Butte County Decides To Appeal

As posted back in April, U.S. District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. dismissed a suit filed by Butte County against the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Department of the Interior claiming that the agencies could not grant the Chico Rancheria Mechoopda the right to use land along Hwy 149 about a mile east of Hwy 99 to build a casino because the Mechoopda did not qualify as a tribe.

The county said the lawsuit, which cost them nearly $322,800, was about environmental concerns related to the proposed casino site and not an attack on the Mechoopda…but yet the lawsuit is based on their claim that the tribe is not legit.

Not very clear on what the true motive is here, but in any case, Butte County Supervisors have voted 4-1 to appeal the decision.

Sandra Knight, vice chair for the Mechoopda said the tribe was “very disappointed” with the decision by the county to continue their legal battle.

"They are going to continue the lawsuit that ultimately is going to be decided in our favor again, and they decided to waste more public money on this," Knight said.

Oroville Supervisor Bill Connelly said the county believes that the planned size of the casino, if allowed to be built would create a range of negative environmental impacts and that is why they will continue their fight.

Knight responded by stating the planned casino is roughly the size of a supermarket… about 45,000 square-feet.

"It's very small," she said, adding that is less than half the size of the two existing Indian casinos in the county.

The Mechoopda are a federally recognized tribe, making them exempt from state and local environmental laws. But at the federal level they were required to provide an environmental review of the project. That review, according to the tribe indicated that any environmental impacts could easily be mitigated and were minimal.

"I know this tribe doesn't want anybody harmed in any way," Knight said. "We are committed to being good stewards of the land. It is our home, too."

Source:
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_12366066