[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57926-57927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25320]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Skull Valley Goshute Tekoi Balefield Landfill Project, 
Tooele County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, in cooperation with the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, 
will be gathering information needed for an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS). The information on the EIS will be used to support a 
lease to a private company to construct and operate a landfill and to 
develop the necessary infrastructure. The purpose of this project is to 
help provide an economic base for the tribe while helping the Salt Lake 
City area to dispose of non-hazardous wastes. We also are announcing 
public scoping meetings at this time.

DATES: Written comments on the scope and implementation of this 
proposal must arrive by November 5, 2003. The public scoping meetings 
will be held on October 21 and 22, 2003, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: You may mail, hand carry or telefax written comments to 
either (1) Amy L. Heuslein, Regional Environmental Protection Officer, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Regional Office, P.O. Box 10, 
Phoenix, Arizona 85001, telefax (602) 379-3833; or (2) Chester Mills, 
Superintendent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Uintah and Ouray Agency, P.O. 
Box 130, Fort Duchesne, Utah 84026, telefax (435) 722-2323.
    The October 21, 2003, public scoping meeting will be held at the 
Utah State Extension Auditorium, 151 North Main Street, Tooele, Utah. 
The October 22, 2003, meeting will be held at the Little America Hotel, 
500 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Heuslein, (602) 379-6750, or 
Chester Mills, (435) 722-4300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will assess the environmental 
consequences of BIA approval of a proposed lease between the CR Group, 
the lessee, and the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians (Band), the 
lessor, of approximately 500 acres in the southwest Section 18, Range 
8W, Township 5S, NAD 27, Tooele County, Utah. This section is 
approximately 2 miles west of Skull Valley Road on the reservation. The 
leased property will occupy the southwest 75 percent of the section. 
The property is located approximately 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake 
City, Utah. The CR Group intends to construct and operate a solid waste 
landfill on this property for a period of 25 years, with an option to 
renew the lease for another 25 years.
    The proposed landfill will meet or exceed all applicable criteria 
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for such landfills, 
including, without limitation, the design criteria set forth in 40 CFR 
part 258. The landfill will be constructed with the appropriate 
impermeable lining material, and will only accept non-hazardous 
municipal and/or industrial solid waste. Limited ancillary facilities 
consisting of a truck scale, scale house and small administrative 
office will be constructed at the site, and an approximately 3-mile 
long road on the reservation constructed to provide access to and from 
the landfill.
    The solid waste will be compressed, de-watered and baled before 
transportation to the landfill. The baled solid waste will be 
transported to the landfill in containers, using primarily flatbed 
trucks. It is anticipated that the majority of the waste will come from 
the Salt Lake City, Utah area. The transportation route is expected to 
be via Interstate 80 westward from the Salt Lake City area, then 
southward approximately 27 miles on Skull Valley Road to the proposed 
landfill site on the reservation.
    The proposed landfill will consist of separate cells. The baled 
solid waste will be stacked in the cells. Separate cells will be used 
for municipal and industrial waste. As individual cells are filled and 
closed, they will be covered with lining and soil and re-vegetated 
consistent with EPA regulations and with BIA and tribal requirements. 
The CR Group will provide construction and reclamation bonds suitable 
to both the BIA and the Band.
    Water for construction and operation of the landfill will be 
obtained from wells drilled on the reservation. These wells will be 
within 1 mile of the proposed site. Electricity will be generated using 
the collected landfill

[[Page 57927]]

gas in an internal combustion engine-generator set.
    Significant issues to be covered during the scoping process may 
include, but not be limited to, air quality, geology and soils, surface 
and groundwater resources, biological resources, cultural resources, 
socioeconomic conditions, land use, aesthetics, environmental justice 
and Indian trust resources.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents who 
prefer confidentiality and wish to have their name and/or address 
withheld from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, must state this prominently at the beginning of their 
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.

Authority

    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 authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: September 26, 2003.
Aurene M. Martin,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-25320 Filed 10-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P