Final Draft Ch01 - Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe

Transcription

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This Environmental Assessment ("EA") has been prepared for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
("BIA") and the National Indian Gaming Commission ("NIGC") to address the effects associated with
construction and operation of a gaming facility by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (the "Tribe"). This document has been prepared in conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") 40 CFR
§§ 1500-1508. The federal action requiring NEPA compliance by the BIA is the taking of the land on
which the gaming operation will be built into trust. The NIGC's federal action requiring NEPA compliance is the approval of the management contract between the Tribe and Park Place Entertainment
Corporation ("Park Place").
The Tribe, through a development agreement with Park Place (by its subsidiaries), proposes to
build a world-class resort and casino to be known as the Mohawk Mountain Resort and Casino (hereinafter "Project" or "Preferred Alternative") along the east side of Anawana Lake Road (County Road
103) in the Town of Thompson, Sullivan County, New York, approximately 3 miles north of the Village
of Monticello (hereinafter the "Site") (see Figures 1-1 and 1-2). This Environmental Assessment is
accompanied by a two-volume appendix, which will be referenced herein as Appendix Vol. __, Tab __.
The Kutsher's Sport Academy (hereinafter the "Sports Academy") currently operates from the Site a specialized sleep-away camp during the summer season, and has done so for the last 20 years. The Sports
Academy will remain active until construction begins. The Sports Academy buildings are in varying
states of repair (see Figures 1-3 through 1-7).
The introduction of casino gaming and entertainment set within a resort context at the gateway to
the Catskills Region represents a bold and innovative step in recapturing economic and development
opportunities in two of the Nation's fastest growing industries - tourism and entertainment. It promises
to rekindle the lost destination resort themes that were once the heart of the famous Borscht Belt where
the Site is located.
Mohawk Mountain Resort and Casino
Draft Environmental Assessment
1-1
FIGURE 1-1
NEW YORK STATE CONTEXT MAPS
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FIGURE 1-2
USGS SITE MAP
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FIGURE 1-3
KUTSHER’S SPORTS ACADEMY ENTRANCE
FIGURE 1-4
KUTSHER’S SPORTS ACADEMY CABINS
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FIGURE 1-5
TRAILERS IN NORTHWEST CORNER OF SITE
FIGURE 1-6
KUTSHER’S SPORTS ACADEMY DORMITORY
FIGURE 1-7
KUTSHER’S SPORTS ACADEMY FIELD HOUSE
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1.1
GENERAL SETTING AND PROJECT SUMMARY
The Site is comprised of 207 acres, including an approximately 66-acre parcel to be designated
as trust land for the Tribe and an adjacent approximately 141-acre consolidated parcel that will support
a parking garage and related infrastructure. About 35 acres will be disturbed in construction of the
Project, leaving the balance of the Site as mature forests, wetlands and fields. The Site is about 8.5 miles
south of the nearest topographic point within the New York City public drinking water supply watershed
(Figure 1-8). The nearest protected wilderness land is located in the Neversink Gorge, approximately
nine miles southeast of the Project Site along the Neversink River. This document analyzes the environmental impact of the Project as a whole.
1.1.1
Kutsher’s Sports Academy and Current Site Conditions
The Sports Academy currently consists of a number of roads, and approximately forty-five build-
ings, including a 30,000 sq. ft. Field House, a 30,000 sq. ft. Activities Building, a 12,000 sq. ft.
Administration Building, and bunk houses for approximately 975 campers each season. Structures currently on the Site range in age from approximately one hundred years old to more recent structures constructed in the mid-1980s (Figure 10-1).
The Site is characterized by heavy vegetation, wooded areas, steep gradients and approximately
2.65 acres of very small-scattered wetlands areas on the 66-acre trust parcel and 16.65 acres of wetlands
on the 141-acre adjacent parcel (Figure 10-1). The Site has no stormwater controls and the many campers
rely on a septic/sand filter treatment system in the ground next to Anawana Lake for treatment of sanitary waste. The land slopes on a downward gradient in a north-northeast direction toward Anawana Lake,
with Anawana Lake Road forming the western bounds of the Site. Surrounding properties in all directions are primarily undeveloped wooded areas, except for Kutsher's Country Club and related amenities
to the west. The Site is considered a rural locale in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains of New York
State.
