[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 125 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37092-37093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5818]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Mandan, Hidatsa, 
Arikara (MHA) Nation's Proposed Clean Fuels Refinery, Fort Berthold 
Indian Reservation, Ward County, ND

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 U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) as co-lead agency, and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara 
(MHA) Nation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as cooperating 
agencies, intends to file a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
with the EPA for the proposed Clean Fuels Refinery, and that the DEIS 
is now available for public review. The proposed federal actions are: 
(1) The taking into trust of 469 acres of fee land by the BIA in 
support of the MHA Nation's proposal to construct and operate a clean 
fuels refinery and produce buffalo forage; and (2) the issuance by the 
EPA of a Clean Water Act, Draft National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System Discharge (NPDES) permit for the discharge of 
treated wastewater from the proposed refinery. This notice also advises 
the public of the availability of the Draft NPDES permit (ND-
0030988) for review, and announces public hearings on the DEIS and 
Draft NPDES permit.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS and/or Draft NPDES permit must 
arrive by August 29, 2006. The public hearings will be held July 31 
through August 4, 2006, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and August 5, 2006 (two 
meetings), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. No hearing 
will close, however, before all those who wish to make statements have 
been heard.

ADDRESSES: You may mail, hand carry, or telefax written comments on the 
DEIS to William Benjamin, Regional Director, Great Plains Region, Attn: 
Diane Mann-Klager MC 301, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 115 4th Avenue SE, 
Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401, Telefax: 605-226-7358.
    You may mail, hand carry, or telefax written comments on the Draft 
NPDES permit to Bruce Kent, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 8 (8P-W-P), 999 18th St., Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202-
2466, Telefax: 303-312-7984.
    The addresses for the public hearings are as follows:
    July 31, 2006: Twin Buttes Segment Office, 79 E. Avenue, NW, 
Halliday, ND.
    August 1, 2006: Ralph Well, Jr. Memorial Complex, 1620 61st Avenue, 
NW, Roseglen, ND.
    August 2, 2006: Parshall Veterans Memorial Community Building, 315 
2nd St. SE, Parshall, ND.
    August 3, 2006: Mandaree Community Center, 4th Avenue, NE, 404 
Ridge Road, Mandaree, ND.
    August 4, 2006: Four Bears Casino, 202 Frontage Road, New Town, ND.
    August 5, 2006 (10 a.m.): New Town North Segment Community 
Building, 710 East Avenue, New Town, ND.
    August 5, 2006 (2 p.m.): Makoti Pioneer Senior Citizen's Center, 
240 Main Street, Makoti, ND.
    The DEIS and Draft NPDES permit are available for public review at 
the following locations:
     Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office, 
115 4th Avenue, SE, Aberdeen, SD.
     Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fort Berthold Agency. 202 Main 
Street, New Town, ND.
     EPA Region 8 Library, 999 18th Street, 1st Floor, Denver 
Place Building, Denver, CO.
     Three Affiliated Tribes, Legal Department, 404 Frontage 
Road, New Town, ND.
     Twin Buttes Segment Office, 79 E. Avenue, NW., Halliday, 
ND.
     White Shield Segment Office, 1620 61st Avenue, NW., 
Roseglen, ND.
     Parshall Segment Office, 315 2nd Street, SE., Parshall, 
ND.
     Mandaree Segment Office, 4th Avenue, NE, 404 Ridge Road, 
Mandaree, ND.
     Four Bears Segment Office, 404 Frontage Road, New Town, 
ND.
     North Segment Office, 710 East Avenue, New Town, ND.
     Three Affiliated Tribes, Office of the Secretary, 404 
Frontage Road, New Town, ND.
    The DEIS and Draft NPDES permit are also available on the following 
Web sites: http://www.epa.gov/region8/compliance/nepa and http://www.MHANation.com.
    If you would like to obtain a copy of the DEIS and/or Draft NPDES 
permit, please write to Diane Mann-Klager at the address provided above 
for the BIA Great Plains Regional Office, or to Monica Morales, EPA 
Region 8, 999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202-2466, or call 
the corresponding numbers provided below. Copies of the NPDES permit 
application as well as an accompanying Fact Sheet are also available 
upon request at the above EPA address. The administrative record for 
the NPDES permit, which includes data submitted by the applicant, is 
located at, and available upon request from this same EPA address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for information on the DEIS 
should be directed to Diane Mann-Klager, 605-226-7621 or Monica 
Morales, 303-312-6936 or 800-227-8917. You may request information on 
the Draft NPDES permits from Bruce Kent, 303-312-6133.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 5, 2003, the Three Affiliated 
Tribes Business Council, representing the MHA Nation, voted to purchase 
three tracts of land in the northeast corner of the Fort Berthold 
Indian Reservation. These tracts are located along Highway 23, four 
miles west of the town of Makoti in Ward County, North Dakota. The 
tracts include the NW \1/4\ of Section 20, Township 152 North, Range 87 
West (Tract 1); the North \1/2\ of Section 19, Township 152 North, 
Range 87 West (Tract 2); and Outlot 1 in the NE \1/4\ of Section 19, 
Township 152 North, Range 87 West (Tract 3). Taken together as a single 
parcel, these tracts encompass almost 469 acres. Following the 
purchase, the MHA Nation requested that the Department of the Interior, 
BIA, accept the tracts into trust status. The Indian Reorganization Act 
of 1935 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to hold land for 
Indian Tribes and individual Indians in trust.
    The MHA Nation proposes to use the 469 acres for two purposes. 
First, it would construct, own, operate, and maintain a clean fuels 
refinery on 190 acres of the 469-acre parcel. Second, it would grow 
forage for buffalo on the

