Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne won't be approving an off-reservation casino for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York any time soon.
The Interior Department agreed to delay a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council so that Kempthorne can review the project. But his concerns about off-reservation gaming could tie up a decision for months. "We are not hearing that the secretary is going to act immediately," an attorney for the NRDC told The Middletown Times Herald-Record. "We are hearing exactly the opposite." NRDC is challenging the environmental assessment for the $600 million casino in the Catskills. The group wants a more complete environmental review of the project. Get the Story: