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AKWESASNE, N.Y. - The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's proposal for a raceway casino in New York's Catskill Mountains moved a step closer to reality in mid-September after the BIA issued a draft Final Environmental Assessment of the project, which set the clock ticking on a 30-day public comment period.
If an official finding of ''no significant impact'' follows the comment period, final approvals for the casino could come by the end of the year.
''We expect comments to come back within the 30-day period. We don't really know what the next step is until we see the comments come back,'' BIA spokesman Nedra Darling said.
The $500 million proposed Mohawk Monticello Raceway Casino project is a two-level facility of around 583,000 square feet, including a 200,000-square-foot gaming floor with 3,500 slot machines and 125 table games. The proposal includes several restaurants, a food court, nightlife entertainment facilities and retail stores. The tribe estimates that the project will generate approximately 3,000 permanent full-time jobs and anticipates 6 million visitors during its first year of operation.
Empire Resorts Inc. of Nevada owns the Monticello raceway site and will manage the casino.
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council announced in a Sept. 12 press release that the project's draft FEA would be available for public review at the village of Monticello clerk's office and the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello.
''I am extremely excited about the federal notification, as it represents yet another milestone achieved by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in our longstanding efforts to bring a world-class Mohawk casino to Sullivan County,'' said Barbara Lazore, one of the tribe's three chiefs.
''This project will provide the tribe with a steady and continued revenue source that will enable us to accomplish our long-term goals of self-determination,'' Lazore said.
A day earlier, the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national nongovernmental environmental protection organization, issued a press release opposing the ''Las Vegas-style casino,'' stating that the process has violated the National Environmental Policy Act.
''If this decision stands, officials in Washington would limit the voice of Sullivan County citizens in decisions that could change the entire way of life in their communities,'' said Richard Schrader, NRDC's New York state legislative director. ''It defies the law and ignores the right of ordinary people to have a say in their own future.''
The NRDC argued that the NEPA requires an Environmental Impact Statement, a more in-depth analysis than an environmental assessment, when ''the federal government is involved in a major federal action significantly affecting the environment.''
A representative in the tribe's press office could not respond to e-mails seeking comment, and instead referred to a Sept. 15 prepared statement that responds to the NRDC statements.
''The tribe has worked very closely with local, state, and federal officials to ensure that its casino project development is in full compliance with all state and federal environmental laws,'' Lazore said. ''We take pride in protecting the environment within our tribal territory and we have approached the Monticello Casino project in the same regard.''
Lazore said the tribe's EA met all regulations, including NEPA, the Council of Environmental Quality's implementing regulations, and the State Environmental Quality Act.
Both a state EIS and a federal EA were prepared for the raceway casino project and both processes require extensive environmental reviews, Lazore said, also citing the public participation requirements under state and federal regulations.
''Public participation has been an integral part of the environmental review process for our project. It is a requirement of both the state and federal environmental review processes and we support that,'' Lazore said.
The tribe submitted an updated environmental assessment for the raceway casino project to the Interior Department in September 2005. The draft document was revised three times before the BIA issued the draft FEA.
Chief Lorraine White noted that the casino project is not a new development, but involves redeveloping an existing gaming facility on a paved parking lot with adequate public infrastructure already in place.
According to the tribal council, a detailed analysis of secondary and cumulative effects in the tribe's proposed final environmental assessment shows there would be no significant community impacts on schools, safety, housing or traffic; ''and if there were any impacts, the local funding agreement between the Tribe and the County can and will mitigate any such impacts to insignificant levels,'' the council wrote.
In order to move forward, the casino must also be approved by Gov. George Pataki, who repeatedly has voiced support for the project recently. Once the governor agrees, Interior can quickly convert the 30-acre site into tribal land held in trust by the federal agency.
''We look forward to working closely with our friends in Sullivan County and Albany to secure the final necessary approvals for this exciting project,'' Chief James Ransom said.
An obstacle on the potentially smooth road ahead, however, is the possibility of anti-casino lawsuits hinted at by the NRDC.
''NRDC, which has been working with an array of local groups in opposing casino development in the Catskills, is evaluating next steps, including legal options,'' Schrader, the group's spokesman, said.
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