Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed High Mesa Environmental Facility on the Pueblo of Nambe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed High Mesa

Environmental Facility on the Pueblo of Nambe, Santa Fe County, New

Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed approval of a lease of

approximately 100 acres held in trust by the federal government for the

Pueblo of Nambe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, is now available for

public review and comment. The FEIS, prepared by the Bureau of Indian

Affairs (BIA), describes the High Mesa Environmental Facility, proposed

for construction and operation on the leased land. The facility would

receive construction and demolition (C&W) waste and municipal solid

waste (MSW) from the Pueblo of Nambe and the surrounding area. A

description of the proposed project location and of the environmental

issues addressed in the FEIS follow as supplementary information.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Allen Sedik, Environmental Scientist,

Albuquerque Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 26567,

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125-6567.

[[Page 34265]]

Copies of the FEIS may be obtained from Allen Sedik at the above

address, or by calling (505) 346-7109. The FEIS is also available for

review at this address, and at four other locations, as follows: Pueblo

of Nambe, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Route 1, Box

117-BB, Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico 87501; Allen Clark, Reference

Services, Albuquerque Public Library, 501 Copper Avenue NW,

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102; Bambi Adams, Reference Services, Santa

Fe Public Library, 145 Washington Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501;

and Espanola Public Library, 314-A Onate Street, Espanola, New Mexico

87532.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen Sedik, (505) 346-7109.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action would lease 100 acres of

the Pueblo of Nambe to High Mesa Environmental LLC for the purposes of

constructing and operating a combined MSW and C&D waste facility for a

variety of nonhazardous 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, a leachate evaporation pond, and

offsite roadway improvements. 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.

Alternatives to the proposed project that are considered in the

FEIS include: (1) Limited development; (2) use of an old landfill site;

(3) alternate sites on the Pueblo of Nambe; (4) alternate sites off of

the Pueblo; (5) use of the site for recreation; (6) use of the site for

agriculture; and (7) no action. The environmental issues addressed in

the FEIS include geology, topography, soils, water resources, air

quality, living resources, cultural resources, traffic, land use,

visual resources, socioeconomic, public health and safety, and noise.

Public participation in the preparation of this FEIS consisted of a

public scoping meeting on September 25, 1997, plus two public meetings,

one on March 17, and the other on April 21, 1998, to inform the public

about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and provide

participants an opportunity for comment. The public was also afforded a

60-day period for comment on the DEIS. The availability of the DEIS for

comment for this period was published in the Federal Register (63 FR

16569, April 3, 1998), the Rio Grande Sun, and the Santa Fe New

Mexican.

This notice is published in accordance with section 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 the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the

exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian

Affairs by 209 DM 8.

Dated: June 21, 1999.

Michael J. Anderson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 99-16258 Filed 6-24-99; 8:45 am]

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