Turtle Talk

Here is the opinion, with dissent, in North County Community Alliance v. Salazar.

Briefs:

North County Community Allliance Brief

Federal Appellee Brief

An excerpt from the majority:

We hold that the Alliance’s challenge to the NIGC’s 1993 approval of the Ordinance, insofar as it relates to the licensing and construction of the Casino, is not time-barred. We hold on the merits that the NIGC did not have a duty under IGRA to make an Indian lands determination in 1993 before approving the Nooksacks’ non-site-specific proposed gaming Ordinance. We also hold that the NIGC did not have a duty under IGRA to make an Indian lands determination in 2006 when the Nooksacks licensed and began construction of the Casino pursuant to the approved Ordinance. Finally, we hold that there was no violation of NEPA.

And from the dissent:

I dissent from the majority’s conclusions in Part III B 2 B, III B 3, and III B 4 that the NIGC was not required to make an “Indian lands” determination before the casino construction began. I would reverse the district court on this issue. I regret that the majority disregards the most salient fact of this case: The Nooksack Tribe built a casino that may or may not be on Indian lands. The majority acknowledges that we do not know whether it is or not. Maj. op. at 8919. Under the majority’s approach, we may never know whether the casino is on Indian lands, and the North County Community Alliance cannot get judicial review to determine whether the casino is properly on Indian lands or not. Because there has never been an Indian lands determination, it remains unclear if the IGRA applies or if local, state and federal regulations apart from the IGRA regime apply.