- Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Oneida County wants more time to respond to land-trust study
By ELIZABETH COOPER
Observer-Dispatch
ecooper@utica.gannett.com
VERONA - Oneida County officials want an extension to respond to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement released by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs last week on the Oneida Indian Nation's land-into-trust application.
"We will be offering many changes and alterations to the alternatives," Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo said of the choices outlined in the statement.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has set a public hearing for Dec. 14 at the Stanley Theatre in Utica and the county and state must have their responses soon afterward.
But with the county seeking a new county executive and a new Democratic governor, the two governments will need more time to prepare their responses.
Griffo said that in the past, when the county has requested more time from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, it has been granted.
The impact statement outlines seven alternatives under consideration, ranging from putting 35,000 acres into trust, to putting in just the Nation's Turning Stone Resort and Casino and its related facilities, to putting no land into trust.
In 2005, the Oneida Indian Nation applied to place 17,370 acres into trust. The move came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that year that non-reservation Indian-owned land was subject to state and local law. The Oneidas' Turning Stone resort and Casino is not on reservation land and the Supreme Court's decision threw its legality into question.
"What we are looking for in the end is something that will reflect a fair and reasonable final recommendation," Griffo said. At the start of 2007, Griffo will represent the area in the state Senate.
Griffo, along with state Assemblymen David Townsend, R-Sylvan Beach, and William Magee, D-Nelson, said the statement was biased.
Townsend called the statement "garbage" and said the Bureau of Indian Affairs was created to advocate on behalf of Indian groups, and that's what it is doing.
Townsend said he would continue to pursue the possibility of creating a state reservation that would enable to casino to be legal. Townsend said federal reservations in the states that were among the original 13 colonies were not constitutional.
David Vickers, president of the citizens' group Upstate Citizens for Equality, said the same, and that he would work to convince officials at every level of government that this was the case.
"If we can't stop this from happening, we will be part of a constitutional challenge to the action after the fact," he said.
Lifelong Vernon resident, Chris Perkins, said he understands the importance of the thousands of Nation jobs, but it doesn't mean their land should go into trust.
"I don't believe they deserve any special treatment. My personal opinion is I don't believe anything should go into trust," he said.
ELECTED LEADERS REACT
Here's what local elected leaders had to say about the recent federal draft environmental impact statement released last week about the Oneida Indian Nation's land-into-trust application.
Assemblyman William Magee, D-Nelson: "It's obviously very much slanted towards what the Oneidas want."
Assemblyman David Townsend, R-Sylvan Beach: "I wouldn't expect anything different."
Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, D-Rome: "We have to resolve it in a fair and equitable way and be sensitive to local governments as well."
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's office: "The senator believes that what is most important is that the concerns of the communities most directly impacted by this decision be addressed. Our office will continue to monitor the (Bureau of Indian Affairs) process and recommendations."
Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer: A spokeswoman said Spitzer's staff had not had the chance to look over the statement and couldn't comment yet.
Several officials or their offices had not responded to questions by press time Monday. They were U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Gov. George Pataki, U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, U.S. Rep.-elect Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, and state Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western.
- Elizabeth Cooper |
