Casino news from http://www.oregonlive.com/
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A proposed casino in the Columbia River Gorge may have run into a setback with the federal government.
James Cason, associate deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, said the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs proposal "requires further refinement, and that at least one additional alternative should be identified for analysis in the environmental impact statement."
The letter, dated June 23, was sent to the Northwest regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which marked it as received on July 11. A copy was posted on the Web site of the Friends of the Columbia Gorge, which opposes plans to build a casino that would be the first in Oregon located off reservation land.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski supports the gorge casino, which has been the target of a political battle between tribes and various opponents. Lonn Hoklin, a spokesman for Kulongoski, said Thursday that the governor has no choice but to let the federal process run its course.
The letter says revisions are needed for a "scoping report," which the Department of Interior defines on one of its Web sites as a process of public involvement to identify problems and issues and to seek advice from government agencies and technical experts.
In a statement issued Thursday by Paul Smith, chairman of the group NO Gorge Casino!, the letter shows the Department of Interior has doubts about the proposed casino, which would be on industrial land in the town of Cascade Locks — but would be inside the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.
A call Thursday evening to Maria Wiseman, listed as a Division of Indian Affairs contact on the letter, was answered by a recorded message saying she would not return to her office in Washington, D.C., until Monday.
A call to the Warm Springs tribal offices was referred to the tribal counsel's office, which did not answer.
Patricia Culver of Skamania Landing, Wash., a member of the NO Gorge Casino! group, said Thursday she believes the letter will require the tribes to consider building a new casino on their reservation in Central Oregon.
"Our understanding is that at least one of the alternative proposals must be an on-reservation proposal," Culver said.
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