[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10236-10237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5324]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed, 
High Mesa Waste Management Facility on the Nambe Indian Reservation, 
Santa Fe County, NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of DEIS and public hearing and public 
comment dates.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for a proposed lease to construct and operate a 
combined municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition 
(C&D) waste facility on lands of the Pueblo of Nambe, Santa Fe County, 
New Mexico, is now available for public review and comment. This DEIS 
was prepared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in cooperation with the 
Pueblo of Nambe, the Nambe Pueblo Development Corporation and their 
environmental consultants. A description of the proposed project 
location and of the environmental issues addressed in the DEIS are 
provided below in the Supplementary Information. This notice also 
announces a public hearing to receive public comments on the DEIS.
    This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 of the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508) 
implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the 
Department of Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the exercise of 
authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 
DM 8.

DATES: Written comments must arrive by March 30, 1998, at the address 
given below. All correspondence should show the following caption on 
the first page: ``DEIS Comments, High Mesa Solid Waste Facility 
Project, Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico.'' The public hearing will be held 
on March 17, 1998, at the location shown below. We will consider all 
comments sent during this period, or submitted at the hearing, in 
preparing the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

ADDRESSES: Address comments to Rob Baracker, Area Director, Albuquerque 
Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 26567, Albuquerque, NM 
87125-6567. The public hearing will be held at from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 
p.m. on March 17, 1998, at the Nambe Pueblo Fuel Terminal east of 
Allsup's Convenience Store, at the Cuyamungue Arroyo on U.S. Route 84/
285. This hearing will be co-hosted by the BIA and MCT Industries, Inc. 
of Albuquerque.
    The DEIS is available for review at the following addresses: the 
Albuquerque Public Library, 501 Copper NW, Albuquerque, NM; the Santa 
Fe Public Library, 145 Washington Avenue, Santa Fe, NM; and the 
Espanola Public Library, 314-A Onate St., Espanola, NM. To obtain a 
copy of the DEIS, please write or call Curtis Canard, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Albuquerque Area Office, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Albuquerque, NM 87125-6567, telephone (505) 766-1039.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Curtis Canard at the above address or 
telephone number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action would permit High Mesa 
Environmental LLC (High) to lease 100 acres of the Nambe Indian 
Reservation for the purposes of constructing and operating a combined 
MSW and C&D waste facility for a variety of non-hazardous wastes. 
Approximately 200 to 400 tons per day of waste material would be 
delivered to the facility by truck. The purpose of the action is to 
help meet the northern New Mexico Pueblos' solid waste management 
needs, and to provide a foundation for economic development for the 
Pueblo of Nambe.
    The proposed project includes an initial C&D-only waste cell, with 
an operations area, and a site well. The facility will ultimately 
include five additional lined cells for combined MSW and C&D waste, two 
collection ponds, monitoring wells and a leachate evaporation pond. 
Offsite roadway improvements would also be necessary. The project will 
meet all applicable environmental standards and regulations.
    The project area is in the central portion of the Espanola Basin, 
part of the Alamosa-Santa Fe segment of the Rio Grande rift, 17 miles 
northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is an isolated site located three 
miles from the Pueblo proper, with no infrastructure such as water, 
power, or roads. The terrain in this area is steep and mostly clay, 
with little to no vegetation. The area is considered badlands.
    The DEIS addresses the issues identified at the September 25, 1997, 
scoping meeting and in the written comments that were submitted to the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Albuquerque Area Office. Alternatives to 
the proposed project that are

[[Page 10237]]

considered in the DEIS include: (1) limited development; (2) use of an 
old landfill site; (3) alternate sites on the Nambe Reservation; (4) 
alternate sites off of the Reservation; (5) use of the site for 
recreation; (6) use of the site for agriculture; and (7) no action. The 
environmental issues addressed in the DEIS include geology, topography, 
soils, water resources, air quality, living resources, cultural 
resources, traffic, land use, visual resources, socio-economics, public 
health and safety, and noise.

    Dated: February 24, 1998.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-5324 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P