[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]
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