The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is eager to begin building a bingo hall on their Shab-eh-nay Reservation land near the Village of Shabbona in southern DeKalb County, Illinois. They say that the project will generate union construction jobs as well as numerous other jobs – the vast majority of which will be filled by local residents. It also hopes to boost tourism and patrons for other local businesses.
The gaming facility would consist of a class II gaming area, restaurants and lounges, a multi-purpose room that could be used for entertainment, meetings, and other purposes, and surface parking for cars and buses.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (Nation) as cooperating agency, intend to gather information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in connection with the Nation’s application for the proposed acquisition in trust by the United States of approximately 129 acres for construction and operation of a gaming facility in DeKalb County, Illinois. This notice also opens public scoping to identify potential issues, concerns and alternatives to be considered in the EIS.
A scoping meeting will be held this Tuesday evening, January 26, 2016 in the Jenkins Auditorium at the Kishwaukee College Conference Center from 6:30 p.m. until the last public comment is received. Residents will be given an opportunity to discuss the proposed Prairie Band Potawatomi bingo hall outside Shabbona. Written comments must have been received by February 22, 2016. The public scoping meeting will take place at the Jenkins Auditorium at the Kishwaukee College Conference Center, located at 21193 Malta Road in Malta, IL 60150. For further information contact Scott Doig, Acting Regional Environmental Scientist, at (612) 725-4514, or e-mail scott.doig@bia.gov.
Areas preliminarily identified for analysis 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.
The purpose of the proposed action according to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, is to acquire land in trust that was historically reserved for Chief Shab-eh- nay and his Band of Potawatomis by treaty, and to facilitate economic development so that the Tribal government can better provide housing, health care, education, cultural programs, and other services to its members.
The Nation has reached intergovernmental agreements over the last several years, with local government entities to address issues of mutual concern and ensure that their plans will not impose a burden on the resources and infrastructure of the local governments. These local government entities are DeKalb County; Village of Shabbona; DeKalb County Sheriff and Shabbona Community Fire Protection District. To learn more about the Prairie Band’s plans, visit their Shabehnay Reservation website here.
“The Potawatomi, whose ties to their land here go back two centuries, have gone out of their way to be good friends and neighbors to me and the other folks of Shabbona. They have worked closely with us to explain their plans, to solicit community input and to modify their plans to address community concerns.”
Claudia Hicks, Mayor, Village of Shabbona
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