Shelby Shopper Shelby NC
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1247229
Thursday, May 14-May 20, 2020 www.shelbyinfo.com 704/484-1047 - shelby shopper & info - Page 15 _` 318 South Washington St. • Shelby, NC PLEASE VISIT OUR PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WEBSITE for for UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS and and TICKET INFORMATION TICKET INFORMATION 704-487-8114 ©CommunityFirstMedia ©CommunityFirstMedia DonGibsonTheatre.com "BRING YOUR TOOLS AND PULL YOUR PARTS,WE HAVE WHAT YOU NEED!" 4805 Anthony Farm Rd. • Kings Mountain, NC (Beside Hwy 74 East) 704-739-4633 704-739-4633 WE BUY JUNK VEHICLES! WE SELL USED VEHICLES! By Loretta Cozart On April 30, a temporary re- straining order and preliminary injunction by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) against the Kings Mountain site being taken into trust by the Catawba Nation was denied by US District Court Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, DC. In September 2018, the Ca- tawba Indian Nation asked the Bu- reau of Indian Affairs (BIA), a part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), to take a 16-acre parcel of land in North Carolina into trust so that the Nation could build a ca- sino and entertainment complex. After nearly a year and a half of studies, meetings, and other regu- latory processing, the BIA agreed to the acquisition. Immediately following that decision, the ECBI filed a suit against DOI, BIA, and several agency officials, asserting that Interior's action violated a host of federal statutes and regula- tions. The same day it filed its com- plaint, the EBCI moved the Court to preliminarily enjoin the transfer of land. The DOI, joined by the Catawba Nation, maintained that the circumstances did not merit that extraordinary form of relief. Finding that the ECBI had not established irreparable harm, the court agreed and denied the EBCI's motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Background The opinion of the Court ex- plained that in considering the Ca- tawba Indian Nation's application, the DOI assessed the project's compliance on the basis of the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preser- vation Act, that mandates that agencies evaluate the potential en- vironmental impact of any major Federal action, including the tak- ing of land into trust for the benefit of a tribe. In other words, the gov- ernment was required to determine the impact of the project on tribes besides the Catawba. The DOI reached out to North Carolina's State Historic Pres- ervation Office (SHPO) in early 2019 inquiring whether historic resources of any kind might be present at the project site. SHPO responded that it was "not aware" of any such resources there. On December 22, 2019, the DOI published a draft Environ- mental Assessment, concluding that the Catawba Nation's project would have no significant environ- mental impact. Such finding, if ul- timately finalized, would remove the need for a more involved En- vironmental Impact Statement. The DOI notified the EBCI "because the National Historic Preservation Act requires agen- cies to consult with Indian tribes that attach religious and cultural significance to a historic property potentially affected by a federal undertaking. Here, the EBCI al- leges that the Kings Mountain site falls squarely within Cherokee his- torical and treaty territory." The Eastern Band of the Cher- okee Indians asserted that DOI did not consult with them about whether historical properties im- portant to the Tribe were located on the proposed site. Shortly there- after, the DOI wrote to Plaintiff's Tribal Historic Preservation Offi- cer Russell Townsend, noting the North Carolina SHPO's views and asking him to "verify . . . that the proposed project will not impact any specific sites having potential religious or cultural significance to Eastern Band of Cherokee In- dians." On March 12, the Department of the Interior proceeded in the Catawba Indian Nation's land into trust application. On March 17, the ECBI brought this suit against In- terior, the BIA, and several agency officials and maintains that Inte- rior "did not make reasonable ef- forts to consult with the EBCI in good faith during the environmen- tal review process encompassing the historic preservation analysis." The EBCI subsequently agreed to withdraw its temporary restrain- ing order Motion and proceed only on the preliminary injunction, while the Catawba consented to delay the transfer of the land into trust for 45 days. Decision Having heard oral argument via teleconference on April 15, the Court ruled on the motion, saying that a party seeking preliminary relief "must establish [1] that he is likely to succeed on the merits, [2] that he is likely to suffer irrepa- rable harm in the absence of pre- liminary relief, [3] that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and [4] that an injunction is in the public interest." With that in mind, the EBCI had to show irreparable harm to prevail and the court made its de- cision on that basis. At the crux of the decision was whether the ECBI suffered Procedural Harm and Concrete Harm. As for Procedural Harm, the Court determined, "procedural in- jury, standing alone, cannot con- stitute irreparable harm and must be accompanied by a concrete in- jury." Concrete Injury was alleged by the ECBI's short motion that "absent injunctive relief, cultural patrimony and/or human remains found on these 16.57 acres will be completely lost." During a consultation with ECBI Tribal Historic Preserva- tion Officer Russell Townsend , he identified "pre-historic Chero- kee ceramics" roughly "ten miles away from Kings Mountain." Ac- cording to the court, "Nothing in his declaration, however, places the cultural relics on the proposed gaming site itself." The court also determined, "In any event, such a survey would not likely bear the EBCI any fruit here. The site is a highly disturbed area that has been used for mul- tiple purposes. More specifically, it has been previously prospected for tin, NCDOT used it as a soil borrow pit during the construction of a nearby road. When road con- struction concluded the following year, state authorities graded, i.e., leveled — the land." The court concluded, "in the context of this case, where there is no evidence of Cherokee arti- facts and the land has already been substantially disturbed by state construction activities, the plan suffices to greatly reduce the im- minence of injury." Additionally, the Catawba Na- tion has also agreed that "if any such resource is discovered dur- ing the construction process, work within 50-feet of the find shall be halted until a professional arche- ologist , or paleontologist if the find is paleontological in nature, can assess the significance of the find in consultation with the BIA, other appropriate agencies and the (Catawba) Nation." In a May 1 social media an- nouncement, the Catawba Indian Nation released, "The EBCI sub- mitted a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the DOI from taking the land into trust. The Court denied that request, vindi- cating our position. We can expect additional appeals, unfortunately, but we are excited that we pre- vailed in this first attempt to derail the project. We remain hopeful that our Eastern Band brothers and sisters will reconsider their efforts to stop us and, in fact, look for op- portunities to work with us, as we have long requested." In a separate statement, Chie f Bill Harris commented, "We are encouraged by the Judge's deci- sion and are pleased with contin- ued support we are receiving for this important project." US District Court denies ECBI request An artist's rendering of the Catawba Indian Nation's proposed gaming resort in Kings Mountain. (Rendering by SOSH Architects) 503 N. Lafayette St. Shelby, NC 28150 704-484-1047 EVERY THURSDAY!