Operator News
US – Mechoopda Indian Tribe given green light for Bute casino
By Phil - 21 August 2018
The US Court of Appeals has ruled that the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria should be allowed to build a new Class III casino at the intersection of highways 149 and 99.
The tribe will now build its casino on 627 acres of rural land in Butte County approximately ten miles south of the city of Chico.
The decision follows a decade long battle with Butte County who lost an appeal in federal court in its attempt to prevent the new casino from being built near the by the Mechoopda Indian Tribe. The county was appealing an earlier ruling by a federal judge who also sided with the Mechoopda.
The county has fought the concept for more than a decade and has spent more than $600,000 in legal fees doing so, though the two Chico-area supervisors, Larry Wahl and Maureen Kirk, voted two years ago against continuing the court battle.
Mechoopda Chairman Dennis Ramirez said: “The US Department of Interior provided Butte County with ample opportunities to submit and rebut material as well as time to develop the reasoning behind its arguments. Ultimately, Butte County failed to do so. We thank the District Court and the Department of Justice for recognizing the weaknesses in Butte County’s arguments and for acknowledging our historical connection to the land. The Mechoopda Indian Tribe looks forwarding to advancing our proposed casino project. In doing so, we plan to drive economic development in Butte County for years to come.”
The casino will be the third in Butte County. The county had argued that the federal government should not allow the proposed site to be taken into trust by the tribe. The Mechoopda argued the location amounted to a restoration of historic lands. The secretary of the Interior Department sided with the tribe and ruled twice, the last time in 2014 that the property constitutes “restored lands.”
California Governor, Jerry Brown said: “The terms are intended to provide the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria with the flexibility to develop a new gaming facility that generates revenue for tribal government programs while ensuring that impacts on the local community are appropriately mitigated.
