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August 5, 2006/Vol. 1, No. 5
Thank you to everyone …
... who turned out for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) hearings in June and to those of you who submitted comments by July 14. This is important work and we thank you for participating in this challenging process!
When
James Cason of the U.S. Interior Department (DOI) visited
To keep the proposed Las Vegas-sized
Here is how you can help
DOI gives us another chance to comment
In response to broad-based concern from opposition groups, local municipalities and Rep. Brian Baird, DOI has extended the public comment period on the DEIS to Aug. 25.
We requested the extension in July after learning that the tribe had replaced its March 2, 2004, fee-to- trust application with an amended application dated June 6.
The fee-to-trust application is the foundation on which the DEIS is built. It is the Cowlitz Tribe’s formal request to the federal government to take 152 acres at the Interstate 5-La Center junction into trust. It describes the tribe’s historical and modern connections to the land, its need for the land, its planned uses for the land and anticipated tax impacts.
But in this case, with an amended application submitted in June, the foundation was reconstructed mid-project. Comments on the DEIS were due Friday, July 14, but the tribe did not put the revised application online until the latter half of that week.
Responding to Rep. Baird last week, the DOI’s George Skibine wrote, “We agree with you that an extension of the comment period would provide members of the community additional time to process any changes made in the fee-to-trust application and determine whether those changes have any impact on the DEIS or their comments.”
CARS and other groups are analyzing the amended application and plan to submit comments. We encourage you to do the same. You can find the amended fee-to-trust application and attachments online. Information on where to send your comments is available on our Web site.
This is a priceless opportunity to demonstrate the depth and breadth of our community’s opposition to this project.
What happens next?
Once the public comment period is complete Aug. 25, it is estimated that it will take 90 days for information to be compiled and forwarded to federal officials who will then review the document. Then, it will take an estimated 60 days for the final document to be completed and readied for public review.
April 14, 2006: DEIS released
July 14, 2006: Initial deadline for public comment
August 25, 2006: Extended deadline for public comment
The end of November 2006: Public comments and other information to federal
officials
The end of January 2007: Final document ready for public review
Visit the casiNO booth at the fair!
Members of local groups opposed to the
proposed "
For more information:
See the amended fee-to-trust application
Visit our home page to sign up for e-mail updates.
CARS is a local citizens organization that is concerned about the practice of reservation shopping.
If you have not yet joined CARS as a member, we invite you to add your name to our membership list. We will then be able to alert you when action is needed, so you can make your voice heard. Please forward this to others you think would be interested.
If you would like to support our work financially, we welcome your assistance. We are a nonprofit organization—501(c)(4)—but contributions are not tax deductible.
Citizens Against Reservation Shopping