For Immediate Release                    

Contact: Shawn Pensoneau

(202) 632-7003

NIGC Expands Comment Period for Graton Rancheria Project

Washington DC, May 11, 2007 — The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) has extended the deadline to receive comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a proposed casino resort development near Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California.  The comment period will be extended until June 4, 2007.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was enacted in 1969 to require federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions.  In order to meet the requirements of NEPA, the NIGC, as the lead federal agency, has prepared a detailed statement known as a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The comment period for the Graton Rancheria Hotel and Casino Project DEIS opened on March 9, 2007 and was scheduled to end May 14, 2007, which was more than 60 days, which exceeds the 45 day period required by federal regulations.  With the extension, everyone will be given a total 87 days to comment on the DEIS.

The NIGC is an independent regulatory agency established within the Department of the Interior pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

###