Stand Up for Cal.! v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior

• Decision Date: 29 January 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Action Nos. 12–2039 (BAH), 12–2071(BAH).
• Citation: 919 F.Supp.2d 51
• Parties: STAND UP FOR CALIFORNIA!, et al., Plaintiffs, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, et al., Defendants, v. North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, Intervenor–Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

919 F.Supp.2d 51

STAND UP FOR CALIFORNIA!, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, et al., Defendants,

v.North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, Intervenor–Defendant.

Civil Action Nos. 12–2039 (BAH), 12–2071(BAH).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Jan. 29, 2013.

Harsh P. Parikh, Sean M. Sherlock, Snell & Wilmer, Costa Mesa, CA, Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier, Snell & Wilmer, LLP, Phoenix, AZ, Benjamin S. Sharp, Perkins Coie, LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Gina L. Allery, Joseph N. Watson, Peter Kryn Dykema, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

Christopher E. Babbitt, Edward C. Dumont, Seth P. Waxman, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor–Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERYL A. HOWELL, District Judge.

The plaintiffs bring this consolidated action, under the Indian Reorganization Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 461, et seq., the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551, et seq., the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701, et seq., and the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321, et seq., to challenge the decision of the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior to acquire a 305–acre parcel of land in Madera County, California in trust on behalf of the intervenor-defendant North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Secretary's decision to allow gaming on the land in question. Pending before the Court are the government defendants' Motion to Transfer Venue, ECF No. 20, and the Stand Up plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction, ECF No. 26.

I. BACKGROUND

This case challenges two separate but related decisions of the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior (“the Secretary”) regarding a 305.49–acre parcel of land located in Madera County, California (“the Madera Site”). See Compl. ¶¶ 1, 31, ECF No. 1. In particular, the Madera Site is located adjacent to Route 99 in an unincorporated portion of Madera County, just outside the northwest border of the City of Madera. See Intervenor's Opp'n to Pls.' Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (“Intervenor's Opp'n”) at 5, ECF No. 34; see also Pls.' App. of Evidence (“Pls.' App.”) Ex. 13, at 212, ECF No. 27–15. ¹ The first decision, made in September 2011 pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”), 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(A), determined that the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians (“the North Fork Tribe”) would be permitted to conduct gaming on the Madera Site because “a gaming establishment would 1) be in the best interest of the [North Fork] Tribe and its members; and 2) ... it would not be detrimental to the surrounding community.” Pls.' App. Ex. 19 (“IGRA ROD”) at 281, ECF No. 27–24. This decision under the IGRA also determined that the proposed “Alternative A,”—a “gaming-resort complex” on the Madera Site that would include a 247,180 square-foot gaming and entertainment facility, a 200–room hotel, and a 4,500–space parking facility—would “best meet the purpose and need for the Proposed Action.” ²Id. at 281, 286, 295–97. The second decision, made over one year later, in November 2012, pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act (“IRA”), 25 U.S.C. § 465, approved a fee-to-trust application submitted by the North Fork Tribe, whereby the United States would acquire the Madera Site to hold it in trust for the benefit of the North Fork Tribe. See Pls.' App. Ex. 20 (“IRA ROD”) at 378, ECF No. 27–27.

The plaintiffs in this consolidated action consist of two distinct groups. The first group (“the Stand Up plaintiffs”) consists of various individual citizens and community organizations located in and around Madera, California. ³See Compl. ¶¶ 5–10 (No. 12–2039). The other group, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians (“the Picayune Tribe”), is a federally recognized Indian Tribe located in Madera County that operates a class III gaming facility called the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino on its reservation lands, which are located approximately 30 miles from the Madera Site.⁴See Compl. ¶ 5 (No. 12–2071).⁵ Although all plaintiffs challenge both of the Secretary's decisions described above on a variety of grounds, only the Stand Up plaintiffs have moved for a preliminary injunction.⁶See Mot. for Prelim. Inj. at 1, ECF No. 26. Summarized briefly below is the regulatory, factual, and procedural background relevant to the two motions presently pending before the Court.

