[Federal Register: November 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 215)]
[Notices]
[Page 67738-67739]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08no05-52]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Campo Solid Waste Landfill Facility on the
Campo Indian Reservation, San Diego County, CA
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 Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians
(Campo Band) as a cooperating agency, intends to prepare a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a proposed solid waste
landfill facility to be located on the Campo Indian Reservation in San
Diego County, California. The purpose of the proposed action is to
provide economic support for tribal self-sufficiency and self-
government and to address the socio-economic needs of the Campo Band.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must arrive by December 9, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Clay Gregory,
Regional Director, Pacific Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825. Please include your
name, return address and the caption, ``SEIS, Campo Solid Waste
Landfill Facility Proposal,'' on the first page of your written
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rydzik, (916) 978-6042.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to approve a lease
and sublease to allow a 1,150 acre portion of the Campo Indian
Reservation to be used for the construction and operation of a solid
waste landfill facility. The solid waste landfill facility would
require approximately 600 acres of the 1,150 acre lease area. The
remaining 550 acres of lease area that surround the proposed facility
would be preserved as an
[[Page 67739]]
undeveloped buffer area. The Campo Indian Reservation, which consists
of 15,580 acres in southeastern San Diego County, lies just north of
the United States/Mexico border and approximately 45 miles inland from
the Pacific Ocean.
The Campo Band previously entered into a lease agreement with Muht-
Hei, Inc. (MHI), pursuant to which MHI would lease a portion of the
Campo Indian Reservation for the purpose of constructing and operating
a solid waste landfill, recycling facility, and composting facility.
The Campo Band originally authorized MHI in 1989 to enter into a
sublease with Mid-American Waste Systems, Inc. (MAWS) for the
development of the solid waste landfill facility. The Campo Band
requested the BIA approve the lease and sublease for the proposed
project. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared by BIA,
in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act, to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed
project prior to determining whether the proposed lease related to the
project should be approved. A Final EIS (FEIS) was released on November
24, 1992. The BIA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) with conditions on
April 27, 1993, and approved the lease between the Campo Band and MHI
and sublease between MHI and MAWS for the proposed solid waste
landfill. The Campo Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) issued a
final Authority to Construct Permit (ATC) to MHI and MAWS on April 5,
1994, to construct the proposed solid waste landfill, subject to the
conditions of the ROD and ATC.
Subsequently, MAWS failed to proceed with construction of the
project and MHI was found in default of the sublease terms. Since that
time, MHI has solicited interest from other solid waste landfill
developers. In early 2003, MHI began negotiations with BLT Enterprises,
Inc. (BLT), Oxnard, California, on the terms of a sublease to develop
the solid waste landfill described in the FEIS. Those negotiations were
successfully concluded and on December 12, 2004, the Campo Band
authorized MHI to enter into a sublease with BLT.
The BIA has decided to prepare a SEIS to address changes in the
proposed action, relevant information that has become available, or
circumstances that have changed over the years since the FEIS was
issued. Areas of concern addressed in the FEIS included land resources,
water resources, air quality, living resources, cultural resources,
socio-economics, transportation, land use, resource use patterns, noise
and other values. The FEIS included five alternatives to the proposed
action, as follows: (1) Alternative Site One, (2) Alternative Site Two,
(3) Reduced Waste Stream at the Proposed Site, (4) Reduced Area of
Disturbance at the Proposed Site, and (5) No Action. The SEIS will
incorporate the proposed project description from the FEIS by
reference, and will discuss aspects of the project that have changed
since the FEIS was released in 1992, any changes in environmental
impacts associated with those changes, and changes to alternatives.
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 business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may request
confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address
from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by the
law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All submissions
from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Authority
This notice is published in accordance with sections 1503.1, 1506.6
and 1508.22 of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR
Parts 1500 through 1508) implementing the procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is
in the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.l.
Dated: October 24, 2005.
Michael D. Olsen,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-22173 Filed 11-7-05; 8:45 am]
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