Supporters of Proposition 5, the Indian gambling measure on the November ballot, have charged that a new ad being run by the opposition campaign is unfair. The ad, paid for largely by Nevada casinos, warns that Proposition 5 provides no protection for local communities or for the environment should an Indian tribe choose to build a casino on its land. Following is an analysis by Mary Lynne Vellinga of The Bee Capitol Bureau.
VISUALS: The ad opens with a picture of tranquil Big Lagoon, located in Humboldt County. It then cuts to a bulldozer pushing a pile of dirt. Next, a letter from the Humboldt County Department of Public Health is displayed on the screen. The words "special deal," "exempt from environmental laws" and "exempt from health and safety laws" streak across the screen, followed by a list of groups opposing Proposition 5.
NARRATOR: "Big Lagoon is a fragile wetland where an Indian tribe started building a casino, even though health experts warned it would pollute the lagoon. Under Prop. 5, we're powerless to stop this. Five gives these tribes a special deal. They're exempt from environmental laws so they can dump sewage and toxic waste and pollute our air and water. Exempt from health, food and worker safety laws. No one should be exempt from laws protecting our health, safety and environment. No on 5."
ANALYSIS: The ad refers to a casino planned by the Big Lagoon Rancheria, on the shores of Big Lagoon in Humboldt County. The 17-member tribe broke ground for 1,000-seat casino in 1996, but construction halted after federal authorities warned that they would allow no more casinos to open in California without agreements with the state, as required by federal law. Indian tribes are indeed exempt from state and local regulations and environmental laws, but many federal laws -- including the federal Clean Water Act -- do apply on tribal lands. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to enforce federal environmental statutes on Indian reservations. A tribe planning a building project must submit an environmental assessment to the EPA or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In the case of Big Lagoon, the tribe voluntarily sought input about their project from the Humboldt County Department of Public Health. Officials warned that the site was too small to handle the amount of sewage the casino would generate in a way that would comply with state and local rules. Before the project stalled, the tribe was considering building a sewage treatment plant, an alternative method of waste disposal recommended by the U.S. EPA.