[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56096-56097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24598]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[189A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Ho-Chunk Nation Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, City of 
Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin

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 City of Beloit, Wisconsin 
Department of Transportation, Ho-Chunk Nation (Nation), 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 Nation's application for acquisition in 
trust by the United States of approximately 33 acres for gaming and 
other purposes to be located in the City of Beloit, Rock County, 
Wisconsin. 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: Written comments on the DEIS must arrive within 45 days after 
EPA publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The 
date and location of the public hearing on the DEIS will be announced 
at least 15 days in advance through a notice to be published in local 
newspapers (The Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and The Rockford 
Register Star) and online at: http://www.ho-chunkbeloiteis.com.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver written comments to the Midwest 
Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Midwest Region, Norman 
Pointe II, Building, 5600 West American Boulevard, Suite 500, 
Bloomington, MN 55347. Please include your name, return address, and 
the caption: ``DEIS Comments, Ho-Chunk Nation Fee-to-Trust and Casino 
Project,'' on the first page of your written comments. See the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice for addresses where 
the DEIS is available for review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Timothy Guyah, Archaeologist, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Midwest Region, Norman Pointe II Building, 
5600 West American Boulevard, Suite 500, Bloomington, MN 55347; phone: 
(612) 725-4512; email: [email protected]. Information is also 
available online at: http://www.ho-chunkbeloiteis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public review of the DEIS is part of the 
administrative process for the evaluation of the Tribe's application 
for the acquisition in trust of approximately 33 acres in the City of 
Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin. The Nation proposes to develop a 
casino, hotel, parking, and supporting facilities. A Notice of Intent 
to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on November 26, 
2012, and in The Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and The Rockford 
Register Star. The BIA held a public scoping meeting for the proposed 
project on December 13, 2012, at Aldrich Middle School, 1859 Northgate 
Drive, Beloit, Wisconsin 53511.
    Background: The proposed project consists of the following 
components: (1) The Department's transfer of the approximately 33-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 Nation's proposed development of 
the trust parcel and its adjacent fee land, totaling approximately 73.5 
acres. The proposed casino-hotel resort would include a hotel, 
convention center, outdoor amphitheater, several restaurant facilities, 
retail buildings, and parking facilities. Access to the project site 
would be provided via three driveways; one along Willowbrook Road and 
two along Colley Road.
    The following alternatives are considered in the DEIS: (1) Proposed 
Project; (2) Reduced Casino and Commercial Development; (3) Retail 
Development; and (4) No Action/No Development. Environmental issues 
addressed in the DEIS include geology and soils, water resources, air 
quality, biological resources, cultural and paleontological resources, 
socio-economic conditions (including environmental justice), 
transportation and circulation, land use, public

[[Page 56097]]

services, noise, hazardous materials, aesthetics, cumulative effects, 
and indirect and growth-inducing effects.
    Locations where the DEIS is available for review: The DEIS will be 
available for review at the Beloit Public Library located at 605 
Eclipse Blvd., Beloit, Wisconsin 53511, and online at http://www.ho-chunkbeloiteis.com. To obtain a compact disk copy of the DEIS, please 
provide your name and address in writing to Timothy Guyah, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, Midwest Regional Office. Contact information is listed 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. 
Individual paper copies of the DEIS will be provided only 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, phone 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: November 6, 2018.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-24598 Filed 11-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P