Study:Casino prospect alive in Cascade Locks
January 11, 2008

Cascade Locks government leaders learned last weekend that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement outlining issues related to the siting of a tribal casino/resort within the city will soon be released for public review.

The DEIS is expected to be published in the Federal Register within the next several weeks, followed by five public hearings.

Four hearings will be held in these Oregon cities: Troutdale, Cascade Locks, Warm Springs and Hood River. An additional hearing will take place in Stevenson, Wash. The dates and times of the events have not been set by the Interior Department, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but are expected to be advertised in the near future.

“This is the good news that our community has been waiting for since June of 2007,” said Mayor Roger Freeborn in a Jan. 5 press release.

“Now public debate about the proposed resort can proceed and decisions can be made that can lead to renewed economic vitality in our city.”

Hood River County officials plan to challenge a recommended closure of Exits 44 into and out of the city to accommodate a new Interstate 84 interchange for the casino. The Oregon Department of Transportation opposed having on and off ramps less than three miles apart because that is out of compliance with federal spacing guidelines. Cascade Locks residents have objected to truck traffic being re-routed through their neighborhoods by ODOT’s recommendation.

The announcement from the Interior keeps alive the long-standing proposal by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to build a 500,000 square foot casino on 25 acres within Cascade Locks’ industrial park. Another 35 acres would be leased from the port for parking.

The Coalition for Oregon’s Future, leading the opposition, believes the casino proposal is unlikely to gain federal approval. It contends that the Interior’s recent announcement that it will factor “reasonable, regular” commuting distances between reservation residents and the new casino location in a final decision spells trouble for the Cascade Locks project.

“A one-way 113-mile commute on difficult and sometimes dangerous roads is not a reasonable commute for most Warm Springs tribal members. These new guidelines are another barrier to an off-reservation casino in the Gorge and reinforce the need for casino advocates to consider an on-reservation or nearby Central Oregon location,” said Dan Lavey, spokesperson for opponent groups.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed off on the Warm Springs’ proposal in 2005. He viewed it as more acceptable than having a casino constructed on 40 acres of eligible tribal land just east of Hood River. That property lies within the federally-protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

http://www.hoodrivernews.com/News%20stories/2008/004_news_1.htm