Foes vow to block Station casino

Don Thompson

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

SACRAMENTO -- Opponents promised Wednesday to sue to block U.S. Department of Interior approval of an Indian tribe's bid to acquire land near Sacramento for a new casino that would be operated by Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas.

This is the second time the federal government said it has approved the proposal by the United Auburn Indian Community. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said its Jan. 4 announcement was "premature," after Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, asked the White House to intervene.

The department still has not entered its decision into the Federal Register, which will formally trigger a 30-day clock for opponents to sue. Ron Jaeger, the bureau's regional director for California, said formal notice will be filed in about 10 days, after the bureau completes some administrative details.

"Where does the federal government get off forcing down the throats of suburban communities casinos they don't want?" said J. Scott Smith, an attorney representing the nearby city of Roseville and the opposition group Citizens for Safer Communities.

He said his clients intend to sue within the 30-day appeal window using three possible legal arguments.

Federal law was intended to let Indian tribes approve gambling on their existing tribal land, Smith contended. In this case, land the tribe hasn't owned is being set aside specifically for use as a casino, meaning "they stop acting as a sovereign nation and they start acting as a business enterprise" with special privileges.

Second, he said it is unconstitutional for the federal government to create what amounts to a new, sovereign Indian nation on California land without the state's permission.

Finally, Smith said the bureau's environmental impact assessment contains "numerous blatant mistakes" that may prompt a federal judge to intervene.

Tribal attorney Howard Dickstein labeled the promised lawsuit "frivolous" and predicted a judge will decline to block construction.

"This is a decision that has been scrutinized by two different administrations with very different outlooks," and passed muster with both, Dickstein said.

Station Casinos, which will operate the casino for the tribe, said in a statement Wednesday that it intends to begin construction on the $100 million casino near Interstate 80 in unincorporated Placer County later this year. Reno-area casino operators have said they view the casino as perhaps their biggest competitor among the tribal casinos built or pending in Northern California.

Interior Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCalab said the tribe's agreement with Placer County is a model for how the department would like to see tribes operate -- "by using consultation, cooperation, communication all in the service of conservation."

The tribe agreed to make up for lost local property taxes, pay $900,000 a year to compensate for increased police, fire and emergency services and contribute $50,000 annually to fight compulsive gambling in the county. It also agreed to create an advisory committee to hear community grievances, and to submit to arbitration despite the tribe's immunity from lawsuits.

McCalab called the agreement "win-win" in a statement last week announcing the department would take the land into trust for the tribe.