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Officials in Solano and Napa counties recently said the tribe is seeking federal “restored land” recognition for Vallejo property at Interstate 80 and Highway 37 in hills near Columbus Parkway. Success in that attempt would be a step in establishing a casino.

Last year, Napa Valley Vintners vocally opposed having the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians look to Napa County for a casino. The tribe could buy land, have the land placed in trust by the federal government and avoid being subject to county agricultural protection laws.

Rex Stults of Napa Valley Vintners said Friday that Napa County still needs to “maintain a high degree of vigilance.”

“I think we’ve learned in the last decade or more of working on these things that they happen in the dark of night,” Stults said.

Napa Valley Vintners welcomes anybody who wants to be a neighbor in Napa Valley, Stults said. But, he said, they must be willing to abide by rigid county land-use laws that have allowed Napa Valley to become what it is.

Meanwhile, the prospect of a Vallejo casino is raising concerns in American Canyon. The city is asking the Napa County Board of Supervisors to join those who oppose having the tribe gain the necessary federal approvals that would allow for a casino.

“The proposed casino could have a negative effect on both American Canyon and the county in several ways unless it is properly evaluated for its impact,” American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia wrote to the county.

Garcia elaborated in a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior. Among other things, he mentioned that his city obtains a portion of its water from Vallejo.

“There is a concern that the density of water use for the proposed casino resort would strain the already limited water resources available in Solano and Napa counties, particularly given the persistent and ongoing drought conditions faced by the state of California,” he wrote.

On Monday, the county’s Legislative Subcommittee of Supervisors Diane Dillon and Mark Luce will discuss Garcia’s request. Dillon said Friday she doesn’t know what recommendation the subcommittee might make to the Board of Supervisors as a whole.

“The sad aspect of this is the Scotts Valley tribe, like so many other Indian tribes, needs to have economic development for the well-being of their tribal members,” Dillon said. “This is a path available to them. I understand why they go down this path.”

Her job is to look out for the best interests of Napa County and its economic viability. She believes in preserving agriculture and keeping urban uses in urban areas, Dillon said.

Solano County and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein are among those speaking out about the Scott’s Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ interest in gaining “restored land” status from the federal government.

“We don’t believe the tribe is native to Solano County,” Solano County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Erin Hannigan said on Friday. “It’s really nothing more than that. It’s not anti-casino or anything like that. It’s a matter of process.”

Feinstein makes a similar point in a July 22 letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. The Vallejo property is more than 60 miles from the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ original reservation in Lake County, she wrote.

“More troubling is the lack of transparency,” Feinstein wrote. “There has been no notice to the surrounding tribes with historic ties to the area. The affected cities and counties are similarly left in the dark. And the agency has failed to provide any notice to the state. That’s a problem.”

Rob Ottone of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians couldn’t be reached for a comment on Friday by phone or by email.

The federal government can take land into trust for Indian tribes, allowing tribes to have sovereign status on the land. But that alone doesn’t allow for casinos. Land acquired after 1988 cannot have gaming unless it qualifies for a “restored land exception.”

Among other things, tribes to receive restored land exceptions must show they have modern and historic ties to the land and that the land is within “reasonable commuting distance” of the tribe’s reservation.

Also, a tribe before establishing a casino must have a gaming compact with California.

Napa County officials have also expressed concern that the Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley in Sonoma County might try to establish a Napa County casino. The county opposed having the tribe federally recognized.

The Mishewal Wappo tribe sued then-Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in 2009 to gain federal recognition, but a federal judge in March 2015 ruled against it. That case is under appeal.