Cascade Locks government leaders learned
last weekend that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
outlining issues related to the siting of a tribal casino/resort
within the city will soon be released for public review.
The DEIS is expected to
be published in the Federal Register within the next several
weeks, followed by five public hearings.
Four hearings will be
held in these Oregon cities: Troutdale, Cascade Locks, Warm
Springs and Hood River. An additional hearing will take place in
Stevenson, Wash. The dates and times of the events have not been
set by the Interior Department, which oversees the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, but are expected to be advertised in the near
future.
“This is the good news
that our community has been waiting for since June of 2007,”
said Mayor Roger Freeborn in a Jan. 5 press release.
“Now public debate about
the proposed resort can proceed and decisions can be made that
can lead to renewed economic vitality in our city.”
Hood River County
officials plan to challenge a recommended closure of Exits 44
into and out of the city to accommodate a new Interstate 84
interchange for the casino. The Oregon Department of
Transportation opposed having on and off ramps less than three
miles apart because that is out of compliance with federal
spacing guidelines. Cascade Locks residents have objected to
truck traffic being re-routed through their neighborhoods by
ODOT’s recommendation.
The announcement from
the Interior keeps alive the long-standing proposal by the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to build a 500,000 square
foot casino on 25 acres within Cascade Locks’ industrial park.
Another 35 acres would be leased from the port for parking.
The Coalition for
Oregon’s Future, leading the opposition, believes the casino
proposal is unlikely to gain federal approval. It contends that
the Interior’s recent announcement that it will factor
“reasonable, regular” commuting distances between reservation
residents and the new casino location in a final decision spells
trouble for the Cascade Locks project.
“A one-way 113-mile
commute on difficult and sometimes dangerous roads is not a
reasonable commute for most Warm Springs tribal members. These
new guidelines are another barrier to an off-reservation casino
in the Gorge and reinforce the need for casino advocates to
consider an on-reservation or nearby Central Oregon location,”
said Dan Lavey, spokesperson for opponent groups.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed off on the
Warm Springs’ proposal in 2005. He viewed it as more acceptable
than having a casino constructed on 40 acres of eligible tribal
land just east of Hood River. That property lies within the
federally-protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
