CLARK COUNTY OFFICIALS issued a demand Friday that the Cowlitz Indian Tribe halt all construction at the site of their casino near the La Center I-5 junction. A Stop Work Order was posted at the construction site of the Cowlitz casino project Friday.
LA CENTER – Clark County officials issued a demand Friday that the Cowlitz Indian Tribe halt all construction at the site of their casino near the La Center I-5 junction.
In a Feb. 26 letter signed by County Chair Marc Boldt and addressed to Cowlitz Tribal Chairman Bill Iyall, the county demanded that the tribe cease and desist all construction on the 152-acre site. The letter also asked for the tribe to provide a response to Acting County Manager Mark McCauley by March 4 to discuss issues contained in the letter.
The Cowlitz Tribe started ground preparation and then construction last fall at the site of the proposed casino, which tribe officials say will open in the summer of 2017. The tribe also held an official groundbreaking at the site on Feb. 14.
The county’s letter to the tribe was accompanied by a Stop Work Order, which was also posted at the site of the casino project Friday. At issue is the tribe’s intention to construct an injection well system at the casino site.
“The County understands that the Tribe is currently in discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval to inject hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the ground at the proposed Cowlitz gaming facility site,’’ the county’s letter stated. “Whatever the outcome of these discussions, Ordinance 07-02 does not authorize that proposed discharge unless and until it complies with applicable County code provisions. The County has a responsibility to protect the environment and public health of all its citizens and the County insists that the Tribe abide by its own Ordinance on this important issue.
“The County is troubled that the Tribe has not discussed this proposed discharge with the County …’’ the letter read.
When contacted by The Reflector Sunday, Iyall said the tribe has no intention to stop work at the casino site.
“No we don’t,’’ said Iyall, when asked if the tribe has a plan to halt construction of the project as a result of the county’s Stop Work Order.
Iyall said the county will have a “a tall order’’ in its attempt to enforce the Stop Work Order.
“I don’t believe they have jurisdiction,’’ said Iyall, referring to the fact that the tribe was allowed by the federal government to take the 152-acre site into trust as reservation land. “Without jurisdiction, I think they are stretching it.’’
In order to enforce the Stop Work Order, the county will have to seek an injunction in court. Two sources confirmed that county officials were likely to make a decision this week on whether or not to seek the injunction.
Iyall also said the tribe is working with the EPA on its wastewater issues.
“They’re trying to usurp the EPA’s jurisdiction, if that’s what they’re talking about,’’ said Iyall, referring to any issues surrounding the injection well system under construction at the site. “It’s the EPA’s jurisdiction, something they (county officials) have no authority over. Again, it’s on our reservation.’’
In December 2011, the Cowlitz Tribe entered into a $14 million sewer agreement with the city of La Center. That agreement was later repealed because the state’s Growth Management Hearings Board ruled that La Center could not extend its sewer lines past the city’s urban growth boundary because it would violate Clark County’s planning policies.
The Growth Management Hearings Board decision (in May 2015) was upheld on Aug. 28, 2015 by a Thurston County Superior Court judge.
On Feb. 24, members of the La Center City Council approved a historic agreement with the Cowlitz Tribe paving way for the tribe’s $32 million renovation of the I-5 junction. In an effort to sweeten the deal for La Center, the tribe offered to pay for the city’s multi-million-dollar sewer extension, which will run from the city’s wastewater treatment facility to the western edge of La Center’s municipal boundary near the I-5 junction.
The tribe’s expansion of the La Center I-5 junction includes the construction of dry sewer lines to property near the Cowlitz casino project, apparently leaving open the possibility of the city and the tribe resurrecting the sewer agreement in the future.
Iyall cited years of acrimony in the tribe’s relationship with Clark County, which is still a party to the federal lawsuit challenging the Cowlitz project. That lawsuit is scheduled to begin later this year.
“I’m hoping things can be turned around with the new councilors,’’ said Iyall, referring to the addition of Boldt and Julie Olson to the Board of County Councilors on Jan. 1. “We’re hoping for better relations with the county and I think that’s highly possible. I think there is a new political climate.’’
