Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Notices 92711 

Code PHAs Waiver signed 

UT016 ......................... Housing Authority of Carbon County ....................................................................................................... 1/9/2024 

[FR Doc. 2024–27381 Filed 11–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[256A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900] 

HEARTH Act Approval of Bay Mills 

Indian Community, Michigan, Leasing 

Ordinance 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA) approved the Bay Mills Indian 

Community, Michigan Leasing 

Ordinance under the Helping Expedite 

and Advance Responsible Tribal 

Homeownership Act of 2012 (HEARTH 

Act). With this approval, the Tribe is 

authorized to enter into agriculture, 

business, residential, wind and solar, 

public, religious, and recreational leases 

without further BIA approval. 

DATES: BIA issued the approval on 

November 12, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Carla Clark, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Division of Real Estate Services, 1001 

Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque, 

NM 87104, carla.clark@bia.gov, (702) 

484–3233. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of the HEARTH Act 

The HEARTH Act makes a voluntary, 

alternative land leasing process 

available to Tribes, by amending the 

Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955, 

25 U.S.C. 415. The HEARTH Act 

authorizes Tribes to negotiate and enter 

into business leases of Tribal trust lands 

with a primary term of 25 years, and up 

to two renewal terms of 25 years each, 

without the approval of the Secretary of 

the Interior (Secretary). The HEARTH 

Act also authorizes Tribes to enter into 

leases for residential, recreational, 

religious or educational purposes for a 

primary term of up to 75 years without 

the approval of the Secretary. 

Participating Tribes develop Tribal 

Leasing regulations, including an 

environmental review process, and then 

must obtain the Secretary’s approval of 

those regulations prior to entering into 

leases. The HEARTH Act requires the 

Secretary to approve Tribal regulations 

if the Tribal regulations are consistent 

with the Department of the Interior’s 

(Department) leasing regulations at 25 

CFR part 162 and provide for an 

environmental review process that 

meets requirements set forth in the 

HEARTH Act. This notice announces 

that the Secretary, through the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs, has approved 

the Tribal regulations for the Bay Mills 

Indian Community, Michigan. 

II. Federal Preemption of State and 

Local Taxes 

The Department’s regulations 

governing the surface leasing of trust 

and restricted Indian lands specify that, 

subject to applicable Federal law, 

permanent improvements on leased 

land, leasehold or possessory interests, 

and activities under the lease are not 

subject to State and local taxation and 

may be subject to taxation by the Indian 

Tribe with jurisdiction. See 25 CFR 

162.017. As explained further in the 

preamble to the final regulations, the 

Federal Government has a strong 

interest in promoting economic 

development, self-determination, and 

Tribal sovereignty. 77 FR 72440, 72447– 

48 (December 5, 2012). The principles 

supporting the Federal preemption of 

State law in the field of Indian leasing 

and the taxation of lease-related 

interests and activities applies with 

equal force to leases entered into under 

Tribal leasing regulations approved by 

the Federal Government pursuant to the 

HEARTH Act. 

Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization 

Act, 25 U.S.C. 5108, preempts State and 

local taxation of permanent 

improvements on trust land. 

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis 

Reservation v. Thurston County, 724 

F.3d 1153, 1157 (9th Cir. 2013) (citing 

Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 

U.S. 145 (1973)). Similarly, section 5108 

preempts State taxation of rent 

payments by a lessee for leased trust 

lands, because ‘‘tax on the payment of 

rent is indistinguishable from an 

impermissible tax on the land.’’ See 

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Stranburg, 

799 F.3d 1324, 1331, n.8 (11th Cir. 

2015). In addition, as explained in the 

preamble to the revised leasing 

regulations at 25 CFR part 162, Federal 

courts have applied a balancing test to 

determine whether State and local 

taxation of non-Indians on the 

reservation is preempted. White 

Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 

U.S. 136, 143 (1980). The Bracker 

balancing test, which is conducted 

against a backdrop of ‘‘traditional 

notions of Indian self-government,’’ 

requires a particularized examination of 

the relevant State, Federal, and Tribal 

interests. We hereby adopt the Bracker 

analysis from the preamble to the 

surface leasing regulations, 77 FR at 

72,447–48, as supplemented by the 

analysis below. 

