[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25302-25303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11382]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

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


Final 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the 
EPA in connection with the Nation's application for transfer into trust 
by the United States of approximately 33 acres for gaming and other 
purposes in the City of Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin.

DATES: The Record of Decision for the proposed action will be issued on 
or after 30 days from the date the EPA publishes its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. Any comments on the FEIS must 
arrive on or before that date.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver written comments to Mr. Timothy 
LaPointe, 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: ``FEIS 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 FEIS 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 www.ho-chunkbeloiteis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tribe proposes to develop a casino-hotel 
resort on approximately 33 acres in the City of Beloit, Rock County, 
Wisconsin. The BIA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in 
the Federal Register on November 26, 2012 (77 FR 70460), and in The 
Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and The Rockford Register Star. The 
BIA held a public scoping meeting on December 13, 2012, at Aldrich 
Middle School in Beloit, Wisconsin. The BIA published a Notice of 
Availability for the Draft EIS in the Federal Register on November 9, 
2018 (83 FR 56096), and in The Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and 
The Rockford Register Star. The BIA held a public hearing for the 
proposed project on December 11, 2018, at Aldrich Middle School.
    Background: The Tribe's proposed project consists of the following 
components: (1) The Department of the Interior's (Department) transfer 
of approximately 33 acres from fee to trust status; (2) issuance of a 
determination by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Section 20 
of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. 2719; and (3) the 
development of the trust parcel. The proposed casino-hotel resort would 
include a hotel, convention center, outdoor amphitheater, several 
restaurant facilities, waterpark, 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 FEIS: (1) Proposed 
Project; (2) Reduced Casino and Commercial Development; (3) Retail 
Development; and (4) No Action/No Development. The BIA identifies 
Alternative 1 the Preferred Alternative as discussed in the FEIS.
    The information and analysis contained in the FEIS, as well as its 
evaluation and assessment of the Preferred Alternative, will assist the 
Department in its review of the issues presented in the fee-to-trust 
application. The Preferred Alternative does not reflect the 
Department's final decision because the Department must further 
evaluate all of the criteria listed in 25 CFR part 151 and 25 CFR part 
292. The Department's consideration and analysis of the applicable 
regulations may lead to a final decision that selects an alternative 
other than the Preferred Alternative, including no action, or a variant 
of the Preferred or another of the alternatives analyzed in the FEIS.
    Environmental issues addressed in the FEIS 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 services, noise, hazardous materials, aesthetics, cumulative 
effects, and indirect and growth-inducing effects.
    Locations Where the FEIS is Available for Review: The FEIS will be 
available for review at the Beloit Public Library located at 605 
Eclipse Blvd., Beloit, Wisconsin 53511, and online at www.ho-chunkbeloiteis.com. To obtain a compact disk copy of the FEIS, please 
provide your name and address in writing to Mr. 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 FEIS 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 National 
Environmental Policy Act 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.


[[Page 25303]]


    Dated: May 17, 2019.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-11382 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P