Amador County – The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me’Wuk Indians last month received a notice to proceed with building its casino, following denial of appeals on its wastewater plant permit, which could mean a November groundbreaking for the facility.
Buena Vista Me-Wuk Chairwoman Rhonda Morningstar Pope said last week of the ruling: “As of this moment, I am extremely delighted that Justice has prevailed!” Pope said: “I would also like to state that I am encouraged and pleased by the recent dismissal of Friends of Amador County lawsuit. Hopefully, this will send a message to those who continue to oppose and question our Tribe’s legal status.”
The tribe in a release early in September said it had received a notice to proceed with the casino construction, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, saying the “EPA found that the Tribe has satisfied the conditions and its responsibilities” of a Memorandum of Agreement under the National Historic Preservation Act. The notice followed a Sept. 6 ruling by the EPA Appeals Board to deny appeals of a federal wastewater plant discharge permit issued to the tribe last year. The appeals were filed by Amador County, Glen Villa Junior, and Friends of Amador County.
Pope in the release on the tribe’s website said the “decision clearly demonstrates that the Tribe has continued to fulfill our obligations.” She said the “refusal to review the petitions reaffirms our right to move forward with this project on our tribal land.”
General tribal counsel Arnold Samuel said the appeals’ denial “is a great victory for the tribe in its continued effort at achieving its ultimate goal of tribal self-reliance and self-sufficiency.”
The EPA Appeals Board ruling noted that Amador County challenged the Region’s authority to issue the permit, saying the facility is mistakenly classified as Indian Country. The ruling found that the Region “properly issued the Permit because a class action settlement restored the original boundaries of the Buena Vista Rancheria and established that all land within the restored boundaries is declared ‘Indian country’.” The Region also cited a letter from the National Indian Gaming Commission declaring the Rancheria property “Indian lands.”
The ruling noted that Friends of Amador County’s comments on the discharge outfall area, receiving water and areas requiring erosion protection “were not raised during the public comment period,” so the group is precluded from raising the issues in an appeal.
The ruling said “Friends of Amador County has not established that these concerns were identified prior to the Region’s issuance of the Permit, and thus Friends of Amador County cannot demonstrate that the Board should review these issues.” The Region did respond to the comments, and the ruling noted that it would have clarified monitor locations but “would not have modified the permit terms.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
