[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 47935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20577]



[[Page 47935]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[189D0102DR/DS5A300000/DR.5A311.IA000118]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Tule River Tribe's Proposed Fee-to-Trust and Eagle Mountain 
Casino Relocation Project, Tulare County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, with the Tule River Indian Tribe 
(Tribe), City of Porterville (City), Tulare County (County), and the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) serving as cooperating 
agencies, intends to file a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
with the EPA in connection with the Tribe's application for acquisition 
in trust by the United States of approximately 40 acres for gaming and 
other purposes to be located in the City of Porterville, Tulare County, 
California. This notice also announces that the DEIS is now available 
for public review and that a public hearing will be held to receive 
comments on the DEIS.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS must arrive no later than November 5, 2018. 
The date and time of the public hearing will be announced at least 15 
days in advance through a notice to be published in a local newspaper 
(the Porterville Recorder) and online at http://www.tulerivereis.com.

ADDRESSES: You may send written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Mail or hand-delivery: Amy Dutschke, Regional Director, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, 
California 95825. Please include your name, return address, and ``DEIS 
Comments, Tule River Tribe Casino Relocation Project'' on the first 
page of your written comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Please use ``DEIS Comments, 
Tule River Tribe Casino Relocation Project'' as the subject of your 
email.
    The location of the public hearing will be announced at least 15 
days in advance through a notice to be published in a local newspaper 
(the Porterville Recorder) and online at http://www.tulerivereis.com.
    The DEIS is available for review at the following locations:
     Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, California 95825 (during regular business hours).
     Porterville Public Library at 41 West Thurman Avenue in 
Porterville, California (during regular business hours).
     http://www.tulerivereis.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Broussard, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Regional 
Office; telephone: (916) 978-6165; email: [email protected]. 
Information is also available online at http://www.tulerivereis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public review of the DEIS is part of the 
administrative process for the evaluation of the Tribe's application to 
the BIA for the placement of approximately 40 acres of fee land in 
trust in Tulare County, California. The Tribe proposes to construct a 
casino resort on the trust property. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an EIS was published in the Porterville Recorder and Federal 
Register on December 30, 2016 (81 FR 96477). The BIA held a public 
scoping meeting for the project on January 23, 2017, at the Veterans 
Memorial Building, in Porterville, California.
    Background: The Tribe's proposed project consists of the following 
components: (1) The Department's transfer of the approximately 40-acre 
fee property into trust status; (2) issuance of a determination by the 
Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.; and (3) the Tribe's proposed development of the 
trust parcel and the off-site improvement areas. The proposed casino-
hotel resort would include a hotel, convention center, multipurpose 
event space, several restaurant facilities, parking facilities and 
water reclamation infrastructure. The new facility would replace the 
Tribe's existing casino, and the existing casino buildings would be 
converted to tribal government or service uses. The following 
alternatives are considered in the DEIS: (1) Proposed Project; (2) 
Proposed Project with On-Site Water and Wastewater Systems; (3) Reduced 
Intensity Hotel and Casino; (4) Non-Gaming Hotel and Conference Center; 
(5) Expansion of Existing Eagle Mountain Casino; and (6) No Action 
Alternative. Environmental issues addressed in the DEIS include geology 
and soils, water resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural 
and paleontological resources, socioeconomic conditions (including 
environmental justice), transportation and circulation, land use, 
public services, noise, hazardous materials, aesthetics, cumulative 
effects, and indirect and growth inducing effects.
    Locations where the DEIS is Available for Review: The DEIS is 
available for review at the addresses noted above in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. To obtain a compact disc copy of the DEIS, 
please provide your name and address in writing or by phone to Chad 
Broussard, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Region Office. Contact 
information is listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 
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 address shown in the ADDRESSES section, during regular business 
hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
Before including your address, telephone number, email 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 in your comment that your personal identifying information be 
withheld from public review, the BIA cannot guarantee that this will 
occur.
    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 the Interior Regulations (43 
CFR part 46), implementing the procedural requirements of the NEPA of 
l969, 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: September 13, 2018.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-20577 Filed 9-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P