[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 127 (Friday, July 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38677-38678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16364]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Los Coyotes 
Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians' 23-Acre Fee-to-Trust 
Transfer and Casino-Hotel Project, City of Barstow, San Bernardino 
County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, with the 
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians, National Indian 
Gaming Commission (NIGC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 
and the City of Barstow as cooperating agencies, intends to file a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with the USEPA for the Los 
Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians Fee-to-Trust and 
Casino-Hotel Project proposed to be located within the City of Barstow, 
San Bernardino County, California. This notice also announces that the 
DEIS is now available for public review and the date, time, and 
location of a public hearing to receive comments on the DEIS.

DATES: The DEIS will be available for public comment on July 1, 2011. 
Written comments on the DEIS must arrive by September 14, 2011. The 
public hearing will be held on July 27, 2011, starting at 6 p.m. and 
will run until the last public comment is received.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Barstow Community 
College Gymnasium, 2700 Barstow Road, Barstow, California.
    You may mail or hand-deliver comments to Amy Dutschke, Regional 
Director, Pacific Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice for locations where the DEIS is 
available for review and for directions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rydzik, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
Pacific Regional Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 
95825, Telephone: (916) 978-6051.

[[Page 38678]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public review of the DEIS is part of the 
administrative process for the evaluation of tribal applications 
seeking to have the United States take land into trust for gaming 
pursuant under 25 U.S.C. 465, 25 CFR part 151, 29 CFR part 292, and 25 
U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B). Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) National Environmental Policy Act (NEP A) regulations (40 CFR 
1506.10), the publication of this Notice of Availability in the Federal 
Register initiates the 75-day public comment period and thereby grants 
a 30-day extension to the normal 45-day public comment period.

Background

    The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians (Tribe) 
has requested that the BIA take into trust 23 acres of land currently 
held in fee by the Tribe, on which the Tribe proposes to construct a 
gaming facility, hotel, parking areas and other facilities. The 
approximately 23.1-acre project site is located within the incorporated 
boundaries of the City of Barstow, San Bernardino County, California, 
just east of Interstate 15. The parcels are located within Section 27, 
Township 9N, Range 2W, San Bernardino Base Meridian (SBM), as depicted 
on the Barstow, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic quadrangle. 
The project site consists of the following assessor's parcel numbers 
(APNs): 428-171-66, 428-171-67, and 428-171-68.
    The proposed project includes the development of a casino with 
approximately 57,070 square feet of gaming floor. Associated facilities 
would include food and beverage services, retail space, banquet/meeting 
space, and administration space. Food and beverage facilities would 
include two full service restaurants, a drive-in restaurant, a buffet, 
a coffee shop, three service bars, and a lounge. The hotel tower would 
have approximately 100 rooms and a full-service restaurant. Both the 
gaming facility and the hotel would be open 24 hours a day, seven days 
a week. A total of 1,405 parking spaces would be provided.
    The following alternatives are considered throughout the DEIS: (A) 
Barstow casino and hotel complex project, (B) Barstow Reduced Casino 
Hotel Complex (Proposed Project described above), (C) a reduced-
intensity casino at a 19-acre site within the Los Coyotes Reservation, 
(D) a non-gaming alternative, specifically the development of a 
campground facility within the Los Coyotes, and (E) a no-action 
alternative. Environmental issues addressed in the DEIS include land 
resources, water resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural 
resources, socioeconomic conditions, environmental justice, 
transportation, land use, agriculture, public services, noise, 
hazardous materials, visual resources, cumulative effects, indirect 
effects, growth inducing effects and mitigation measures.
    The BIA serves as the Lead Agency for compliance with NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), with the NIGC, the USEPA, City of Barstow, and 
the Tribe serving as Cooperating Agencies. A public scoping meeting for 
the EIS was held by the BIA on May 4, 2006, at the Barstow Community 
College Gymnasium in Barstow, California.
    Directions for Submitting Comments: Please include your name, 
return address, and the caption, ``DEIS Comments, Los Coyotes Band of 
Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians Fee-to- Trust and Casino-Hotel 
Project,'' on the first page of your written comments.
    Locations Where the DEIS Is Available for Review: The DEIS will be 
available for review at the following locations:

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                                                           General
          Location                   Address         Information, phone
                                                           number
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San Bernardino County.......  304 East Buena        (760) 256-4850.
Public Library--Barstow,       Vista, Barstow,
 Barstow Branch.               California 92311.
San Diego County Public       587 Palm Canyon,      (760) 767-5761.
 Library--Borrego Springs.     125,
                               Borrego Springs,
                               California 92004.
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    The DEIS is also available on the following Web site: http://www.loscoyoteseis.com.
    To obtain a compact disk copy of the DEIS, please provide your name 
and address in writing or by voice-mail to John Rydzik, Chief of the 
Division of Environmental, Cultural Resources Management and Safety 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. 
Note however, individual paper copies of the DEIS will be provided upon 
payment of applicable printing expenses by the requestor for the number 
of copies requested.
    Public Comment Availability: Comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
BIA mailing address shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice, 
during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. Before including your address, telephone 
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority: This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 of 
the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 
through 1508) and Sec. 46.305 of the Department of Interior 
Regulations (43 CFR part 46), implementing the procedural 
requirements of the NEPA of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371, et 
seq.), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: June 15, 2011.
Jodi Gillette,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-16364 Filed 6-30-11; 8:45 am]
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