Tule River Tribe gains federal approval to move casino

Tuesday, November 5, 2019  

The Tule River Tribe has taken an important step forward in relocating its casino to a more prominent site in California.

The tribe has won approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to move the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney announced her decision last month to the National Congress of American Indians.

Moving the casino "would be in the best interest of the tribe and not detrimental to the surrounding community," Sweeney said at NCAI's 76th annual convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 21.

But Sweeney's decision isn't the end of the story. Under the two-part determination provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) must also approve the project, which has been in the works for more than a decade.

"I sent the secretarial determination over to Gov. Newsom for his concurrence," Sweeney said at NCAI.

"A decision to acquire the approximately 40-acre parcel into federal trust will be made at a later date -- when Gov. Newsom concurs with the secretarial determination," Sweeney added.

The 40-acre parcel is near the Porterville Airport Industrial Park, where local officials support the project. The site is less than 20 miles from the existing facility so it's not far from the reservation, even though it's being treated as an off-reservation acquisition.

“After years of hard work, the federal government moved the tribe’s casino relocation one step closer to making this dream a reality,” Chairman Neil Peyron told The Porterville Recorder.

In the 31-year history of IGRA, only a handful of tribes have secured approval to open a casino under the two-part determination provisions of the law. Two are in California, where the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria just opened the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain last week following years of controversy and litigation.

The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians won the second two-part determination approval. Litigation and controversy have kept the tribe's project from moving forward.

One Step Closer: BIA approves gaming at site as casino project advances (The Porterville Recorder November 5, 2019)

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Tule River Tribe's Proposed Fee-to-Trust and Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation Project, Tulare County, California (May 31, 2019)

Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Tule River Tribe's Proposed Fee-to-Trust and Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation Project, Tulare County, California (September 21, 2018)

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Tule River Tribe's Proposed Fee-to-Trust and Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation Project, Tulare County, California (December 30, 2016)

Tule River Tribe takes another step toward relocation of casino (May 31, 2019)
A 'milestone': Tule River Tribe moves forward with casino plan (September 26, 2018)
Tule River Tribe takes major step forward with casino relocation plan (September 20, 2018)
Tule River Tribe headed to D.C. to lobby for off-reservation casino (March 22, 2018)
Tule River Tribe seeks local support for off-reservation casino bid (March 13, 2018)
Bureau of Indian Affairs allows nine gaming compacts to take effect (January 22, 2018)
Tule River Tribe pursues off-reservation casino amid big change in Washington (October 5, 2017)
Trump team discourages tribes from seeking land away from their reservations (October 4, 2017)
Tule River Tribe updates gaming compact amid push for off-reservation casino (September 6, 2017)
Tule River Tribe moves forward with $180M casino at new location (May 12, 2017)
Editorial: Tule River Tribe deserves support for casino relocation (January 10, 2017)
Tule River Tribe starts lengthy process to move casino to new site (January 5, 2017)
Editorial: Tule River Tribe deserves support for casino relocation (10/31)
Tule River Tribe gains support for moving casino to a new site (10/26)
Tule River Tribe revives bid to move and expand casino at new site (08/09)
Editorial: Tule River Tribe invests gaming revenues in community (07/06)
Tule River Tribe welcomes 'The Price is Right' for show at casino (01/11)
Editorial: Off-reservation gaming project unfair to other tribes (10/31)
Editorial: Tule River Tribe supports community with casino funds (07/08)
Tule River Tribe drops land-into-trust bid amid gaming talks (07/19)
Tule River Tribe discusses possible move of casino with county (07/16)