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FIGURE 1-8
NEW YORK CITY’S WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
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Nearby uses include a summer bungalow colony and summer camp, both situated across
Anawana Lake. These properties have been unoccupied for approximately ten years. Other nearby land
uses include an 18-hole golf course and country club located less than 2,000 ft. northwest of the Site that
is associated with the Kutsher's property. Kutsher's also maintains a four-season 420-room hotel adjacent to the country club. Private residences, both seasonal and year-round, are scattered along the nearby county and town highways.
The Tribe's environmental consultant, First Environment, Inc., investigated current Site conditions through a series of Environmental Site Assessments on the Site in 2000 and 2001 (Appendix Vol.
I, Tabs 1-2 and 4-5). No significant environmental quality issues were identified. Some elevated volatile
and semi-volatile organic compound readings in the vicinity of several aboveground fuel storage tanks
on the Site indicated only superficial spills to the ground surface.
The Tribe engaged the services of Conrad Geoscience Corp., of Poughkeepsie, New York, to
address these findings. All seven of the tanks identified at the Site were removed in accordance with New
York State Standards and Protocols. Additionally, small quantities of contaminated soils were excavated from the areas of some of the tankage and disposed of off-site in accordance with law. Post excavation samples demonstrate these areas require no further remediation. This work is fully documented
(Appendix Vol. I, Tab 3).
Some old paint stored by the Sports Academy was collected, drummed and disposed of in accordance with federal and state law. Moreover, an area of old furniture and related solid waste that had accumulated near the Field House was excavated, sorted and properly disposed of off-site. Post excavation
soil samples from across the footprint of the waste mass revealed no elevated levels of contaminants.
1.1.2
Project Summary
As the centerpiece of the resort development (see Figure 1-9), the 165,000 square foot casino on
the trust parcel is being designed as a Las Vegas type project, but with the style and character of a classic Catskills Resort similar to the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. The casino will be
located at the base of a proposed 750-room hotel to be built overlooking the shores of Anawana Lake.
Gaming features will include up to 3,500 state-of-the-art slot machines and 100 table games, including
Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Pai Gow Poker, and Baccarat.
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FIGURE 1-9
SITE MASTER PLAN
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The hotel will offer a mixture of standard rooms, suites and luxury suites. The hotel property will
also offer approximately 15,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The resort will offer a wide
variety of food and beverage options including themed buffets, high-end specialty restaurants, a 24-hour
café and a food court. A 2,000-seat theater will feature headliner and specialty events. The Project will
also feature a spa/salon. There will be a 5,040-space parking garage located on Site adjacent to the casino hotel to accommodate drive-in traffic. A bus drop off to facilitate bus patrons and 1,200 parking
spaces for employees will be located below the casino (see Figure 1-8). Surface parking for buses and
RVs will be located directly south of the parking garage. The goal is to create an instant destination and
"must-see" landmark property that will attract local, regional, national and international tourist and convention patrons to Sullivan County.
For Sullivan County and nearby counties, the Project will provide an unparalleled opportunity to
leverage the unique geographic setting into a project that will be a source of pride and enjoyment for generations to come. New York is currently the largest feeder state to existing casino venues in New Jersey,
Connecticut, Nevada and Niagara Falls, Canada. By bringing a gaming venue to the Catskills Region,
the Tribe brings significant potential for improved economic benefits to the area. The Project will establish a first class destination resort, putting in place an economic framework benefiting both the Tribe and
the regional community.
Implementation of the Project will require discretionary actions and approvals from state and federal agencies, including the Town of Thompson; Sullivan County; the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC); the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT);
the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH); the United States Army Corps of Engineers
(ACOE); and, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP).
Additionally, the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the
National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) must make findings regarding implementation of the
Project.
The goal of this document is to provide the means for the public, involved and interested agencies, and other interested groups, to review and comment on the proposed action and provide a sound
basis for informed decision-making. The content of this document reflects continuing dialogue with the
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Community and input from a well-publicized public scoping meeting held in the community on
December 12, 2001.
1.2
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1.2.1
The History of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
The Tribe is a federally recognized Nation that has been in existence for thousands of years and
once dominated what is now the northeastern part of the United States. The people are known among
themselves and by other Tribes as Kanien'kehaka, meaning 'People of the Flint'. Prior to being pushed
onto a six square mile area in about 1795 that is now the home of the Reservation of the Tribe, the region
of the Tribe covered many thousands of square miles. The Reservation is known as Akwesasne and is
located along the northern border of the United States.
