Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed, High Mesa Waste Management Facility on the Nambe Indian Reservation, Santa Fe County, NM

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

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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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