[[Page 37093]]

other acres, in order to reduce the costs of purchasing feed from other 
sources. This project is needed for the MHA Nation to pursue an 
economic development opportunity to benefit its members, in keeping 
with its tribal sovereignty.
    Feedstock for the proposed refinery would include 10,000 barrels 
per stream day (BPSD) of synthetic crude oil via existing pipeline from 
Alberta, Canada; 3,000 BPSD of field butane from local suppliers; 6 
million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas via existing 
pipeline; and 300 barrels of bio-diesel or 8,500 bushels per day of 
soybeans. From the feedstock, the refinery would produce about 5,750 
BPSD of diesel fuel, 6,770 BPSD of gasoline, and 300 BPSD of propane. 
With the planned maintenance program, the refinery would have an 
economic life well past 20 years. At the end of its economic life, MHA 
Nation would decommission and reclaim the facility.
    The proposed refinery would include atmospheric distillation, 
hydrotreating, and hydrocracking processing units for the synthetic 
crude, a hydrogen plant utilizing natural gas, and butane processing 
units. Other areas of the proposed refinery include rail and truck 
loading and unloading facilities, a tank farm, blending facilities, 
office and maintenance buildings and a fire suppression system. 
Potentially contaminated (oily) storm water will be managed separately 
from uncontaminated (non-oily) storm water.
    The applicant proposes to discharge effluent from four discharge 
points (outfalls) into a wetland located in the NW \1/4\ of Section 19, 
Township 152N, Range 87W. The wetland is a tributary of the East Fork 
of Shell Creek, which is a tributary to the Missouri River. The 
responsible official for the proposed permit application is, Tex G. 
Hall, Chairman, Three Affiliated Tribes Business Council, 404 Frontage 
Road, New Town, North Dakota 58763.
    The DEIS describes, in detail, and analyzes the impacts of five 
alternatives for the BIA's action. These alternatives are as follows:
    (1) Accept lands into trust in support of the MHA Nation's proposal 
to construct and operate a clean fuels refinery and produce buffalo 
forage;
    (2) Accept lands into trust without construction or operation of a 
clean fuels refinery;
    (3) Decline acceptance of lands into trust, but construction or 
operation of a clean fuels refinery may proceed;
    (4) Accept lands into trust in support of the MHA Nation's proposal 
to construct and operate a clean fuels refinery with modification to 
the original design; and
    (5) No action.
    The DEIS also describes five effluent discharge alternatives for 
EPA's action. These alternatives are as follows:
    (1) Issuance of an NPDES permit for effluent discharge of treated 
wastewater;
    (2) No issuance of an NPDES permit, but disposal of treated 
wastewater through irrigation and effluent storage during the winter 
and wet weather;
    (3) Issuance of an NPDES permit for partial effluent discharge from 
the facility and some storage and irrigation;
    (4) No issuance of an NPDES permit, but effluent discharge to an 
Underground Injection Control Class I well; and
    (5) No action.
    Any person may submit comments on the DEIS and/or Draft NPDES 
permit in writing to the address provided in the ADDRESSES section, or 
either orally and/or in writing at one or more of the public hearings. 
A Presiding Officer will be present at each of the hearings and a 
written transcript of the hearings will be made a part of the 
administrative record for the agency decisions. The hearings will be 
recorded so that if anyone testifies in their native language, it can 
be interpreted and transcribed for inclusion in the administrative 
record.
    Please make comments as specific as possible, with reference to 
chapters, page numbers and paragraphs in the DEIS document and Draft 
NPDES permit. While all comments will be considered, the most useful 
comments will contain new technical or scientific information, identify 
data gaps in the impact analysis, or provide technical or scientific 
rationale for opinions or preferences.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the BIA and EPA Regional Office 
addresses 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 section 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 Principal Deputy Assistant 
Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: April 7, 2006.
Michael D. Olsen,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 06-5818 Filed 6-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P