The Tribe's legacy can be found today on the Mohawk River, along which many Mohawk villages
once thrived, and the Mohawk Trail, a 65-mile east west pathway that has since become a highway. The
Kanien'kehaka traveled along the Mohawk Trail to trade and hunt and fish for salmon in the Connecticut
River Valley near Millers Falls where the Mohawk Trail reaches its eastern terminus.
The Kanien'kehaka are part of America's oldest Treaty of Nations. This alliance, known as the
Iroquois Confederacy, is an ancient treaty among the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and
Senecas, to which was later added the Tuscaroras. The Kanien'kehaka know the confederacy to be among
the 'People of the Longhouse' (Haudenosaunee), and the Haudenosaunee share many ancient cultural traditions. The Kanien'kehaka are known as the 'Keepers of the Eastern Door' of the Haudenosaunee. This
placed Mohawks in the center of commerce and diplomacy as Albany and the Hudson Valley were
opened to the fur trade by the Dutch in the early 1600's. Mohawk longhouses existed in the Catskills
Region less than 20 miles from the Project Site as late as 1633 (Appendix Vol. I, Tab 13).
Today, the land base and natural resources of the Tribe are contaminated and the socioeconomic
condition of the people deprives them of even basic medical needs. This is documented more fully in
Section 2 and Section 18.
1.2.2
The History of the Catskills Region
The Catskills Region, especially in Sullivan and Ulster Counties, was the playground of many
metropolitan persons of Jewish decent from the 1870s to the 1970s. Persons of Jewish descent of all
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classes ventured to the hotels, bungalow colonies and camps as guests or workers. Several of the larger
hotels, including Grossingers, opened around 1900, when the members of several Jewish communities,
just beginning to vacation in the Catskills, were met with anti-Semitic attitudes. Kutsher's was established in 1907. As the resorts flourished, providing a getaway from metropolitan life, many in the Jewish
community flocked to these resorts for the summer months, enjoying high quality, live entertainment,
Kosher food, and resort amenities. The area hence became known as the "Borscht Belt," and has been
parodied by Neil Simon's plays and featured in the motion picture, "Dirty Dancing." The history of the
flourishing Borscht Belt as a destination resort community is well documented in Kanfer, S., A Summer
World: the Attempt to Build a Jewish Eden in the Catskills, from the Days of the Ghetto to the Rise and
Decline of the Borscht Belt. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. (1989); Frommer, M., Frommer, H., It
Happened in the Catskills: an Oral History in the Words of Busboys, Bellhops, Guests, Proprietors,
Comedians, Agents, and Others Who Lived It. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.
(1991); Richman, I., Borscht Belt Bungalows: Memories of Catskills Summers. Philadelphia, PA: Temple
University Press. (1998). The unique live entertainment, the attraction of evolving American comedy as
a genre, and the activity at the resort casinos fueled the economy of the Borscht Belt for many decades.
Id. at pp. 128-129.
The 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of the "Borscht Belt" circuit, with a post-war boom that
spurred hotel expansions, broad-based car ownership and a population that could more easily afford vacations. In 1952, the Hotel Association Census counted 509 hotels and boarding houses in Sullivan County
alone. A May 10, 1953 New York Times article documented 528 hotels, 2000 bungalow colonies and
1000 rooming houses in Sullivan County. By 1957, the "Route 17 Quickway" was completed, making
the foothills of the Catskills only a 90-minute drive from New York City.
By the mid 1970s, the traditional clientele of the Catskills Region resorts had aged, and the
younger generations following them found new places to vacation. With cheaper air travel to national
and international destinations, tourism declined sharply in the Region. By the 1980s only 12 of the large
hotel resorts remained. Today, Sullivan County has just five hotels with more than 200 rooms, of which
Kutsher's, with 420 rooms, is the largest.
According to the 1997 Economic Census, there were just 38 hotel and motel properties in Sullivan
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County and 75 in Ulster County. However, several properties in both counties closed between 1997 and
2000, including the Concord Hotel, which together had employed thousands of people during its years of
operation. During the last 20 years, virtually all of the resorts that had once fueled the regional economy have failed, with the notable exception of the Kutsher's Country Club.
As a result of this regional economic downturn, Sullivan County has a significant underemployed worker population, and idled resort infrastructure. According to The Verification of the New
York State Sullivan County Area Workforce Audit conducted by Sullivan County in November 1999,
there were 1,820 unemployed workers in the County seeking work, a full 7.9% of the 1999 workforce.
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Final Draft Ch01 - Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe

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