Clark County appeals state's rejection of pact with tribe
Friday, July 13, 2007 11:46 PM PDT
By Thacher Schmid
Printable version
E-mail this articleOn Friday, Clark County appealed a state board's rejection of its agreement with the Cowlitz Indians, an agreement that may be a key part of the tribe's effort to establish a reservation and casino in the La Center area.
In the so-called Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2004, the tribe agrees to adhere to county laws and reimburse the county for transportation, law enforcement, fire protection and other services relating to the $510 million project.
The Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board last month invalidated the agreement, saying its scope is broad enough to be considered a modification to the county's growth management plan, and therefore was invalid because it did not include public participation.
"We believe the hearings board far exceeded their authority," Clark County Commissioner Betty Sue Morris said Thursday.
Fellow commissioner Marc Boldt added that the hearings board "infringed on our rights about making a contract."
Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Rich Lowry said "I'm fairly confident that we'll narrow the hearings board's decision."
The agreement is essentially a contract between the county and the tribe, which would be a sovereign entity in complete control over its reservation. It is the only such agreement the tribe has struck with any nearby local government and is part of the tribe's application to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to establish the reservation and casino on 152 acres off Interstate 5, Exit 16.
Both the cities of La Center and Vancouver are opposed to the project.
The appeals process could last for years -- as could the tribe's federal application to create the reservation.
If the county's appeal is unsuccessful, it would have to renegotiate with the tribe. If the tribe's application for a reservation were approved before the county's appeal, the county could find itself unable to enforce laws on the tribal land.
If that happened, Lowry said, "the uncertainty would be, what ability does the county have to enforce, or would enforcement have to go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs?"
Opponents such as Citizens Against Reservation Shopping have called the hearings board's decision a blow to the tribe's proposal. The agreement is a "shady backroom deal," they say, that unfairly helped the casino project advance.
Cowlitz tribal representatives say the agreement is representative of the tribe's efforts to negotiate openly and fairly with all parties and follow established rules.
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