[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 114 (Friday, June 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35948-35949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12697]
[[Page 35948]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[201A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Conformity
Determination for the Tejon Indian Tribe's Proposed Fee-to-Trust
Acquisition and Casino Resort Project, Kern County, California
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 Tejon Indian Tribe (Tribe),
Kern County (County), National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), 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 acquisition
in trust by the United States of approximately 306 acres for gaming and
other purposes to be located west of the Town of Mettler, Kern County,
California. 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: Comments on the DEIS must arrive no later than 45 days after
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The date and time
of the public hearing will be announced at least 15 days in advance
through a notice to be published in a local newspaper (the Bakersfield
Californian) and online at http://www.tejoneis.com.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments:
By mail or hand-delivery to: Amy Dutschke, Regional
Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage Way,
Sacramento, CA 95825. Please include your name, return address, and
``DEIS Comments, Tejon Indian Tribe Casino Project'' on the first page
of your written comments.
By email to: Chad Broussard, Environmental Protection
Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, at [email protected], using
``DEIS Comments, Tejon Indian Tribe Casino Project'' as the subject of
your email.
The DEIS will be available for public review at:
BIA Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825
Kern County Public Library, Lamont Branch, 8304 Segrue Road,
Lamont, CA 93241
http://www.tejoneis.com.
The location of the public hearing will be announced at least 15 days
in advance through a notice to be published in a local newspaper (the
Bakersfield Californian) and online at http://www.tejoneis.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Broussard, Environmental
Protection Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Regional
Office, telephone: (916) 978-6165; email: [email protected].
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 placement of approximately 306 acres of fee land in
trust in Kern County, California. The Tribe proposes to construct a
casino resort on the trust property. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare an EIS was published in the Bakersfield Californian and Federal
Register on August 13, 2015. The BIA held a public scoping meeting for
the project on September 1, 2015, at the East Bakersfield Veteran's
Building, in Bakersfield, California.
Background
The Tribe's proposed project consists of the following components:
(1) The Department's transfer of the approximately 306-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.; (3) the approval of a management contract by
the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission under 25 U.S.C.
2711; and (4) the Tribe's proposed development of the trust parcel and
the off-site improvement areas. The proposed casino resort would
include a hotel, convention center, multipurpose event space, several
restaurant facilities, parking facilities, a recreational vehicle (RV)
park, fire, and sheriff stations and associated facilities.
The following alternatives are considered in the DEIS: (1) Proposed
Project; (2) Reduced Intensity Hotel and Casino; (3) Organic Farm; (4)
Alternate Site for the Proposed Project; and (5) No Action Alternative.
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. In accordance with
Section 176 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7506, and the EPA general
conformity regulations 40 CFR part 93, subpart B, a Draft Conformity
Determination (DCD) has been prepared for the proposed project. The
Clean Air Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that their actions
conform to applicable implementation plans for achieving and
maintaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for criteria air
pollutants. The BIA has prepared a DCD for the proposed action/project
described above. The DCD is included in Appendix N of the DEIS.
Locations Where the DEIS Is Available for Review: The DEIS 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. To obtain a compact disc copy of the DEIS, 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 DEIS 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 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. This notice is also published in
accordance with 40 CFR 93.155, which provides reporting
[[Page 35949]]
requirements for conformity determinations.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020-12697 Filed 6-11-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P