This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, intends to file a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in connection with the Redding Rancheria's (Tribe) application requesting that the United States acquire approximately 232 acres of land in trust in Shasta County, California, for the construction and operation of a casino resort.

The Tribe submitted an application to the Department of the Interior (Department) requesting the placement of approximately 232 acres of fee land in trust by the United States upon which the Tribe would construct a casino resort. The facility would include an approximately 69,500 square foot casino, an approximately 250-room hotel, an event/convention center, an outdoor amphitheatre, a retail center, and associated parking and infrastructure. The new facility would replace the Tribe's existing casino, and the existing casino buildings would be converted to a different Tribal use.

Accordingly, the proposed action for the Department is the acquisition requested by the Tribe. The proposed fee-to-trust property is located in an unincorporated part of Shasta County, California, approximately 1.6 miles northeast of the existing Redding Rancheria, and about two miles southeast of downtown Redding. The proposed trust property includes seven parcels, bound by Bechelli Lane on the north, private properties to the south, the Sacramento River on the west, and Interstate 5 on the east. The Shasta County Assessor's parcel numbers (APNs) for the property are 055-010-011, 055-010-012, 055-010-014, 055-010-015, 055-050-001, 055-020-004 and 055-020-005.

The following alternatives are considered in the DEIS: (1) Proposed Project; (2) Proposed Project with No Retail Alternative; (3) Reduce Intensity Alternative; (4) Non-Gaming Alternative; (5) Anderson Site Alternative; (6) Expansion of Existing Casino Alternative; and (7) No Action Alternative. Environmental issues addressed in the EIS include land resources; water resources; air quality; noise; biological resources; cultural/historical/archaeological resources; resource use patterns; traffic and transportation; public health and safety; hazardous materials and hazardous wastes; public services and utilities; socioeconomics; environmental justice; visual resources/aesthetics; and cumulative, indirect, and growth-inducing effects.