The strong Federal and Tribal 

interests against State and local taxation 

of improvements, leaseholds, and 

activities on land leased under the 

Department’s leasing regulations apply 

equally to improvements, leaseholds, 

and activities on land leased pursuant to 

Tribal leasing regulations approved 

under the HEARTH Act. Congress’s 

overarching intent was to ‘‘allow Tribes 

to exercise greater control over their 

own land, support self-determination, 

and eliminate bureaucratic delays that 

stand in the way of homeownership and 

economic development in Tribal 

communities.’’ 158 Cong. Rec. H. 2682 

(May 15, 2012). The HEARTH Act was 

intended to afford Tribes ‘‘flexibility to 

adapt lease terms to suit [their] business 

and cultural needs’’ and to ‘‘enable 

[Tribes] to approve leases quickly and 

efficiently.’’ H. Rep. 112–427 at 6 

(2012). 

Assessment of State and local taxes 

would obstruct these express Federal 

policies supporting Tribal economic 

development and self-determination, 

and also threaten substantial Tribal 

interests in effective Tribal government, 

economic self-sufficiency, and territorial 

autonomy. See Michigan v. Bay Mills 

Indian Community, 572 U.S. 782, 810 

(2014) (Sotomayor, J., concurring) 

(determining that ‘‘[a] key goal of the 

Federal Government is to render Tribes 

more self-sufficient, and better 

positioned to fund their own sovereign 

functions, rather than relying on Federal 

funding’’). The additional costs of State 

and local taxation have a chilling effect 

on potential lessees, as well as on a 

Tribe that, as a result, might refrain from 

exercising its own sovereign right to 

impose a Tribal tax to support its 

infrastructure needs. See id. at 810–11 

(finding that State and local taxes 

greatly discourage Tribes from raising 

tax revenue from the same sources 

because the imposition of double 

taxation would impede Tribal economic 

growth). 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
92712 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Notices 

Similar to BIA’s surface leasing 

regulations, Tribal regulations under the 

HEARTH Act pervasively cover all 

aspects of leasing. See 25 U.S.C. 

415(h)(3)(B)(i) (requiring Tribal 

regulations be consistent with BIA 

surface leasing regulations). 

Furthermore, the Federal Government 

remains involved in the Tribal land 

leasing process by approving the Tribal 

leasing regulations in the first instance 

and providing technical assistance, 

upon request by a Tribe, for the 

development of an environmental 

review process. The Secretary also 

retains authority to take any necessary 

actions to remedy violations of a lease 

or of the Tribal regulations, including 

terminating the lease or rescinding 

approval of the Tribal regulations and 

reassuming lease approval 

responsibilities. Moreover, the Secretary 

continues to review, approve, and 

monitor individual Indian land leases 

and other types of leases not covered 

under the Tribal regulations according 

to 25 CFR part 162. 

Accordingly, the Federal and Tribal 

interests weigh heavily in favor of 

preemption of State and local taxes on 

lease-related activities and interests, 

regardless of whether the lease is 

governed by Tribal leasing regulations 

or 25 CFR part 162. Improvements, 

activities, and leasehold or possessory 

interests may be subject to taxation by 

the Bay Mills Indian Community, 

Michigan. 

Wizipan Garriott, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs, Exercising by delegation the authority 

of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27401 Filed 11–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[256A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900] 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

for the Coquille Indian Tribe Fee-toTrust and Gaming Facility Project, City 

of Medford, Jackson County, Oregon 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 

as lead agency, with the Coquille Indian 

Tribe (Tribe), City of Medford (City), 

Jackson County (County), and the 

Oregon Department of Transportation 

(ODOT) serving as cooperating agencies, 

intends to file a Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS) with the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

in connection with the Tribe’s 

application to transfer into trust 

approximately 2.4 acres for gaming 

purposes in the City of Medford, 

Jackson County, Oregon (Medford Site). 

