[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71149-71150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32926]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Cortina 
Integrated Waste Management Project, Colusa County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA) intends to submit a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) for a proposed lease of approximately 443 acres held in trust by 
the federal government for the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians in Colusa 
County, California, to the Environmental Protection Agency for public 
review and comment. The purpose of the proposed action is to allow 
Cortina Integrated Waste Management, Inc., to develop and operate 
needed waste treatment facilities referred to as the Cortina Integrated 
Waste Management Project. The BIA prepared the DEIS in cooperation with 
the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians and the Band's environmental 
consultants. A description of the proposed project location and of the 
environmental issues addressed in the DEIS follow as supplementary 
information. This notice also announces a public hearing to receive 
public comments on the DEIS.

DATES: Written comments must arrive by February 15, 2000. The Public 
hearing will be held on February 2, 2000, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may mail or hand carry written comments to 
Ronald M. Jaeger, Regional Director, Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California, 95825-1846. You may 
also comment via the Internet to [email protected]. Please submit 
Internet comments as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Include your name, return 
address and the caption, ``DEIS Comments, Cortina Integrated Waste 
Management Project, Cortina Indian Rancheria of Wintun Indians, Colusa 
County, California,'' on the first page of your written comments or 
Internet message. If you do not receive confirmation from the system 
that your Internet message was received, contact us directly at (916) 
978-6043.
    Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the above address during regular 
business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you 
wish to withhold your name and/or address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. We will not, however, 
consider anonymous comments. 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 inspection in their entirety.
    To obtain a copy of the DEIS, please write or call William Allan, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825-1846, telephone (916) 
978-6043.
    The public hearing will be held at Colusa Industrial Properties, 
100 Sunrise Boulevard, Colusa, California. This hearing will be co-
hosted by the BIA and the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Allan, (916) 978-6043.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is the approval of a 25 
year lease of 443 acres of the 640 acre Cortina Rancheria to Cortina 
Integrated Waste Management, Inc., for the development and operation of 
a landfill, a materials recovery facility, a composting facility, a 
bio-remediation facility, plus ancillary facilities. These would occupy 
approximately 213 acres of the lease area. The proposed project site is 
located in the rugged eastern foothills of the Coast Ranges, just above 
the west side of the Sacramento Valley in northern California. It is

[[Page 71150]]

approximately 50 miles northwest of Sacramento, in the southwest corner 
of Colusa County.
    The landfill is proposed as a Class III solid waste facility, which 
may only accept non-hazardous, municipal solid waste. The disposal of 
hazardous waste in a Class III landfill is prohibited. The landfill 
would be operated as a balefill, designed to consist of four separate 
phases that are operated sequentially. The active portion of the 
landfill would typically be less than one quarter acre. The containment 
system for the landfill would well exceed federal, California and 
Wintun Environmental Protection Agency regulatory requirements for 
Class III landfills.
    The materials recovery facility proposed as part of the project 
would separate and recover recyclable materials, thus producing revenue 
for the Band and reducing the amount of material deposited in the 
landfill. It would be an enclosed structure on a concrete/asphalt pad.
    The proposed composting facility would accelerate natural 
decomposition of organic waste by bacteria. Its operations would occur 
within a lined portion of the landfill, utilizing the ``turned 
windrow'' method.
    The proposed bio-remediation facility for processing petroleum 
contaminated soils would also be operated within a lined portion of the 
landfill area. The process consists of adding oxygen, nutrients, and 
microorganizms to the contaminated soils to enhance the breakdown of 
the petroleum hydrocarbons.
    Alternatives to the proposed project that are considered in the 
DEIS include the no action alternative and two reduced project 
alternatives. The environmental issues addressed in the DEIS include 
land and water resources, air quality, living resources, cultural and 
socioeconomic resources, land use, traffic, noise, public safety and 
health, and visual resources.
    This notice is published in accordance with 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 the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the 
exercise of the authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: December 10, 1999.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-32926 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P