Indian Gaming

"As chairman of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, I welcome the opportunity to provide some factual information about our project on the West Plains. The Spokane Tribe Economic Project, STEP, is an exciting multiuse development on our ancestral tribal trust land that will provide a major boost to the region by creating over 5,000 jobs, with an investment of $400 million of private-sector financing.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has undertaken an independent, thorough study of the environmental, social and economic effects STEP will have on the region through an Environmental Impact Study that was released to the public Feb. 1. Our application process continues, and we expect a decision from the U.S. Department of Interior later this year.

From the very beginning, we have joined our neighboring communities to be sensitive to any potential effects of STEP on everyone, and especially Fairchild Air Force Base operations. We have met with base command and officials at the Pentagon. We modified the height of our proposed hotel tower after the Federal Aviation Administration analysis placed the maximum height at 145 feet. We continue to meet and respond to base officials and study Fairchild independently. It is extremely apparent that with the recent selection by the U.S. Air Force of Fairchild to the short list of bases to receive the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker, with full knowledge that the STEP project is nearing reality, that encroachment by the STEP project is not an issue. Fairchild remains neutral while mitigating measures are being addressed in the EIS."

Get the Story:
Rudeo Peone: STEP project sensitive to impact, vetted by BIA (The Spokesman Review 2/17)

Related Stories:
Letter: Oppose Spokane Tribe off-reservation gaming project (2/14)