The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Pacific Regional Office, has prepared a Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed trust acquisition of 21 parcels totaling approximately 1,357.47 acres, by the United States for the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation (Tribe). This Final EA document is a revised version of the original EA (dated August 2009) that reflects the responses to comments received, with revised text shown in underline/strikeout format, and some new and updated studies and appendices. Since the public release and comment period on the original EA, several government to government meetings between the Tribe, BIA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have occurred with respect to consultation under Section 7 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA). The outcome of these meetings, along with the public comments received on the Draft EA, led the Tribe and BIA to form a reduced-impact Proposed Action (“Mitigated Proposed Action”), which reduces environmental impacts from the proposed project developments and reflects a reduction from 30 original parcels to 21 parcels for a total acreage reduction of 1,966.14 original acres to 1,357.47 acres. The Natural and Cultural Resources Management Plan (NRMP), Appendix A, has been revised and adopted by the Tribe and will be the controlling document for future land management and governance of the “Conservation Areas” designated in accordance with the Mitigated Proposed Action. The Final EA also contains as Appendix N the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recently issued final Biological Opinion (BO) for the Mitigated Proposed Action.The Final 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 Final EA provides an analysis of the potential environmental impacts associated with the trust land acquisition and development under the Mitigated Proposed Action.
The comment period for the Final EA ended on September 13, 2011.