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| Sonoma Sunshine, endangered flora at casino site |
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| Photograph Courtesy of Grace Emery |
STC101 is ramping up for a double-whammy legal challenge
to the Graton Rancheria casino. We intend to re-file our legal challenge to the land to trust decision, and we plan
to hammer the project with an environmental lawsuit. And this time, not
only will we delay the casino, we'll stop it in its tracks! WHAMMY #1 - The land to trust challenge:
Our core argument is that when California was admitted to the Union, the United States government transferred
its sovereignty over all the land within the state's borders to the new State of California. We contend, and the Supreme Court
of the United States agrees, that the federal government cannot now remove land from the state's sovereign control. This can
only be done if our state cedes sovereignty over the land through due process. So even though the Rohnert Park casino site has been taken into trust, we contend
that the land remains under California jurisdiction and California law and is also subject to local land use laws. Under California
law, Class III gambling is not allowed. Under local land use laws, the casino project is non-conforming. We intend to
try to stop this federal land grab and assert California's sovereignty over the land within its borders. We'll be back in
court in the near future to make that happen, and we'll also be in court on the fatally flawed Environmental Impact Statement,
including the threat to the critical habitat of Sonoma County's endangered California Tiger Salamander. WHAMMY #2 - The environmental challenge: The Graton Rancheria Casino/Hotel
project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is fatally flawed in all major issue areas. Even though the Record of Decision calls for a scaled down version of the original project (money's a little tight at Station Casinos right now), it won't
stay scaled down for long. That casino will grow and grow like a tumor, getting bigger and bigger, sucking up more and
more of our resources, and causing a blight on our beautiful county.. It appears tht there
will be an on-site sewage treatment plant that will discharge treated wastewater into the Laguna de Santa Rosa, a waterway
so impaired that it may be at the point of no return. And with Rohnert Park ranking second
in the County for asthma, think of the impact of the increased air pollution from casino traffic. Station Casinos
bought "credits" for air quality, but purchased them from Clorox down in San Bruno! This won't help[ our air
quality at all! Are we ready to sacrifice the health of our children for a sleazy casino? NO WE AREN'T! The FIGR's own FEIS admits that drug use will increase if the casino is built! WHAT? They are providing
next to nothing for mitigating that social disaster. ALL the improvements to Highway
101 will be negated from the impact of casino traffic. And then there's the Sonoma County Population
Group of the Sonoma County Tiger Salamander.
| Laguna's Bellevue Channel on casino site |
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| Photo Courtesy of Brenda Adelman, RRWPC |
STC101 RAMPS UP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE!
In March 2004, a study of the proposed Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR) casino site in Rohnert
Park began. The study was conducted by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) as required under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). This mandatory NEPA study was
required because a federal agency (the NIGC) was planning an action (approval of the management contract between the FIGR
and Station Casinos) that would result in a construction project (the casino). The NEPA study was not conducted "voluntarily" by the FIGR, as FIGR Chairman Greg Sarris publicly stated. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
was approved on February 13, 2009. It is fatally flawed in several major issue areas. In August of that same year, two major and signifcant changes occurred that directly
impact the FEIS. They were the proposed critical habitat for the Sonoma County population group of the endangered California
Tiger Salamander (CTS) by US Fish & Wildlife (USFW), which includes the proposed casino site, and new regulations from
LAFCO restricting the ability of cities to extend services outside their city limits. The Sonoma County population group of the California Tiger Salamander is gentically unique, and found nowhere
else in the world. USFW has already determined that the casino's construction activities would kill all the salamanders
on the site - and the site is known to be home to these rare, shy creatures. Because they live underground in the dry
season, USFW beleives that it's likely no one would ever know how many animals would be killed by the casino
construction activities. 74,233 acres of the Santa Rosa Plain have
been proposed as critical habitat for the CTS (see map below). Final approval by USFW of the proposed critical habitat
is slated for July 11, 2011. Federal agencies, including
the NIGC, are not allowed to take actions that adversely affect critical habitat, but NIGC Chairwoman, Tracie Stevens, seems to be willing to do that with the issuance of the Record
of Decision that made the FEIS official and cleared the way for both casino construction - and our legal challenge.
Please give to our Legal Fund!
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UPDATES:
February 17, 2011: Center for Biological
Diversity to Fish & Wildlife: No exclusions of tiger salamander habitat! The Center for
Biological Diversity has submitted its Comments on the changes for the proposed Tiger Salamander critical habitat here in
Sonoma County, and the line has been drawn in the sand. Among other things, the Center recommends NO EXCLUSION
OF THE CASINO SITE, saying, "...the best available science indicates that the proposed casino site is essential
for the conservation of the salamander because of its key location between the northern and southern breeding concentrations
and because it has suitable upland habitat within proximity of known breeding areas of the salamanders". Read the
Comments using the link below.
Read Center's Comments
January 25, 2011: STC101
calls on Governor Brown to challenge Graton Rancheria casino project. READ THE LETTER HERE (large file:not recommended for slower connections)
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| Sonoma County CA Tiger Salamander |
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| Original Artwork by Molly Eckler www.mollyeckler.com |
| US Fish & Wildlife Proposed CTS "Critical Habitat" |
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| The Only Place on Earth this Creature is Found |
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Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA
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