[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23041-23042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07049]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[245A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's Proposed Fee-to-
Trust and Casino Project, Franklin County, Washington

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, intends to gather information necessary 
for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection with the 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes) 
proposed Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project in the City of Pasco, Franklin 
County, Washington. This notice also opens public scoping to identify 
potential issues, concerns, and alternatives to be considered in the 
EIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration during the development of the EIS, 
written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent as soon as 
possible and no later than 30 days after publication of this Notice of 
Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register. The time and date of the public 
scoping meeting will be announced at least 15 days in advance through a 
notice to be published in the local newspaper (The Tri-City Herald) and 
online at http://www.colvilleeis.com.

ADDRESSES: You may mail written comments to Bryan Mercier, Regional 
Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest Region, 911 NE 11th 
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232. Please include your name, return 
address, and ``NOI Comments, Colville Tribes Fee-to-Trust and Casino 
Project'' on the first page of your written comments. You may also 
submit comments through email to Tobiah Mogavero, NEPA Coordinator, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, at: [email protected], using ``NOI 
Comments, Colville Tribes Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project'' as the 
subject of your email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tobiah Mogavero, NEPA Coordinator, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest Region, (435) 210-0509, 
[email protected]. Information is also available online at http://www.colvilleeis.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Colville Tribes submitted a Fee-to-Trust 
application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) requesting the 
placement of approximately 164.63 acres of fee land in trust by the 
United States upon which the Colville Tribes would construct a casino 
resort. The facility would include an approximately 184,200-square-foot 
casino, 200-room hotel, an event center, eateries, and supporting 
facilities. The proposed Fee-to-Trust property is located within the 
boundaries of the City of Pasco, Franklin County, Washington. The 
proposed trust property is comprised of one parcel (Assessor Parcel No. 
113-130-068) bound by N. Capitol Avenue to the west, commercial and 
industrial development to the west and south, and agricultural parcels 
to the north and east. The purpose of the proposed action is to improve 
the economic status of the Tribal government so that it can provide 
comprehensive services and ensure the continued social and economic 
independence and well-being of its Tribal members.
    The proposed action encompasses the various federal approvals that 
may be required to implement the Colville Tribes' proposed project, 
including approval of the Colville Tribes' Fee-to-Trust application and 
Secretarial Determination pursuant to section 20(b)(1)(A) of the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(A)). The EIS will identify 
and evaluate issues related to these approvals and will also evaluate a 
range of reasonable alternatives. Possible alternatives currently under 
consideration include: (1) a reduced-intensity casino alternative, and 
(2) an alternate-use (non-gaming) alternative. The range of 
alternatives evaluated in the EIS may be expanded based on comments 
received during the scoping process.
    Areas of environmental concern preliminarily identified for 
analysis in the EIS include land resources; water resources; air 
quality; noise; biological resources; cultural/historic/archaeological 
resources; resource use patterns; traffic and transportation; public 
health and safety; hazardous materials and hazardous wastes; public 
services and utilities; socioeconomics; environmental justice; visual 
resources/aesthetics; and cumulative, indirect, and growth-inducing 
effects. The range of issues to be addressed in the EIS may be expanded 
or reduced based on comments received in response to this notice and at 
the public scoping meeting. Additional information, including a map of 
the proposed trust property, is available by contacting the

[[Page 23042]]

person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
notice or online at http://www.colvilleeis.com.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
included as part of the administrative record and Scoping Report for 
the EIS. 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 in accordance with sections 1503.1 and 
1506.6 of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500 
et seq.) and the Department of the Interior regulations (43 CFR part 
46) implementing the procedural requirements of the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), and in accordance with the exercise of authority 
delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by part 209 of the 
Department Manual.

Wizipan Garriott,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Exercising by 
delegation the authority of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-07049 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P