SHULLSBURG - Bureau of Indian Affairs began the formal process of preparing an Environmental Impact Statement with a scoping meeting with citizens in and around Shullsburg Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Shullsburg High School gym.
Scott Doig, an environmental impact specialist with the BIA, said the Shullsburg meeting was to gather local knowledge to help determine the scope of the study, which will be extensive.
The Tribe submitted a fee-to-trust land application for gaming on property it owns west of Shullsburg in March and held a public information meeting in April to share its plans for the facility. The project includes the development of a gaming facility, hotel, restaurant and retail facilities, entertainment and convention space, a recreational vehicle park, sportsman's club, maintenance facilities and surface parking.
The EIS must be completed before any decision can be made on the application, according to Project Manager Duane Chapman.
Comments were recorded at the meeting Thursday, and Doig said all written comments regarding the casino project received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs before Aug. 30 will be answered.
The EIS is an in-depth study of what impact the project will have on the environment, including the people and their lives. Included in the study are land, water and air resources; living resources; resource use patterns; socioeconomic conditions; and other values. Doig said individual study items range widely from archeology to light pollution, jobs and traffic patterns. Impacts to agriculture and recreation are also on the list.
"The study is not a foregone conclusion," Doig said.
The study needs the cooperation of different parties, he added. Information is to be gathered from a variety of places, and both federal and state departments will be involved. Atkins Global of Minnesota was hired to aid in completing the study.
"Anyone with jurisdiction or with special expertise," will be contacted for information, Doig added.
Doig said completing the study will take about 12-18 months, before it is sent to the BIA central office. Other aspects of the project will be developing during the same time period, and all parts are expected to be combined when finished to go before the BIA for a final decision to proceed with construction.
"The EIS is a process we know we have to go through," Chapman said. "But most importantly," he added, the study is to make sure "the impact for the casino development is not detrimental to the surrounding community."
Comments from citizens were spilt for and against the casino. Some citizen concerns drawing comments included jobs for the community versus low-paying jobs for local employees at the casino; increased traffic and visitors in the area versus gamers not coming to shop; and increases in taxes to support infrastructures versus the casino not being required to pay taxes.
For those who could not attend the public scoping meeting, written comments on the scope of the EIS or implementation of the proposal may be sent directly to the BIA. Mail, hand deliver or fax written comments to Diane Rosen, Regional Director, Midwest Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 5600 W. American Blvd., Suite 500, Bloomington, MN 55437. Fax: 612-713-4401. Comments must arrive by Aug. 30, 2013.
Scott Doig, an environmental impact specialist with the BIA, said the Shullsburg meeting was to gather local knowledge to help determine the scope of the study, which will be extensive.
The Tribe submitted a fee-to-trust land application for gaming on property it owns west of Shullsburg in March and held a public information meeting in April to share its plans for the facility. The project includes the development of a gaming facility, hotel, restaurant and retail facilities, entertainment and convention space, a recreational vehicle park, sportsman's club, maintenance facilities and surface parking.
The EIS must be completed before any decision can be made on the application, according to Project Manager Duane Chapman.
Comments were recorded at the meeting Thursday, and Doig said all written comments regarding the casino project received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs before Aug. 30 will be answered.
The EIS is an in-depth study of what impact the project will have on the environment, including the people and their lives. Included in the study are land, water and air resources; living resources; resource use patterns; socioeconomic conditions; and other values. Doig said individual study items range widely from archeology to light pollution, jobs and traffic patterns. Impacts to agriculture and recreation are also on the list.
"The study is not a foregone conclusion," Doig said.
The study needs the cooperation of different parties, he added. Information is to be gathered from a variety of places, and both federal and state departments will be involved. Atkins Global of Minnesota was hired to aid in completing the study.
"Anyone with jurisdiction or with special expertise," will be contacted for information, Doig added.
Doig said completing the study will take about 12-18 months, before it is sent to the BIA central office. Other aspects of the project will be developing during the same time period, and all parts are expected to be combined when finished to go before the BIA for a final decision to proceed with construction.
"The EIS is a process we know we have to go through," Chapman said. "But most importantly," he added, the study is to make sure "the impact for the casino development is not detrimental to the surrounding community."
Comments from citizens were spilt for and against the casino. Some citizen concerns drawing comments included jobs for the community versus low-paying jobs for local employees at the casino; increased traffic and visitors in the area versus gamers not coming to shop; and increases in taxes to support infrastructures versus the casino not being required to pay taxes.
For those who could not attend the public scoping meeting, written comments on the scope of the EIS or implementation of the proposal may be sent directly to the BIA. Mail, hand deliver or fax written comments to Diane Rosen, Regional Director, Midwest Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 5600 W. American Blvd., Suite 500, Bloomington, MN 55437. Fax: 612-713-4401. Comments must arrive by Aug. 30, 2013.