A. Regulatory Framework

The regulatory framework that pertains to the plaintiffs' claims is set forth in three statutes: fee-to-trust determinations are authorized under the IRA, gaming eligibility determinations are guided by the IGRA, and the development of environmental impact statements are mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act

(“NEPA”).⁷

1. The Indian Reorganization Act

“The intent and purpose of the [IRA] was to rehabilitate the Indian's economic life and to give him a chance to develop the initiative destroyed by a century of oppression and paternalism.” Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U.S. 145, 152, 93 S.Ct. 1267, 36 L.Ed.2d 114 (1973) (internal quotation marks omitted). Pursuant to that purpose, the IRA provides that the Secretary “is authorized, in his discretion, to acquire ... any interest in lands, water rights, or surface rights to lands ... for the purpose of providing land for Indians.” 25 U.S.C. § 465. The statute further specifies that “[t]itle to any lands or rights acquired pursuant to this Act ... shall be taken in the name of the United States in trust for the Indian tribe or individual Indian for which the land is acquired.” Id. The IRA defines “Indian” to include, inter alia, “all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction.” Id. § 479.

The Department of the Interior's (“DOI's”) regulations, promulgated pursuant to the IRA, state that “land may be acquired for a tribe in trust status” when, inter alia, “the Secretary determines that the acquisition of the land is necessary to facilitate tribal self-determination, economic development, or Indian housing.” 25 C.F.R. § 151.3(a)(3). In considering an application for the acquisition of off-reservation trust land, the Secretary is required by DOI regulations to consider a number of factors, including “the existence of statutory authority for the acquisition and any limitations contained in such authority,” the “need of the individual Indian or the tribe for additional land,” the “purpose for which the land will be used,” and “[t]he location of the land relative to state boundaries, and its distance from the boundaries of the tribe's reservations.” Id. §§ 151.10–151.11.

2. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

Related to the purposes of the IRA, the IGRA was enacted “to provide a statutory basis for the operation of gaming by Indian tribes as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.” 25 U.S.C. § 2702(1). The IGRA provides that “gaming regulated by [the IGRA] shall not be conducted on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of any Indian tribe after October 17, 1988.” Id. § 2719(a). This prohibition on conducting gaming on trust land acquired after 1988, however, does not apply when, inter alia,

the Secretary, after consultation with the Indian tribe and appropriate State and local officials, including officials of other nearby Indian tribes, determines that a gaming establishment on newly acquired lands would be in the best interest of the Indian tribe and its members, and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community, but only if the Governor of the State in which the gaming activity is to be conducted concurs in the Secretary's determination[.]

Id. § 2719(b)(1)(A).⁸ Relevant to this case, the DOI's regulations define “surrounding community” to mean “local governments and nearby Indian tribes located within a 25–mile radius of the site of the proposed gaming establishment.” 25 C.F.R. § 292.2. This same definition further states that “[a] local government or nearby Indian tribe located beyond the 25–mile radius may petition for consultation if it can establish that its governmental functions, infrastructure or services will be directly, immediately and significantly impacted by the proposed gaming establishment.” Id.

3. National Environmental Policy Act

A third statutory framework relevant to the Secretary's determinations in this case is that of the NEPA. That statute requires all federal agencies to “include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official” on a number of considerations. 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C). These considerations include “the environmental impact of the proposed action,” “any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented,” and “alternatives to the proposed action.” Id. This “detailed statement” is commonly known as an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”). See, e.g., Found. on Econ. Trends v. Heckler, 756 F.2d 143, 146 (D.C.Cir.1985). The parties appear to agree that the fee-to-trust acquisition at issue in this case qualifies as a “major Federal action” under the NEPA, and therefore the DOI was required to prepare an EIS regarding the environmental impacts of that acquisition. See Compl. ¶ 22; United States' Response to Pls.' Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (“Defs.' Opp'n”) at 24–25, ECF No. 30.

B. The North Fork Tribe

The North Fork Tribe, which is an intervenor in this action,⁹ “consists of the modern descendants of Mono Indians using and occupying lands near and in the San Joaquin Valley for several centuries.” Pls.' App. Ex. 23, at 467. The North Fork Tribe currently consists of approximately 1,900 citizens, many of whom live on or around an 80–acre parcel of land in Madera County (“the North Fork Rancheria”), which is held in trust by...