The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognized Indian Tribe (Tribe), proposes to place 30 parcels totaling 1,966.14 acres (collectively called the Sycuan Property) into federal trust. The Sycuan Property is located within San Diego County adjacent to the Sycuan Reservation. An Environmental Assessment (EA) has been released by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as part of the fee-to-trust process. The BIA is the federal agency that is charged with reviewing and approving tribal applications pursuant to 25 C.F.R. Part 151.
The EA was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Guidelines for Implementing NEPA (40 C.F.R. Parts 1500-1508), and the BIA’s NEPA Handbook (59 IAM 3). The EA provides an analysis of the potential environmental impacts associated with the transfer of the Sycuan Property into trust and potential development on the Sycuan Property.