CARS is pleased to bring you the latest news on the Cowlitz casino issue. Feel free to add your comments to our blog and research background information on our Web site.
Sincerely,
Ed Lynch, Chairman |
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) has approved the Cowlitz gambling syndicate's most recent and most feeble attempt to replace its intergovernmental agreement (MOU) with Clark County.
And our county commissioners never took a public stand.
You might recall that the 2004 intergovernmental agreement -- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) -- between the tribe and the county was invalidated in June by a state growth board, and that the decision was reconfirmed in December in Thurston County Superior Court. The syndicate then attempted to insert the language of the MOU into its federal gaming ordinance, but federal decision-makers nixed that idea.
The syndicate's latest request was for the NIGC to accept ordinances approved by the tribe. These ordinances, which the NIGC approved Tuesday, are problematic. In addition to being unsatisfactory (as was the initial MOU), they are unilateral, although the gambling syndicate claims they will protect the county.
Additionally, they might not be enforceable. Even in his approval letter the NIGC chairman writes, "the issues concerning enforceability are not properly addressed here." It is possible that new tribal leadership would not have to comply with ordinances written under its predecessors, making it a particularly bad deal for the county.
A true agreement is vital
Having an intergovernmental agreement is vital to the syndicate's request to have land taken into trust for gambling, according to guidelines issued Jan. 3 by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). To date, the gambling syndicate has only its tribal ordinances, which do not constitute an intergovernmental agreement.
Why did our county commissioners not weigh in on this issue, which could affect how Clark County interacts with the Cowlitz gambling syndicate in perpetuity?
Contact information for your Clark County commissioners:
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