This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, with the City of Beloit, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Ho-Chunk Nation (Nation), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) serving as cooperating agencies, intends to file a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the EPA in connection with the Nation's application for transfer into trust by the United States of approximately 33 acres for gaming and other purposes in the City of Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin.

The Tribe proposes to develop a casino-hotel resort on approximately 33 acres in the City of Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin. The BIA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in the Federal Register on November 26, 2012 (77 FR 70460), and in The Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and The Rockford Register Star. The BIA held a public scoping meeting on December 13, 2012, at Aldrich Middle School in Beloit, Wisconsin. The BIA published a Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS in the Federal Register on November 9, 2018 (83 FR 56096), and in The Daily News, The Janesville Gazette, and The Rockford Register Star. The BIA held a public hearing for the proposed project on December 11, 2018, at Aldrich Middle School.

Background: The Tribe's proposed project consists of the following components: (1) The Department of the Interior's (Department) transfer of approximately 33 acres from fee to trust status; (2) issuance of a determination by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. 2719; and (3) the development of the trust parcel. The proposed casino-hotel resort would include a hotel, convention center, outdoor amphitheater, several restaurant facilities, waterpark, retail buildings, and parking facilities. Access to the project site would be provided via three driveways, one along Willowbrook Road and two along Colley Road. The following alternatives are considered in the FEIS: (1) Proposed Project; (2) Reduced Casino and Commercial Development; (3) Retail Development; and (4) No Action/No Development. The BIA identifies Alternative 1 the Preferred Alternative as discussed in the FEIS.