[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58783-58784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25411]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[190A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900 253G]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Little River Band 
Trust Acquisition and Casino Project, Township of Fruitport, Muskegon 
County, Michigan

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 Township of Fruitport, County of 
Muskegon, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Tribe), Federal Highway 
Administration, 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 transfer into trust by the United States of 
approximately 60 acres for gaming and other purposes to be located the 
Township of Fruitport, Muskegon County, Michigan. 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 
newspaper, The Muskegon Chronicle, and online at 
www.littlerivereis.com.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver written comments to Mr. Timothy 
LaPointe, Midwest Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Midwest 
Region, Norman Pointe II Building, 5600 West American Boulevard, Suite 
500, Bloomington, Minnesota 55347. Please include your name, return 
address, and the caption: ``DEIS Comments, Little River Band Trust 
Acquisition 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. Felix Kitto, Regional 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Division of Environmental, 
Facilities, Safety and Cultural Resource Management (DEFSCRM), Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Midwest Region, Norman Pointe II Building, 5600 West 
American Boulevard, Suite 500, Bloomington, Minnesota 55347; phone: 
(612) 725-4597; email: [email protected]. Information is also 
available online at www.littlerivereis.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 Federal trust acquisition of approximately 60 acres in 
the Township of Fruitport, Muskegon County, Michigan, upon which the 
Tribe proposes to develop a casino, hotel, parking, and other 
supporting facilities. A Notice of Intent was published in the Federal 
Register on September 21, 2015, as well as published in The Muskegon 
Chronicle. The BIA held a public scoping meeting for the project on 
October 15, 2015, at Fruitport Middle School, 3113 East Pontaluna Road, 
Fruitport, Michigan 49415.
    Background: The Tribe's Proposed Project consists of the following 
components: (1) The transfer of an approximately 60-acre property from 
fee to trust status; (2) issuance of a Secretarial Determination by the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) under Section 20 of the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) that gaming on the project site would be 
in the best interest of the Tribe and not detrimental to the 
surrounding community (25 U.S.C. 2719 (b)(1)(A)); and (3) development 
of the trust parcel and adjacent land owned by the Tribe, totaling 
approximately 86.5 acres, with a variety of uses including a casino, 
hotel, conference center, parking, and other supporting facilities. The 
proposed casino-hotel resort would include a hotel, a convention 
center, several restaurant facilities, and parking facilities. Access 
to the project site would be provided via two driveways: One along 
Harvey Street and one along East Ellis Road. Five service driveways,

[[Page 58784]]

not for public use, would be located on East Ellis Road.
    The following alternatives are considered in the DEIS: (1) Proposed 
Project; (2) Reduced Intensity Alternative; (3) Non-Gaming Alternative; 
(4) Custer Site Alternative and (5) No Action/No Development. 
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 will be 
available for review at the Fruitport Public Library located at 47 Park 
St., Fruitport, Michigan 49415, and online at www.littlerivereis.com. 
To obtain a compact disk copy of the DEIS, please provide your name and 
address in writing to Mr. Felix Kitto, 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 9, 2018.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-25411 Filed 11-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P