[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25303-25304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11383]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[192D0102DR/DS5A300000/DR.5A311.IA000118]


Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Tule River Tribe's 
Proposed Fee-to-Trust and Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation Project, 
Tulare County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, with the Tule River Indian Tribe 
(Tribe), City of Porterville (City), Tulare County (County), California 
Department of Transportation (Caltrans), 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 Tribe's application for transfer into trust by the 
United States of approximately 40 acres for gaming and other purposes 
in the City of Porterville, Tulare County, California.

DATES: The BIA will issue a Record of Decision for the proposed action 
on or after 30 days after the date the EPA publishes its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. The BIA must receive any comments 
on the FEIS before that date.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver written comments to Amy 
Dutschke, Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Region, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825. Please include your name, 
return address, and the caption ``FEIS Comments, Tule River Tribe 
Casino Relocation Project'' on the first page of your written comments. 
You may also submit comments through email to Chad Broussard, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, at 
[email protected]. If emailing comments, please use ``FEIS 
Comments, Tule River Tribe Casino Relocation Project'' as the subject 
of your email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Broussard, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Regional 
Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2820, Sacramento, California 95825; 
telephone: (916) 978-6165; email: [email protected]. Information 
is also available online at www.tulerivereis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tribe proposes to construct a casino 
resort on the approximately 40-acre trust property in Tulare County, 
California. The BIA published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 
EIS in the Federal Register on December 30, 2016 (81 FR 96477), and in 
the Porterville Recorder, and held a public scoping meeting on January 
23, 2017, at the Veterans Memorial Building, in Porterville, 
California. The BIA published the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the 
Draft EIS in the Federal Register on September 21, 2018 (83 FR 47935), 
and held a public hearing on October 15, 2018, at the Veterans Memorial 
Building in Porterville, California.
    Background: The Tribe's proposed project consists of the following 
components: (1) The Department's transfer of approximately 40 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 and the off-site improvement areas. The proposed casino-hotel 
resort would include a hotel, convention center, multipurpose event 
space, several restaurant facilities, parking facilities and water 
reclamation infrastructure. The new facility would replace the Tribe's 
existing casino, and the existing casino buildings would be converted 
to Tribal government or service uses.
    The following alternatives are considered in the FEIS: (1) Proposed 
Project; (2) Proposed Project with On-Site Water and Wastewater 
Systems; (3) Reduced Intensity Hotel and Casino; (4) Non-Gaming Hotel 
and Conference Center; (5) Expansion of Existing Eagle Mountain Casino; 
and (6) No Action Alternative. The BIA identified Alternative 1 as 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 of the Interior (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, 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 FEIS is Available for Review: The FEIS is 
available for review during regular business hours at the BIA Pacific 
Regional Office at the address noted above in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice, and the Porterville Public Library at 41 West Thurman 
Avenue in Porterville, California. The FEIS is also available online at 
www.tulerivereis.com. To obtain a compact disc copy of the FEIS, please 
provide your name and address in writing or by phone to Chad Broussard, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific 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 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, telephone 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.


[[Page 25304]]


    Dated: May 20, 2019.
John Tahsuda,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-11383 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P