BIA hearing draws a flood of casino comments

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

MONTICELLO, NY — When the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) came to town last Thursday, the cry for casino development in Sullivan County persisted with promoters claiming majority support for Governor George Pataki’s land-claim settlement proposal.

While the March 10 public hearing was convened to collect comments on the long list of environmental impacts anticipated from the construction of a Class III Indian casino overlooking the Neversink River—off Route 17 at exit 107—supporters jumped at the chance to speak their minds about a county that, according to one voice, “anxiously awaits” the development of five casinos.

“We’re so very fortunate to have been chosen,” said Bruce Reynolds of Leisure Time Ice and Spring Water. “Our community is depending on you,” he said, addressing members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, the tribe that has partnered with Trading Cove Associates to propose the casino on 330 acres, which would become tax-free land if the governor’s bill passes.

But skeptics of the Indian casino crusade—a movement that will look to gain support at state Assembly hearings in early April—took issue with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), asking the BIA to extend the deadline for public comment from March 28 to May 12.

The requests could have been viewed as a response to Stockbridge-Munsee President Robert Chicks’ observation that his tribe was “nearing the end of the [review] process” with the hearing. But the extension would also allow more experts to addres apparent shortfalls in the DEIS.

Critics noted the absence of an account of the cumulative impacts of building five casinos. Now that Pataki is proposing to allow five Indian casinos in Sullivan County, many speakers said the statement must anticipate the overall impacts on the region, particularly concerning traffic congestion on Route 17 and the subsequent degradation of air quality.

To date, no comprehensive study on the impact of five casinos exists, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently began pushing for such a review to commence.

NRDC attorney Michael Izeman said the firm Sam Schwartz Engineering, based in New York City, has concluded that five new casinos in Sullivan County could double traffic levels on key stretches of Route 17.

At the hearing, Callicoon Center resident Dick Riseling said, “There is no accounting for public health here [in the DEIS].”

Riseling also said the included drawings are inadequate. “We would like to see what a 15-story hotel will look like.”

Orange Environment Inc. President Michael Edelstein submitted an evaluation of the DEIS’ analysis of traffic and air pollution. He argued that a projection included in the draft statement—that the Trading Cove casino would cause about 5,000 more vehicles to pass by Goshen, NY via Route 17 by the year 2011—fails to assess the possibility of large-scale casino development cumulatively.

Further, “The DEIS would have us ignore these impacts as insignificant. They are not. And they must be considered fully,” Edelstein’s report states.

Hal Teitelbaum, managing partner of Crystal Run Healthcare LLP, countered the public health concerns, saying that new casino jobs would “significantly improve access to health care” by providing health insurance.

Les Kristt based his statements of support for casinos on quality of life issues, saying, “Just maybe if people had well-paying jobs it would be a mitigating trend to these nasty circumstances,” or the problematic climate of jobs, business and investment in the county.

“Fumes are just not an issue,” Kristt said.

Amy Goodstein, a 29-year-old who returned to the county to work for her family’s business, said, “We’ve been waiting for something like this for years. We’ve missed out on opportunities to stay here, work here and thrive here.”

But Jeffrey Moore of Fremont said, “Many thousands of us are not dissatisfied with the lifestyles we have.”

Joan Thursh of Woodbourne commented on the tribe’s land-in-trust application to the state and federal governments. “The land is not meaningful to the Stockbridge-Munsees. We will have to bear the social, environmental and economic consequences thrust upon us,” she said.

Jack Hirschfeld said, “I fear a racial backlash [against Native Americans] as an outcome of the governor’s plan.”

At the conclusion of nearly 50 comments submitted at the hearing, Rocci Aguirre, the Catskill Coordinator of Trout Unlimited (TU), said TU would be submitting comments on major portions of the DEIS. “The Neversink has one of the most historic, famed trout fisheries on the east coast. We request a defined and complete hydrologic and geomorphic study,” Aguirre said.

Following the hearing, Chicks said it was “difficult to discern what some of the specific issues were.” But, he said, “I’m confident that at the end of the process the [Final Environmental Impact Statement] will address all issues raised.”

Responding to requests for the draft statement to address the cumulative impacts of five casinos, he said, “If at some point in the future there’s a request for [determining] cumulative impact, we’ll do it.”

Kurt Chandler, the BIA’s regional environmental scientist working on the DEIS, said he would be considering all comments and drafting letters for regional BIA directors. The Environmental Protection Agency will then provide a final review of the final statement.