[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]
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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.
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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 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