RECORD OF DECISION Trust Acquisition and Reservation Proclamation for 151 Acres in the City of Taunton, Massachusetts, and 170 Acres in the Town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe September 2015 i Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs Action: Record of Decision (ROD) for the acquisition in trust and issuance of a Reservation Proclamation for 170 acres+/- in the Town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, and 151 acres+/- in the City of Taunton, Massachusetts, by the Department of the Interior (Department) for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (Tribe) for gaming and other purposes. Summary: The Department federally acknowledged the Tribe through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) administrative acknowledgment process in 2007. The Tribe has no Federal reservation land. The Tribe submitted a fee-to- trust application to BIA in 2007 requesting that the Department acquire in trust 170 acres+/- in non-contiguous parcels in the Town of Mashpee, Massachusetts (Mashpee Site), and 151 acres+/- in contiguous parcels in the City of Taunton, Massachusetts (Taunton Site), and proclaim these lands to be the Tribe’s reservation. The Mashpee Sites have been owned in fee or used by the Tribe or by entities controlled by the Tribe for many years. These lands are primarily used for tribal administration, preservation, and cultural purposes. The Tribe proposes no change in use to the Mashpee Sites. The Tribe proposes to use the Taunton Site for a 400,000 square foot (sq. ft.) casino/resort and ancillary facilities including 3,300-room hotels, a 23,423 square foot event center, restaurants, retail stores, a 25,000 square foot water park, and an approximately 4,490-space parking garage with valet parking, and surface parking for 1,170 vehicles. The proposed trust acquisition and Reservation Proclamation were analyzed as Alternative A in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act under the direction and supervision of the BIA Eastern Regional Office. The BIA issued notice that a Draft EIS was available for public review and comment on November 1, 2013. After an extended comment period, two public hearings, and consideration and incorporation of comments received on the Draft EIS, the BIA issued notice of the availability of the Final EIS on September 5, 2014. The Draft and Final EIS considered a reasonable range of alternatives that would meet the purpose and need for acquiring the Mashpee and Taunton Sites in trust and proclaiming them to be the Tribe’s reservation. They also analyzed the potential effects of those alternatives and feasible mitigation measures. With this ROD, the Department announces its determination that: 1) it will acquire in trust the Mashpee and Taunton Sites, 2) it will proclaim these lands to be the Tribe’s reservation, and 3) the Mashpee and Taunton Sites are eligible for gaming under the “initial reservation exception” of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. ii The Department has considered potential effects to the environment, including those to local governments and other tribes, adopted all practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm, and determined that potentially significant effects will be adequately addressed by the mitigation measures as described in this ROD. This decision is based on a thorough review and consideration of the Tribe’s application materials and materials submitted therewith; the applicable statutory and regulatory authorities governing acquisition of the trust title to land, issuance of a Reservation Proclamation, and eligibility of land for gaming; the Draft EIS; the Final EIS; the administrative record; and comments received from the public, Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, and potentially affected Indian tribes. For Further Information Contact: Mr. Chet L. McGhee Environmental Protection Specialist Bureau of Indian Affairs Eastern Region Office 545 Marriott Drive, Suite 700 Nashville, Tennessee 37214 iii Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................4 1.1 Summary .................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Legal Descriptions ..................................................................................................................6 1.3 Purpose and Need for Acquiring the Sites in Trust and Proclaiming them to be the Tribe’s Reservation .............................................................................................................................7 1.4 Authorities...............................................................................................................................8 1.5 Procedural Background ...........................................................................................................9 2.0 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................10 2.1 Screening Process .................................................................................................................10 2.2 Alternatives Sites Considered but Rejected ..........................................................................10 2.3 Reasonable Alternatives Considered in Detail .....................................................................11 2.3.1 Alternative A: Preferred Alternative .................................................................................... 12 2.3.2 Alternative B: Reduced Intensity I ...................................................................................... 12 2.3.3 Alternative C: Reduced Intensity II .................................................................................... 13 2.3.4 Alternative D: No Action ..................................................................................................... 13 3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS........................................................................................14 3.1 Potential Impacts in the Town of Mashpee...........................................................................15 3.1.1 Environmental Impacts ........................................................................................................ 15 3.1.2 Socioeconomic Effects......................................................................................................... 16 3.1.3 Environmental Justice .......................................................................................................... 16 3.1.4 Indirect and Growth Inducing Effects .................................................................................. 17 3.1.5 Cumulative Effects............................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Potential Impacts in the City of Taunton ..............................................................................18 3.2.1 Transportation ...................................................................................................................... 18 3.2.2 Floodplain, Wetlands, and Other Waters of the United States ............................................ 19 3.2.3 Stormwater ........................................................................................................................... 19 3.2.4 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................................ 20 3.2.5 Rare Species and Wildlife Habitat ....................................................................................... 20 3.2.6 Hazardous Materials ............................................................................................................ 21 3.2.7 Water Supply ....................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.8 Wastewater ........................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.9 Utilities ................................................................................................................................. 22 3.2.10 Solid Waste…..…………………………………………………………………………..23 3.2.11Air Quality………….……………………………………………………………………..23 3.2.12Greenhouse Gas Emissions ................................................................................................. 24 3.2.13Cultural Resources .............................................................................................................. 24 3.2.14Noise ................................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.15Visual .................................................................................................................................. 26 3.2.16Socioeconomic Effects ........................................................................................................ 27 3.2.17Environmental Justice ......................................................................................................... 30 3.2.18Sustainability....................................................................................................................... 30 1 3.2.19Construction Impacts .......................................................................................................... 30 3.2.20Indirect and Growth Inducing Effects................................................................................