North Fork Rancheria tribal leaders, who have been pushing for a Madera County casino for some years, were rewarded for their persistence last week. The U.S. Department of Interior on Friday approved plans for a 200-room hotel and 2,500 slot machines under a rarely granted exception to the federal law that prohibits gaming on reservations established after 1988. At the same time, the Department of Interior also approved a casino development near Marysville in Northern California proposed by the Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians but rejected plans by the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians for the Francisco Bay area and a proposal from the Pueblo of Jemez for a casino close to El Paso, Texas.
The Enterprise Rancheria project is for a multi-function resort facility featuring a 170-room hotel with pool and restaurants, bar, conference rooms and casino with 1,700 gaming machines. According to the tribe, the resort would provide nearly US$600,000 per day in direct and indirect economic benefits with a contribution of US$5 million per year by the tribe to Yuba County and the City of Marysville to fund safety, education and other public programmes. As many as 3,500 permanent, temporary construction and indirect jobs would be created, with US$45 million per year in direct and indirect wages.
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk commented on the four decisions taken on the tribal gaming applications:
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Enterprise Rancheria project
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"Our responsibility under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is clear: we must review each application on a case by case basis and determine whether it meets the standards outlined in law and regulation. Following a careful and thorough review of the applications from the Enterprise Rancheria and the North Fork Rancheria tribes, I have determined that both tribes' applications meet the strong standards under the law. Both tribes have historical connections to the proposed gaming sites, and both proposals have strong support from the local community, which are important factors in our review."
Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Governor of the State of California has one year to concur in the Assistant Secretary's determinations on the Enterprise Rancheria and the North Fork Rancheria, before the parcels can be acquired in trust for each tribe to conduct gaming. If the Governor does not concur in the Assistant Secretary's determination for each tribe, respectively, then that tribe may not conduct gaming on the proposed site. State legislative approval must also be gained. (E-09.07.11)
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