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March 15, 2001 - Supes rip casino EIS as inadequate By HEATHER LAKE Staff writer The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a letter to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs deeming the environmental assessment of the proposed Indian casino project in Shingle Springs inadequate and requesting a full environmental impact statement. The same presentation, last Thursday, was apparently a reality shock for some members of the El Dorado County Planning Commission, some of whom were reportedly surprised to learn of the rights afforded to the Miwok tribe due to their sovereign status. The apparent rude awakening found commission members in unanimous agreement over the need to initiate sending letters to the president of the United States and legislators, anyone and everyone, in an effort to get the BIA to think long and hard about the proposal. The purpose of the environmental assessment is to prepare a detailed document of the environmental effects associated with the proposed rancheria project for use by the BIA in determining the significant impacts to the environment from the project. County staff reviewed the casino EA and have found "inadequacies and defects" they apparently believe are gross enough to render the document noncompliant with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. Meeting the requirements of the NEPA would support a conclusion that the project will have no significant environmental impacts. County staff recommends in its letter to the BIA that a full blown environmental impact statement be prepared. The proposal for the rancheria property includes the transfer of 5 acres of land into a federal trust for the tribal government, the approval of the casino management contract, the development and use of a hotel and casino complex on the rancheria and a new interchange and access road from Highway 50 to the rancheria. Plans for the complex include a 250 room, five-floor hotel, restaurant facilities, office space, children's facilities, retail and a gaming hall as well as a 45 foot high parking structure planned to accommodate 3,000 cars to supplement additional surface level parking. The response letter charges that there are less than sufficient details, and in some cases none at all, concerning the above issues included in the EA and summarizes the potential impacts from the project as being those associated with traffic congestion, degradation, air quality, inadequate wastewater disposal and cumulative impacts. Deputy county counsel Tom Cumpston, at Tuesday's supervisors meeting, called the traffic analysis prepared for the EA "questionable and extremely overly optimistic," adding that the trip generation rate in the document would result in a substantial impact. The air quality analysis, he said, assumes lower traffic generation rates than the traffic analysis does and no threshold was provided for significant or insignificant impacts. By county thresholds everything would exceed county limits, he said. "We believe their numbers are not correct." Shallow soils in the area was another concern, highlighted at Tuesday's meeting, due to the ease with which they are saturated, and there are concerns about the impacts of disposing of wastewater and the overall effect on the ground water. Cumpston told the board the Planning Commission warns that caution should be used in how it addresses this issue so that the county does not jeopardize its ability to communicate with the tribe. Communicating with the tribe is something at least one resident thinks the county has done poorly so far. Pat Snelling, county resident, brought the only umbrella to the public comment storm. "I understand the animosity toward the casino," she said, adding that she is also concerned about how the tribe members are being treated by the county. Having witnessed the recent episode in which moving a modular home onto the rancheria was done under undisputedly dangerous conditions because of rules enacted by anti-casino neighbors, she chastised the board for not taking a stand on the issue in the name of safety. Elaine Whitehurst, the owner of that modular home, was in Tuesday's audience. Deputy county counsel Cumpston said the situation Snelling was referring to occurred on a private road and the county was not involved. "They are treated like substandard people," said Snelling, "I am ashamed. Talk to them as people, treat them right, then talk to them about what you don't like." Water supply was a big concern among attendants at Tuesday's meeting and as an addition to the letter, supervisors requested comments from the El Dorado Irrigation District be solicited and included. Bob Masterson, a county resident, commended county staff for the quality of its comments in the letter and questioned whether EID was operating within its authority when it put a water meter on the rancheria property. He also asked that the letter reflect the impact the casino will have on the residents of the county. "I as a resident of El Dorado County have a right not to have a degraded environment," he said. Tom Symons, president of the North Buckeye Rancheros Owners Association, which is on the west side of the rancheria, said he too is concerned about water supply. He said there are 440 parcels in the association, most of which use well water and, he said, there was already one instance of a well drying up. Symons implored the board, "Take our concerns at heart and start managing them for us." Resident Rich Best said that the board still has some control and that the control lies in the issue of the interchange. "They can't go forward without freeway access," he said. "Now is when you have the most power - in dealing with Caltrans." Ron Dosh, spokesman for Voices for Rural Living, said his main concern is over the prevailing attitude of the board, which he said is that it (the board) can't do anything because of the tribe's sovereign status. But he said, "The BIA will listen - if you speak. "There is one organization that is responsible for the safety of the residents and the quality of life - that's you, folks," said Dosh. "If board members believe there is nothing they can do it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said, challenging the board not to back down. "You have more power with the BIA than anyone inside or outside of this room (and) it's not enough just to send comments, we need calls or one day we will be standing around asking ourselves - how did this happen to us?" he warned Supervisor Helen Baumann said she wants to see staff present the board's case "very strongly." The board voted unanimously to send the letter along with additional comments about the water supply, other county impacts and, on the request of Supervisor Dave Solaro to attach the actions taken by the former board. Those actions included a resolution opposing gambling in the county. (Staff writer Candace Crane contributed to this article) Heather Lake may be e-mailed at hlake@mtdemocrat.net