[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10236-10237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5324]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed,
High Mesa Waste Management Facility on the Nambe Indian Reservation,
Santa Fe County, NM
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of DEIS and public hearing and public
comment dates.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) for a proposed lease to construct and operate a
combined municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition
(C&D) waste facility on lands of the Pueblo of Nambe, Santa Fe County,
New Mexico, is now available for public review and comment. This DEIS
was prepared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in cooperation with the
Pueblo of Nambe, the Nambe Pueblo Development Corporation and their
environmental consultants. A description of the proposed project
location and of the environmental issues addressed in the DEIS are
provided below in the Supplementary Information. This notice also
announces a public hearing to receive public comments on the DEIS.
This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 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.), and the
Department of Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the exercise of
authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209
DM 8.
DATES: Written comments must arrive by March 30, 1998, at the address
given below. All correspondence should show the following caption on
the first page: ``DEIS Comments, High Mesa Solid Waste Facility
Project, Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico.'' The public hearing will be held
on March 17, 1998, at the location shown below. We will consider all
comments sent during this period, or submitted at the hearing, in
preparing the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
ADDRESSES: Address comments to Rob Baracker, Area Director, Albuquerque
Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 26567, Albuquerque, NM
87125-6567. The public hearing will be held at from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00
p.m. on March 17, 1998, at the Nambe Pueblo Fuel Terminal east of
Allsup's Convenience Store, at the Cuyamungue Arroyo on U.S. Route 84/
285. This hearing will be co-hosted by the BIA and MCT Industries, Inc.
of Albuquerque.
The DEIS is available for review at the following addresses: the
Albuquerque Public Library, 501 Copper NW, Albuquerque, NM; the Santa
Fe Public Library, 145 Washington Avenue, Santa Fe, NM; and the
Espanola Public Library, 314-A Onate St., Espanola, NM. To obtain a
copy of the DEIS, please write or call Curtis Canard, Environmental
Protection Specialist, Albuquerque Area Office, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Albuquerque, NM 87125-6567, telephone (505) 766-1039.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Curtis Canard at the above address or
telephone number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action would permit High Mesa
Environmental LLC (High) to lease 100 acres of the Nambe Indian
Reservation for the purposes of constructing and operating a combined
MSW and C&D waste facility for a variety of non-hazardous wastes.
Approximately 200 to 400 tons per day of waste material would be
delivered to the facility by truck. The purpose of the action is to
help meet the northern New Mexico Pueblos' solid waste management
needs, and to provide a foundation for economic development for the
Pueblo of Nambe.
The proposed project includes an initial C&D-only waste cell, with
an operations area, and a site well. The facility will ultimately
include five additional lined cells for combined MSW and C&D waste, two
collection ponds, monitoring wells and a leachate evaporation pond.
Offsite roadway improvements would also be necessary. The project will
meet all applicable environmental standards and regulations.
The project area is in the central portion of the Espanola Basin,
part of the Alamosa-Santa Fe segment of the Rio Grande rift, 17 miles
northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is an isolated site located three
miles from the Pueblo proper, with no infrastructure such as water,
power, or roads. The terrain in this area is steep and mostly clay,
with little to no vegetation. The area is considered badlands.
The DEIS addresses the issues identified at the September 25, 1997,
scoping meeting and in the written comments that were submitted to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Albuquerque Area Office. Alternatives to
the proposed project that are
[[Page 10237]]
considered in the DEIS include: (1) limited development; (2) use of an
old landfill site; (3) alternate sites on the Nambe Reservation; (4)
alternate sites off of the Reservation; (5) use of the site for
recreation; (6) use of the site for agriculture; and (7) no action. The
environmental issues addressed in the DEIS include geology, topography,
soils, water resources, air quality, living resources, cultural
resources, traffic, land use, visual resources, socio-economics, public
health and safety, and noise.
Dated: February 24, 1998.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-5324 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
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