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New rules may affect Oregon tribal casino23 May 2008OREGON -- As reported by the Columbian: "New rules for siting tribal casinos published by the Bush administration this week could create additional hurdles for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, which has applied to take 25 acres into trust at Cascade Locks, Ore., for a 90,000-square-foot casino in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge. "The rules, written by the Interior Department, set new standards tribes must meet in order to acquire lands off their existing reservations for casinos. They set a higher bar for proposals to build casinos on sites distant from reservations, requiring consultation with more affected communities and more scrutiny of a tribe's justifications for an off-reservation casino. "They reflect guidance contained in a January memo from outgoing assistant Interior Secretary Carl Artman, which said the Interior Department will give more scrutiny to casino proposals the farther they are from reservations. "...Under the new language, the Warm Springs tribe must consult with communities within a 25-mile radius of their proposed casino and seek their support. The previous rule required consultation with communities within a 10-mile radius. "...In fact, the city of Stevenson, just across the Bridge of the Gods from the casino site, raised several concerns in its comments on the draft environmental impact statement..." |