Attorney general wants Calif. tribe to stop work on casino

Don Thompson

Tuesday, July 16, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.

SACRAMENTO -- The state attorney general's office said Monday it has invoked, for the first time, a provision requiring an Indian tribe to negotiate over casino-related problems or risk losing its gambling compact with the state.

The attorney general asked a Sonoma County tribe to stop construction of a casino overlooking the Alexander Valley vineyards north of San Francisco until the problems are resolved.

The state alleges the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians is violating various building, safety and environmental codes and requirements. Gov. Gray Davis' administration, which oversees the gambling compacts, asked the attorney general to invoke the negotiation clause because construction appears to be proceeding so swiftly.

"The state felt it had to move quickly to resolve these concerns before it's too late," said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

The clause requires tribal officials to meet to discuss the problems within 10 days, and for the tribe to resolve the problems within 60 days or risk losing its gambling compact and the right to operate the casino.

However, arbitration and a federal court fight would precede any loss of the compact, Barankin said.

The proposed River Rock Casino is intended to draw from among 4 million people who live within a two-hour drive, mainly in the San Francisco area 75 miles to the south. That has raised opposition from gambling opponents as well as from neighbors who say the largely agricultural location is inappropriate for a casino.

The attorney general's office alleges the tribe has not taken the proper legal steps to make public and to minimize problems that would be caused by the casino.

Among other things, the state contends the tribe:

-- Hasn't done enough to consider the casino's potential air and water pollution, as well as its effect on public safety and traffic.

-- Set an artificial one-mile boundary around the casino to consider environmental impacts.

-- Has not agreed to minimize the impacts, only to discuss them.

Tribal chair Liz Elgin DeRouen said she hadn't seen the attorney general's letter, dated Friday, and couldn't comment. She and a tribal attorney referred calls to the tribe's senior attorney, Jerome Levine, who did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages from The Associated Press.

However, the tribe has issued public reports and held public hearings, and has met with Sonoma County's lawyer in an effort to resolve the county's concerns, which are similar to the state's problems with the project.

The casino plan faces several additional legal hurdles, including lawsuits filed by nearby property owners and a developer who had an earlier agreement with the tribe.