the purchase pri...
Click here for full text