Final EIS

A Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the environmental impacts of transferring approximately 60 acres in the Township of Fruitport, Michigan, into federal trust status for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan (Tribe) and issuing a two-part determination under Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA); the Tribe subsequently proposes to develop the trust property and adjacent land owned by the Tribe totaling 86.5 acres with a variety of uses including a casino, hotel, convention center, parking, and other supporting facilities (Proposed Project).

The approximately 86.5-acre project site is bordered by Interstate-96 to the east, South Harvey Street to the west, and East Ellis Road to the south and consists of the following Assessor’s Parcel Numbers (APNs): 15-115-300-0011-10 and 15-115-300-0026-00.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is the federal agency that is charged with reviewing and approving tribal applications to take land into federal trust status and is Lead Agency for the preparation of the EIS in compliance with NEPA.  The BIA issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the Proposed Project on September 21, 2015, which opened a 30-day public scoping period to identify potential issues, concerns, and alternatives to be considered in the EIS. A public scoping meeting was held on October 15, 2015.  A Scoping Report, summarizing the issues identified during the scoping process, was made available in February 2016.

The Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register and in the Muskegon Chronicle on November 21, 2018. The initial 45-day public comment period ended on January 7, 2019. The public comment period for the Draft EIS was reopened on March 18, 2019, for an additional 30 days, ending on April 17, 2019.

The Notice of Availability for the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register and in the Muskegon Chronicle on October 23, 2020. The 30-day waiting period ended on November 22, 2020.

On December 16, 2020, the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs signed a Record of Decision (ROD) and issued a Secretarial Determination of gaming eligibility pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for the 60-acre property in the Township of Fruitport, County of Muskegon, Michigan.