County to sue Interior over Mechoopda casino

Friday, March 28, 2008  

Supervisors in Butte County, California, voted last week to sue the Interior Department over the casino sought by the Mechoopda Tribe of California

The tribe wants to build a casino on 645 acres in the county. The land has not yet been taken into trust but the Bureau of Indian Affairs has issued a finding of no significant impact for the project and the National Indian Gaming Commission has done the same for the tribe's management contract.

The NIGC has also written an Indian lands determination that said the site could be used for gaming because the Mechoopdas are a restored tribe.

The county says it doesn't have an issue with the tribe but with Station Casinos. The county claims the gaming firm has refused to address concerns about the location of the casino.

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County bets courts can stop casino (The Chico Enterprise-Record 3/28)