Blue Lake reacts to casino expansion By Matt Kapko Eye Reporter The Arcata Eye September 2, 2003 The worst fears of some Blue Lake public officials and residents are coming true. Just one year after its grand opening, the Blue Lake Casino has made public its plans to expand. Two new buildings are being designed for a bingo hall and a new office and storage facility for the Blue Lake Rancheria. A public outcry for bingo, Tribal Chair Arla Ramsey explains, is what prompted the Rancheria to begin plans for a new 10,000 to 11,000 square-foot structure it’s calling the Pavilion. It also plans to provide 300 additional parking spots to accommodate increased traffic and construct a 20,000-square-foot building for offices and storage space. The Twilight Room, originally intended for bingo activities, wasn’t able to provide for that purpose. Eventually, a decision was made to add 150 more gaming machines to the Twilight Room and build a new, separate bingo hall. The decision to add more machines to the casino wasn’t made lightly; it brings with it other implications. The current State Compact between California Tribes and the state calls for each Tribe with gaming to donate a specific percentage of its profits to the state for distribution to the greater Indian community within California. The theory behind these donations is to provide aid to smaller Tribes without gaming, and to compensate Tribes that choose to operate fewer than 349 machines. The funds from these donations are dispersed to all Tribes throughout California operating with less than 349 machines. Throughout it’s first year, the Blue Lake Casino operated within the 349-machine threshold and still received its share of the annual distribution of donations. However, with its new machines, that has changed. Ramsey is pleased with the current State Compact, but thinks the Tribes’ donations should be sent to the counties, not the state. The state originally told the Tribes to expect $1.5 million a year, but in three years the Blue Lake Rancheria has received approximately $700,000, she said. Because of this, Ramsey is thoroughly convinced that the additional 150 gaming machines first introduced in the Twilight Room last Friday will more than make up for whatever monies would be lost from the annual distribution. Pavilion pressures Described as a way to ensure the Pavilion is “cohesive and not sticking out like a sore thumb,” environmental review and surveying procedures are underway. “In 2004 the Blue Lake Casino will have bingo. That’s a promise,” Ramsey said. She hopes the new parking lot will be completed by the end of this year. Concern for the city rests not only on increased traffic, but the potential overload on its sewer system. The casino has for months been running as high as five times the allowed limit of discharge of grease, liquefying grease and food solids. Following a nuisance abatement procedure, the city and Rancheria have been communicating throughout this period of excessive discharge, trying to find methods to resolve the problem. Explaining the potential long-term consequences, City Councilmember Sherman Schapiro said, “They may be unmanageable for our ponds if they sustain this level for long periods of time.” The Rancheria is responding to the problem in many ways. It paid for 75 percent of a new headworks system that is being introduced to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The entire project cost approximately $100,000. And although these measures have failed, the Rancheria has added a grease trap, a sampling well and a cooling system to help keep grease from liquefying. The Rancheria currently has two engineers working to find a system that will halt the excessive discharge into the city’s treatment ponds. Larry Drescher, the wastewater plant supervisor, attended the City Council meeting on Aug. 26 to voice his concerns with the Rancheria’s plans for expansion. “All this is new information to us. We haven’t been notified or told about any of the meetings,” Drescher said. He told the council that Public Works was being completely “left in the dark.” Drescher is concerned with the possibility of a new water/sewer connection at a time when he’s trying to grapple with the excessive discharges from the casino. He also made clear his negative impression of the casino’s plumbing infrastructure, suggesting that further construction could damage the system. Dancing solo? City Attorney Richard Platz clarified the sovereignty of the Rancheria: if it decides to build its own water/sewer system and not use a city connection, the city has no input on what the Tribe does on their sovereign land. “They may not even invite us to dance. They may just do it,” Platz simplified. City Councilmember Adelene Jones remarked, “We’re in a bad situation.” As city councilmember and liaison to the Tribe, Marlene Smith empathized with Drescher’s concerns. “We’re on the same page. I join you in your frustration with this. We’re trying to learn how to do this communications dance together,” she explained. Later in an interview, Smith said she considered “some things that were said” by Drescher to be “inflammatory.” She believes the Rancheria is “working real hard to find a solution.” City fears When asked if the city’s fear was the potential for an ever-expanding Rancheria complex, Smith conceded, “That is the fear and it may be a reality.” She is quick, however, to point out the “hand-in-hand” relationship between the casino’s progress and the Rancheria’s much-appreciated community outreach. At the time of the meeting, the city wasn’t clear if the Rancheria planned to use a city water/sewer connection for the Pavilion building. Later, in an interview, Ramsey explained the casino’s position. It expects the Pavilion, which will house 10 toilets and two showers, to be connected as part of the casino’s current connection with the city’s system. “It’s more feasible for us to hook up to sewer” at the Pavilion because it will sit adjacent to the casino, Ramsey said. The Rancheria currently uses little more than half of its contracted for (and paid for) capacity. Ramsey reminds that the city’s engineer accepted the Rancheria’s system. “We’re not doing anything that’s abnormal, it’s just that their plant can’t handle what was designed,” Ramsey explained. “I think within the next couple months we’re gonna come up with a solution that’s going to eliminate that,” she said. City Manager Wiley Buck concurs: “We’re gonna solve the problem. We’re going through a process here and they’re fine tuning their casino.” The Rancheria’s future plans, however, could overload the city’s water/sewer system to the brink. Goals and solutions “We really need to have our own system. The city system was not designed for the use they have it for,” Ramsey said. “It’s an extremely fragile system. They thought they had the capacity and strength to let us come on; we question now whether they do.” The Rancheria has an Economic Development Plan that includes many different business options to help make money for the Tribe. Among those distant plans include a new community building, an assisted living care facility and, eventually, a Tribal Police Station. With these goals in mind, Ramsey concludes, “Our future plans will impact the system way too much.” One option the Rancheria has for mitigating the excessive discharge is to implement it’s own pre-treatment plant similar to the system recently introduced at the Mad River Brewery. In contrast, the Mad River Brewery was, at times, running its discharge at a level even higher than the casino’s current discharge, Buck said. Since the adaptation of its new pre-treatment plant, the brewery discharges at a level lower than the amount classified for a residential unit. The Rancheria’s plans for a 20,000-square-foot building slated for office and storage are preliminary and dependent on cash flow. The Rancheria hopes to have it built in 2004. Home