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Trust Land Application - NEPA Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
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The Oneida Indian Nation of New York (“Nation”) submitted an application under 25 U.S.C.
§ 465 to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”),
requesting the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 17,370 acres in trust for the Nation.
The lands are located in Madison County and Oneida County, New York. The New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, Madison County, Oneida County, and the Nation served as cooperating agencies for the preparation of
the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for this project. The Draft EIS was issued for public review on November 24, 2006,
with a public comment period ending on January 8, 2007. The public comment period was extended to February 22, 2007.
A public hearing was held in the City of Utica, New York, on December 14, 2006. An additional public hearing was
held in the Town of Verona, New York, on February 6, 2007. The Final EIS, issued on
February 22, 2008, analyzed the potential effects of acquiring the 17,370 acres in trust for the Nation and
eight reasonable alternatives.
With the issuance of the Record of Decision on May 20, 2008, the Department announces that the action
to be implemented is the acquisition of approximately 13,003.89 acres in trust for the Nation under
the EIS Preferred Alternative (Alternative I), as modified. This decision is based on the Department’s
review of the Draft EIS, the Final EIS, comments received from the public, Federal agencies, State agencies,
local governmental entities, and potentially affected Indian tribes, and the applicable statutory and
regulatory criteria established for acquiring title to lands in trust status.
Links in the menu will take you to information developed throughout the EIS process including the
Department’s Record of Decision.
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