Construction has begun on the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s casino in Clark County. The project has begun despite ongoing legal challenges that have been gumming up the works for a decade.
One of the attorneys representing plaintiffs in the lawsuits, Vancouver City Attorney Brent Boger, calls the casino project, a “risk.” The city is among those whose lawsuit challenging the federal government’s decision to put 152 acres into trust for the tribe. A federal judge recently dismissed that lawsuit but the plaintiffs are contemplating an appeal.
The lawsuit references the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Carcieri v. Salazar that tribes recognized after 1934 can’t put land into trust. The Cowlitz tribe was recognized in 2000. The tribe hopes to deal with any appeals by the end of this year and hopes to open the casino early next year.
The Cowlitz tribe proposes to open the first phase of a three-phase casino project a year from now. The first phase would have a 368,000 square foot project with 100,000 SF of gaming space, convention spaces, 15 eateries, bars and shops. The casino would have 2,500 slots, 75 gaming tables, and a meeting hall that could seat 2,500. The architect and interior designer is the Friedmutter Group and the general contractor is Swinterton Builders. Both have done extensive work on Indian casinos.
Last week, the casino’s manager, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, announced the appointment of Kara Fox-Larose, a member of the Mohegan tribe, to be general manager. Fox-Larose, who is currently assistant general manager of the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Pennsylvania, will run day-to-day operations. The Mohegan Sun is the Cowlitz tribe’s partner in building the casino. Fox-Larose has worked for the company since 1996, the opening of the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
Meanwhile U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler wrote a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding that it look at complaints about the tribe’s proposed wastewater treatment plan for its casino. The $13.4 million system is called “state-of-the art green technology” by the tribe.
Beutler wrote, “Millions of gallons of raw sewage and human waste, with potential contamination by chemicals and prescription drugs, will be generated annually.”
The tribe proposes to build a well to serve this that would pump 400,000 gallons of treated effluent into the aquifer. The congressman, who represents Clark County, worries that this could contaminate the Troutdale Aquifer System that supplies almost all of the county’s residents.
Chairman Bill Iyall told the Longview Daily News, “We’re building a very advanced plant with green technology that would address all the drinking water quality issues.”
Beutler is an opponent of the tribal casino and has written other letters in the past to federal agencies. The tribe has said that it believes the owners of card rooms in La Center, where the tribe plans to build its casino, have heavily lobbied Beutler. Several card rooms sent letters last year to the federal and state highway agencies complaining about the casino’s possible effects on local roads as well as raising worries about the wastewater system.
An attorney for the tribe, Heather Sibbison, told the Columbian, “What the letter seems to be suggesting is holding the project to a different standard than other projects are held to. Normally, there isn’t a public hearing for this kind of treatment process.”
So far the EPA has not responded to Beutler’s letter.
A spokesman for the tribe said last week, “This is our first reservation. It’s our home. … The local community is part of our community, and we want to protect them, too. … We’re going to continue to do the best for the community and protect and preserve the environment.”
The Bureau of Indian Affairs recognized the tribe in 2000 and in 2010 put 152 acres near La Center into trust. The reservation was established last year.
The Cowlitz tribe is one of three tribes in the process of building economic development projects in the Evergreen State.
The Quinault Indian Nation already provides more jobs in Grays Harbor County than any other employer: over 1,200. It plans a $25 million expansion of Quinault Beach Resort & Casino beginning next month. Besides adding 70 percent to its existing gaming space it will also increase the size of its parking garage, which will serve as the first ever tsunami shelter in the Pacific Northwest.
The Yakima Nation is a top employer in Yakima County. Its Yakima Nation Legends Casino $90 million hotel project is projected to open by this summer. Besides a six-story, 200-room hotel and convention space it will include a spa and gaming space expansion that will add 200 more slot machines and a poker room to an existing 1,400 machines and 20 gaming tables. It also operates an RV park, Yakima Nation Forest Products and a wide variety of non-gaming enterprises.
