Temporary Stay Granted in NY Casino Court Case

The last regulatory hurdle before the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and development partner Empire Resorts Inc. is for US Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to make a ruling on the tribe's application to put the 29.3 aces of land adjacent to Monticello Raceway into trust.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Departments Bureau of Indian Affairs, confirms that a temporary stay of court activities was granted last week until Secretary Kempthorne makes his ruling.

"The Department of Interior is evaluating the fee into trust agreement. We do not have a specific time frame to finish," the spokeswoman says. She adds that James Cason, associate deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior and George Skibine, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs and the Solicitor’s Office are working on components of the application package.

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Empire Resorts focus on the fact that the stay agreement clears the way for Kempthorne's ruling to be made without court interference and that both the tribe and the developer were granted full rights as equal parties to the federal government in the court case. The federal suit was filed on Feb. 13 in US District Court for the Southern District by the National Resources Defense Council, the Sullivan County Farm Bureau, Orange Environment and the Catskill Center for Conservation who want to see the project go through a more comprehensive environmental review process.

By supporting the federal government in its defense in the case, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe officials say the tribe and Empire Resorts will have the opportunity to explain to the court the environmental review process conducted for the Monticello Raceway proposal over the past decade.

"The environmental review was complete, thorough, and detailed. It met federal and state requirements and disclosed all anticipated consequences of the casino. Based on this analysis, the casino remains one of the most important priorities in the county and the state, and we look forward to the final administrative approval being obtained soon," says St. Regis Mohawk Tribal chief Lorraine White.

The National Resource Defense Council says the agreement that calls for a temporary stay in the case also includes a provision that bars the Department of Interior from officially putting the land into trust, if it decides to do so, until at least 60 days after the court rules on the lawsuit.

"All along, our coalition has called for a full environmental review, establishing how this casino project would forever alter the quality of life for Catskill citizens, before any federal decision can be made," says Kate Sinding, a senior attorney with the NRDC. "We're pleased that we now have an agreement that will ensure that the court will have ample opportunity to review our claim, assuming the federal government even decides to move forward with this short-sighted proposal."

Empire Resorts president Dave Hanlon in a blistering rebuke of the case against the casino venture, says, "All too often, delay is the best friend of obstructionist litigants like the NRDC. By filing their case, the NRDC is trying to impede the effort of a tribe to become economically self-sufficient." He adds that the temporary stay eliminates some uncertainty concerning the future of the project. "We now know that once a final decision to take the land into trust is made, and should the case need to move forward, it can be briefed and decided without delay," he says.