Indian Gaming > BIA ends review of Lower Lake Rancheria casino

May 20, 2008

BIA ends review of Lower Lake Rancheria casino

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has ended the environmental review for a controversial Bay Area casino.

The Lower Lake Rancheria Koi Nation sought to build a casino on 65 acres near the Oakland International Airport. Local governments were opposed to the project.

The tribe, which has no land base, wanted the site placed in trust but let an option expire in 2005, The Contra Costa Times reported. In a Federal Register notice published on Monday, the BIA said the tribe never submitted a complete land-into-trust application and stopped work on the environmental review.

The tribe was placed on the list of federally recognized entities in the final days of the Clinton administration. At one point, former assistant secretary Kevin Gover was consulting for the tribe, which had hired the Holland & Knight lobbying firm.

Get the Story:
Feds officially kill off Oakland casino plan (The Contra Costa Times 5/20)