[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67738-67739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22173]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Campo Solid Waste Landfill Facility on the 
Campo Indian Reservation, San Diego 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) as lead agency, with the Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians 
(Campo Band) as a cooperating agency, intends to prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a proposed solid waste 
landfill facility to be located on the Campo Indian Reservation in San 
Diego County, California. The purpose of the proposed action is to 
provide economic support for tribal self-sufficiency and self-
government and to address the socio-economic needs of the Campo Band.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must arrive by December 9, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Clay Gregory, 
Regional Director, Pacific Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825. Please include your 
name, return address and the caption, ``SEIS, Campo Solid Waste 
Landfill Facility Proposal,'' on the first page of your written 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rydzik, (916) 978-6042.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to approve a lease 
and sublease to allow a 1,150 acre portion of the Campo Indian 
Reservation to be used for the construction and operation of a solid 
waste landfill facility. The solid waste landfill facility would 
require approximately 600 acres of the 1,150 acre lease area. The 
remaining 550 acres of lease area that surround the proposed facility 
would be preserved as an

[[Page 67739]]

undeveloped buffer area. The Campo Indian Reservation, which consists 
of 15,580 acres in southeastern San Diego County, lies just north of 
the United States/Mexico border and approximately 45 miles inland from 
the Pacific Ocean.
    The Campo Band previously entered into a lease agreement with Muht-
Hei, Inc. (MHI), pursuant to which MHI would lease a portion of the 
Campo Indian Reservation for the purpose of constructing and operating 
a solid waste landfill, recycling facility, and composting facility. 
The Campo Band originally authorized MHI in 1989 to enter into a 
sublease with Mid-American Waste Systems, Inc. (MAWS) for the 
development of the solid waste landfill facility. The Campo Band 
requested the BIA approve the lease and sublease for the proposed 
project. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared by BIA, 
in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act, to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed 
project prior to determining whether the proposed lease related to the 
project should be approved. A Final EIS (FEIS) was released on November 
24, 1992. The BIA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) with conditions on 
April 27, 1993, and approved the lease between the Campo Band and MHI 
and sublease between MHI and MAWS for the proposed solid waste 
landfill. The Campo Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) issued a 
final Authority to Construct Permit (ATC) to MHI and MAWS on April 5, 
1994, to construct the proposed solid waste landfill, subject to the 
conditions of the ROD and ATC.
    Subsequently, MAWS failed to proceed with construction of the 
project and MHI was found in default of the sublease terms. Since that 
time, MHI has solicited interest from other solid waste landfill 
developers. In early 2003, MHI began negotiations with BLT Enterprises, 
Inc. (BLT), Oxnard, California, on the terms of a sublease to develop 
the solid waste landfill described in the FEIS. Those negotiations were 
successfully concluded and on December 12, 2004, the Campo Band 
authorized MHI to enter into a sublease with BLT.
    The BIA has decided to prepare a SEIS to address changes in the 
proposed action, relevant information that has become available, or 
circumstances that have changed over the years since the FEIS was 
issued. Areas of concern addressed in the FEIS included land resources, 
water resources, air quality, living resources, cultural resources, 
socio-economics, transportation, land use, resource use patterns, noise 
and other values. The FEIS included five alternatives to the proposed 
action, as follows: (1) Alternative Site One, (2) Alternative Site Two, 
(3) Reduced Waste Stream at the Proposed Site, (4) Reduced Area of 
Disturbance at the Proposed Site, and (5) No Action. The SEIS will 
incorporate the proposed project description from the FEIS by 
reference, and will discuss aspects of the project that have changed 
since the FEIS was released in 1992, any changes in environmental 
impacts associated with those changes, and changes to alternatives.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the BIA address shown in the ADDRESSES 
section, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish us 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 the 
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 sections 1503.1, 1506.6 
and 1508.22 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.), Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is 
in the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.l.

    Dated: October 24, 2005.
Michael D. Olsen,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-22173 Filed 11-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P