The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the potential environmental consequences of the Koi Nation of Northern California’s (Koi Nation) proposed fee-to-trust transfer of an approximately 68.6-acre parcel in unincorporated Sonoma County, California, adjacent to the Town of Windsor, for gaming purposes (Proposed Action). The Proposed Project includes the development of a casino, hotel, conference/event center, restaurant/bars, and supporting parking and infrastructure within the project site. The federal actions necessary to implement the Proposed Project trigger the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The BIA is the Lead Agency for compliance with NEPA.
The BIA previously conducted scoping and prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzed the potential environmental effects of the proposed action. The EA was made available for public comments and was the subject of a public meeting. Upon consideration of the public and agency comments received, prepared an EIS to further analyze the environmental effects which may result from the proposed action. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was issued on March 8, 2024.
A Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was issued on July 8, 2024, advising the public that the BIA filed the Draft EIS with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in connection with the Proposed Action. Publication of Notice of Availability by the EPA in the Federal Register on July 12, 2024, officially initiated a 45-day comment period on the Draft EIS that concluded on August 26, 2024. A virtual public hearing was held on July 30, 2024.
The BIA reviewed the comments received on the Draft EIS and prepared a Final EIS, which includes responses to the comments received on the Draft EIS (Appendix P of the Final EIS). The Notice of Availability of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2024.
The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire the 68.6-acre property into federal trust for the Koi Nation for gaming and other purposes on January 13, 2025, and subsequently issued a Record of Decision, which was made available on this website on January 17, 2025.