DATES: The Record of Decision for the 

proposed action will be issued on or 

after 30 days from the date the EPA 

publishes its Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. The BIA must 

receive any comments on the FEIS 

before that date. 

ADDRESSES: By mail or hand delivery to: 

Bryan Mercier, Regional Director, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest 

Region, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, 

Oregon 97232. Please include your 

name, return address, and ‘‘FEIS 

Comments, Coquille Indian Tribe Feeto-Trust and Casino Project’’ on the first 

page of your written comments. 

By email to: Tobiah Mogavero, NEPA 

Coordinator, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

at: tobiah.mogavero@bia.gov, using 

‘‘FEIS Comments, Coquille Indian Tribe 

Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project’’ as the 

subject of your email. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Tobiah Mogavero, NEPA Coordinator, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest 

Region, (435) 210–0509, 

tobiah.mogavero@bia.gov. Information 

is also available online at https://

coquille-eis.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft 

EIS was published by the BIA (87 FR 

72505) and EPA (87 FR 72482) in the 

Federal Register on November 25, 2022. 

The Draft EIS was originally made 

available for public comment for a 45- 

day period. However, the BIA extended 

the public comment period for an 

additional 45-day period that concluded 

on February 23, 2023, resulting in a total 

comment period of 90 days. Virtual 

public hearings were held on December 

15, 2022, and January 31, 2023, to 

collect verbal comments on the Draft 

EIS. 

Background 

The following alternatives are 

considered in the FEIS: (1) Proposed 

Project; (2) Phoenix Site; (3) Expansion 

of the Mill Casino; and (4) and No 

Action/No Development Alternative. 

The BIA has selected Alternative 1, the 

Proposed Project, as the Preferred 

Alternative as discussed in the FEIS. 

Environmental issues addressed in 

the FEIS include geology and soils, 

water resources, air quality, biological 

resources, cultural and paleontological 

resources, socioeconomic conditions 

(including environmental justice), 

transportation and circulation, land use, 

public services, noise, hazardous 

materials, aesthetics, cumulative effects, 

and indirect and growth inducing 

effects. 

The information and analysis 

contained in the FEIS, as well as its 

evaluation and assessment of the 

Preferred Alternative, will assist the 

Department in its review of the issues 

presented in the Tribe’s application. 

Selection of the Preferred Alternative 

does not indicate the Department’s final 

decision because the Department must 

complete its review process. The 

Department’s review process consists of 

(1) issuing the notice of availability of 

the FEIS; (2) issuing a Record of 

Decision no sooner than 30 days 

following publication of a Notice of 

Availability of the FEIS by the EPA in 

the Federal Register; and (3) transfer of 

the Medford Site in to trust under the 

Coquille Restoration Act of 1989, 25 

U.S.C. 715 et. seq. 

Locations where the FEIS is Available 

for Review: The FEIS is available for 

review at https://coquille-eis.com. 

Contact information is listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this notice. 

Public Comment Availability: 

Comments, including names and 

addresses of respondents, will be 

included as part of the administrative 

record and responses to comments on 

the Final EIS. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask in your comment that your 

personal identifying information be 

withheld from public review, the BIA 

cannot guarantee that this will occur. 

Authority 

This notice is published pursuant to 

section 1503.1 of the Council of 

Environmental Quality Regulations (40 

CFR part 1500 through 1508) and 

section 46.305 of the Department of the 

Interior Regulations (43 CFR part 46), 

implementing the procedural 

requirements of the NEPA of 1969, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 4371, et seq.), and 

is in the exercise of authority delegated 

to the Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs by 209 DM 8. This notice is also 

published in accordance with 40 CFR 

93.155, which provides reporting 


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