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Cowlitz casino strategy under fire
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The Columbian last week used some of the harshest language yet regarding the Cowlitz Tribe's 2004 agreement with Clark County: "Tribe's discredited deal with Clark County ought to be taken out and set on fire," declared its editorial board Sept. 21.

 

This strong reaction comes as the Cowlitz Tribe's representatives once again attempt to make an "end run" around local governments. No sooner had a state growth board's June decision found the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be invalid than the tribe's lawyers began mounting an effort to wrap its contents into a federal gaming ordinance.

 

But one of the top federal decision-makers on the Cowlitz casino issue expressed concern in a Columbian article published last week. He said that putting the contents of the MOU in the federal ordinance would take enforcement of local provisions out of the county's hands and place them under federal control. The U.S. Department of the Interior has asked the tribe to find a different solution.

 

The tribe needs the contents of the MOU for three reasons: The MOU contains the county's pledge to provide services, such as water and law enforcement, to the land where the tribe's developer wants to build a casino; the MOU is an integral part of the casino-resort's Environmental Impact Statement, which mentions the MOU more than 150 times; and federal decision-makers look to the existence of MOUs as an indication of local support for casino projects.

 

Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt's recent letter to the National Indian Gaming Commission is right on: "The county's interests are better served by having no MOU in place than they would be by an uncertain and potentially ineffective federal effort."

 

>>Read other recent news about the MOU:

>>Read about the invalid MOU.

 
>>Read about the secrets of the MOU.
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