The National Indian Gaming Commission published its long-awaited facility license regulations in the Federal Register on Thursday.
The proposed rules require tribes, for the first time, to certify that
their casinos are complying with environmental, health and public safety laws.
Consistent with what the NIGC said was respect for sovereignty,
it will be up to tribes to determine which laws apply to their facilities.
Additionally, tribes will have to certify that their casinos
are operating on "Indian lands," as defined by the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The rules require NIGC to be notified at least 120 days
in advance of the opening a new facility.
Tribes that fail to meet these two licensing standards could be forced
to close their casinos under the proposed regulations.
"We hope these regulations will provide more
structure to the licensing process for tribal casinos and bingo halls," NIGC
Chairman Phil Hogen said yesterday. "The definitive goal is to help insure
that throughout the Indian gaming industry conditions will be safe and secure,
and that environmental concerns are properly addressed."
The new rules have been met with resistance from Indian Country.
Some tribes challenged the NIGC's authority to issue them.
A recent court case, in fact, determined that the NIGC
could not require tribes to comply with minimum internal
control standards -- such as environmental, health and public safety regulations
-- for Class III gaming.
The Bush administration is hoping to overturn the ruling.
Those concerns were brushed aside with the publication of
yesterday's notice.
"The commission, however, continues to believe it has
authority to issue licensing standards, determine whether a site
constitutes Indian lands, and ensure tribal compliance with the
environmental and public health and safety provision of the IGRA,"
the document stated.
But the NIGC did scale back its proposal in response to tribal comments.
The proposed regulation limits the amount of documentation
a tribe has to submit for a casino license.
And the "Indian lands" portion of the rule only applies to new
gaming facilities.
Prior drafts would have required tribes to certify the legality
of existing, as well as new, casinos.
Despite the new mandates, the regulations
do not appear to require the NIGC to take action on the licenses
that tribes submit.
Nothing in the rule, for example, states that the agency
has to approve or reject the license, or to do so within a certain
time frame.
According to the Interior Department, tribes are operating
more than 400 casinos nationwide.
Yet neither the NIGC nor the Bureau of Indian Affairs
maintain a comprehensive list of the facilities and whether
they are operating on "Indian lands."
To address the situation, the NIGC has developed an
"Indian lands database" to keep track of gaming facilities.
"The data will be utilized for internal reporting and recordkeeping
purposes; to determine jurisdiction and legality of gaming; and to
respond to inquiries from other government agencies and Congress
regarding where Indian gaming is occurring and proposed," the
notice states.
Officials believe the overwhelming majority of casino sites
are located on "Indian lands." But Hogen in the past has
said there have been times when the NIGC has been blindsided.
"There have been instances when, literally the night before it happened, we were
advised the tribe is going to open a facility and we didn't know the answer to
questions like, 'Is that really on Indian lands,'" Hogen said
at a United South and Eastern Tribes conference in February 2006.
NIGC officials have identified Oklahoma and California as potential
trouble spots.
In Oklahoma, some tribes have bypassed the process to determine
whether a casino site meets the definition of "Indian lands."
Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, "Indian lands" is defined as:
(A) all lands within the limits of any Indian reservation;
and
(B) any lands title to which is either held in trust by the United States
for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or
individual subject to restriction by the United States against alienation and
over which an Indian tribe exercises governmental power.
Under 25
C.F.R. § 502.12, "Indian lands" means:
(a) Land within the limits of an Indian reservation; or
(b) Land
over which an Indian tribe exercises governmental power and that is either
--
(1) Held in trust by the United States for the benefit of any Indian tribe
or individual; or
(2) Held by an Indian tribe or individual subject to
restriction by the United States against alienation.
Relevant Documents:
Federal Register Notice |
Press Release |
Tribal Leader Letter
Relevant Links:
National Indian Gaming Commission -
http://www.nigc.gov
