There's a better Indian casino site than Highway 99 location

At least that's what a top federal official says in a letter asking that an alternative casino site be studied by the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. The regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs doesn't want to study the North Fork location -- 135 acres called the Old Mill site -- but agreed to add it to the process after Washington officials insisted that they take a look. That would slow down the movement toward building the mega-casino on Highway 99.

The North Fork Rancheria wants the Highway 99 location in Madera County because it would be a much more lucrative site than one in a rural location.

This is from Michael Doyle's story in today's Bee:

North Fork Rancheria tribal leaders and regional BIA officials both consider the Old Mill site a poor one, but Assistant Secretary of the Interior Carl Artman disagrees.

"The [Old Mill] location may provide a viable location for a destination resort casino and could revitalize the tribal economy and the economy of the town of North Fork," Artman wrote May 12.

Sacramento-based BIA officials agreed to add the Old Mill site to a draft environmental impact statement now under review, but not without making their concerns known.

"The Old Mill site could present a future cleanup liability to the United States," BIA Regional Director Dale Morris warned in a May 15 memo, explaining that the former lumber facility is considered a potentially contaminated "brownfield."

A brownfield is a piece of property where development may be hindered by known or potential pollution.