[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
The Authority shall not approve a business site lease until
the proposed business site lease has completed the environmental review
process pursuant to this chapter and applicable Tribal regulations,
unless the Authority waives the environmental review process, which
it may do in its discretion or in accordance with § 932(a)
hereof. Business site leases approved and executed without compliance
with this chapter shall be null and void, provided that in no event
shall a lease which is exempted from the environmental review process
as provided above be deemed null and void for failure to comply with
this chapter.
[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
(a) Lessee Not Subject to Environmental Review Process. If the environmental
reviewer determines that the leasing decision by its nature would
not have a significant effect on the environment, the leasing decision
is exempt from additional requirements of the environmental review
process, subject to the environmental record requirements of applicable
Tribal environmental regulations.
(b) Lessee Subject to Environmental Review Process. If the environmental
reviewer determines that the leasing decision may be expected to have
a significant effect on the environment, because it may: i) impact;
ii) alter; iii) disturb; or iv) otherwise cause physical disturbances
to the biological or natural resources of the Tribe, the lessee must
fulfill the requirements of the environmental review process. The
physical disturbances must be direct, such as land clearing, new building
construction, or discharge of emission or effluent associated with
the project.
(c) Statutory Exemption for Certain Leases. Leasing decisions involving
a business site lease proposing the use of premises that are the subject
of a completed federal environmental review under federal law shall
be exempt from the environmental review process, and the Tribe shall
not be required to prepare a TEIR under § 934 of this chapter.
[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
If the environmental reviewer determines that the leasing decision
is subject to the environmental review process, the Authority may
not consider the leasing decision until the environmental reviewer
closes the environmental review process in accordance with this ordinance
and applicable Tribal environmental regulations.
[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
(a) Unless an exemption applies or a business site lease is otherwise
not subject to the environmental review process, then, before the
execution of any business site lease, the Authority shall cause to
be prepared a comprehensive and adequate tribal environmental impact
report ("TEIR"), analyzing the potentially significant effects of
the project on the environment; provided, however, that information
or data which is relevant to such a TEIR and is a matter of public
record or is generally available to the public need not be repeated
in its entirety in the TEIR, but may be specifically cited as the
source for conclusions stated therein; and provided further that such
information or data shall be briefly described, that its relationship
to the TEIR shall be indicated, and that the source thereof shall
be reasonably available for inspection at a public place or public
building. The Authority shall endeavor to have the TEIR completed
within six (6) months from the date of the environmental reviewer's
determination that the leasing decision is subject to the Environmental
Review process, although the time may be extended as needed to ensure
that the TEIR is sufficiently thorough and complete. The TEIR shall
provide detailed information about the significant effect(s) on the
environment which the project is likely to have, and shall include
a detailed statement setting forth all of the following:
(1) A description of the physical environmental conditions in the vicinity
of the project (the environmental setting and existing baseline conditions),
as they exist at the time the notice of preparation is issued;
(2) All significant effects on the environment of the proposed project;
(3) In a separate section:
(A)
Any significant effect on the environment that cannot be avoided
if the lease is executed; and
(B)
Any significant effect on the environment that would be irreversible
if the lease is executed.
(C)
Any mitigation measures proposed, recommended, or required.
(b) In addition to the information required pursuant to Subsection
(a), the TEIR shall also contain a statement indicating the reasons for determining that various effects of the project on the off-reservation environment are not significant and consequently have not been discussed in detail in the TEIR. In the TEIR, the direct and indirect significant effects on the environment shall be clearly identified and described, giving due consideration to both the short-term and long-term effects.
[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
(a) Within no less than thirty (30) days following the completion of
the draft TEIR, the Authority shall file a copy of the draft TEIR
and a notice of completion with the Tribe. The Authority shall also
post the notice of completion and a copy of the draft TEIR on the
Tribe's website. The notice of completion shall include all of the
following information:
(1) A brief description of the project;
(2) The proposed location of the project;
(3) An address where copies of the draft TEIR are available; and
(4) Notice of a period of thirty (30) days during which the Tribe will
receive comments on the draft TEIR.
(b) To satisfy the requirement for providing the public with adequate
notice and opportunity to comment, the Authority will provide public
notice by at least one (1) of the procedures specified below:
(1) Publication of the Authority's draft TEIR in a newspaper of general
circulation in the area affected by the proposed project, with notice
to the public of the opportunity to comment on any significant effect
on the environment of the leasing decision.
(2) Posting of the Authority's draft TEIR in the offices of the Tribe
and the Authority with notice to the public of the opportunity to
comment on any significant effect on the environment of the leasing
decision.
(3) Posting of the Authority's draft TEIR on the Tribe's website, with
notice to the public of the opportunity to comment on any significant
effect on the environment of the leasing decision.
[History: Tribal Act #20-38.3291, enacted by Tribal Council
in Special Session on October 28, 2020.]
After the thirty-day comment period has ended, the Authority
will review all comments received from the public. Prior to the approval
and execution of the business site lease, the Authority will provide
responses to relevant and substantive public comments on any significant
effect on the environment arising as a result of the proposed project
and proposed or recommended mitigation measures addressing any such
impacts.