HBK's environmental team prepared a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-compliant Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians to support a fee-to-trust land transfer for the establishment of an inalienable land base and development of a tribal village and Class III gaming facility on tribally-owned property in South Bend, Indiana.
Upon review of the final EIS, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) signed and released a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the proposed project for development.
This intensive analysis and reporting effort utilized over 36 staff members, including resource-specific subject experts from nine separate consulting firms. It resulted in an approval for a 674-page report, plus associated 3,389 pages of appendix material and 4GB of administrative record documentation.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is federally recognized as an Indian tribe in Michigan and Indiana and remains the only federally-recognized Indian tribe in Indiana. This approval marks the restoration of the Pokagon Band’s Indiana homeland and is the first land held in trust by an Indian tribe in the State of Indiana.
