What happened to plans to build the 1st tribal casino in Tri-Cities?
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation confirm they are still pressing ahead with plans to build the Tri-Cities first Native American casino after the Department of the Interior failed to release a key report in 2024.
Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson confirmed the tribes are moving forward with plans to build a casino, hotel and related facilities on land it owns near Highway 395 in Pasco.
The project was the subject of a heated hearing nearly a year ago to inform the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS) the casino will require.
The steps are part of a federal “fee-to-trust” process, which empowers tribes to site casinos outside of their reservations under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
If approved, the Colville casino will be the first tribal casino in Tri-Cities and the fourth for the Colville, which operate 12 Tribes casinos in Omak, Omak and Coulee Dam on reservation land.
BIA report missing
The approval process hasn’t moved ahead as planned.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was expected to release the EIS scoping report in mid-2024, after taking public comment during the April 24 hearing. Later, the release schedule was delayed to the end of the year.
As of Feb. 11, 2025, no report had been released. An agency official, citing the new presidential administration, said there was no further information to release.
Erickson acknowledged the tribes expected the report in 2024. However, they weren’t surprised when it didn’t happen, he added. There were other gaming applications ahead of it and the change in administrations was a factor.
He anticipates a 2025 release, but noted it could depend on the new administration, which took office Jan. 20.
Erickson pledged to brief officials as necessary.
“We are still committed to following the federal process,” he told the Tri-City Herald.
Working since 2019
The Colville are entering their sixth year of trying to expand the tribe’s reach to Pasco, a move it says is necessary to support the economic interests of its members.
In 2019, the tribes paid $2.9 million for a collection of parcels in Pasco and announced their intent to create an off-reservation casino. They built relationships with the city of Pasco, Port of Pasco and other local entities, but drew fire from other Northwest tribes.
It initiated the fee-to-trust process in 2023.
The plan is to build on 160 acres at the northwest corner of Kartchner Road and North Capitol Avenue. The project contemplates a 184,200-square-foot casino, a 200-room hotel, an event center, restaurants and related support facilities.
The Yakama Nation has been a fierce critic. It says the Colville have no right to the Pasco area, which the Yakama claim as part of its ceded territory under its 1855 territory. It even suggested the Colville withdraw their plans and sell the land to the Yakama for their own Tri-City casino vision.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation objected on similar grounds.
Both rivals operate casinos in the region and say the Colville plan would devastate the businesses that power tribal economies and support jobs for both member and nonmembers.
There are private casinos in the Tri-Cities, but the nearest tribal gaming facilities are the Wildhorse Casino and Resort in Pendleton, Ore., operated by the Umatillas and the Legends Casino & Hotel in Toppenish, operated by the Yakamas.
There are more than 30 tribal casinos in Washington, according to the Washington governor’s office.
During the four-hour hearing last April, the two tribes said allowing a rival to build a casino away from its reservation could start an ‘Indian war.”
Neither tribe could be reached this week to comment on the current status of the Colville application.
Erickson said there has been no communication with the other tribes, a situation he does not expect to change in the future.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM.