A critical federal approval process awaits the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation‘s Tri-Cities casino project located in Pasco, Washington.
What’s at Stake
The casino project in Pasco, Washington is viable due to it being the homeland of the Palus, one of the 12 tribes in the Colville Confederation. There has been pushback from the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, asserting that the proposed casino is on the land that was ceded to them via an 1855 treaty with the U.S. government.
Nevertheless, the project is humming along, but there is a critical hearing on April 24th at 6:00 PM that will necessitate the plan to pass all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has scheduled the virtual public hearing and will be taking comments, questions and concerns from interested parties, while written comments are due by May 3rd.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) associated with the project will be the major focus of a public forum in which the merits and possible drawbacks of the plan will be debated and discussed. Any unforeseen obstacle in regards to environmental planning could delay the project or derail it completely, which is why this hearing is integral to the project moving forward.
Cody Desautel, executive director of the Office of Indian Gaming within the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said at a previous meeting in August, “We will be very diligent about responding to their requests, but it is largely in their hands at this point.”
What to Expect
And the Colville Tribe has also been diligent in getting their land in a Fee-to-Trust agreement with the government per the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which is required to build a project of this kind and magnitude. When the resort hotel and casino are completed it is expected to include the following:
- A casino spread across 184,200 square feet
- A 200-room hotel
- An event center
- Restaurants
- Supporting facilities
The proposed casino will be located near North Capitol Avenue, adjacent to the Kartchner exit and north of the AutoZone warehouse in Pasco.
Economic Impact
The Colville is comprised of 12 tribes from Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, Eastern Oregon and British Columbia and all will feel the positive impact of a casino in the Tri-Cities area. According to a report by the Washington State Gambling Commission to the state legislature, tribal casinos earned $3.1 billion in 2022.
And although the tribe operates three casinos near its reservation, located 75 miles away, in north-central Washington, they were prescient enough to purchase four parcels totaling over 190 acres of Pasco farmland in 2019 and added to that the following year in 2020.
But be that as it may, the Yakama Nation is pushing back on the Colville project, insisting the land is rightfully theirs from a pact with the government that occurred nearly 170 years ago.
“Because Colville’s rights don’t extend to Pasco, this means they do not have the tribal right to open a casino in Pasco, and they never will,” said Gerald Lewis, chair of the Yakama Nation.
Lewis also added, “The Colvilles have three casinos. We only have one. This is the big issue we are having.”
