The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation submitted an application for the fee-to-trust transfer of tribal property in Pasco, a step toward opening a casino on Colville land in the city.

“We’re pleased to announce this important milestone in our efforts to enhance economic development for the Colville Tribes,” Colville Business Council Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson said in a statement.

“We’re confident that a new state-of-the-art gaming enterprise on Colville land in Pasco will provide additional resources to our tribal government to provide much-needed services to our tribal membership. The project will also bring new jobs to the Pasco area and increase tourism to the region.”

He described it as a “win-win for the tribes and the Tri-Cities area.”

The application was submitted to Bryan Mercier, regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Portland. The tribes’ attorneys and staff have been working on the project since 2019.

Submitting the application kicks off a 16-step federal process for transferring off-reservation tribal fee property to trust status, the tribes’ statement said. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of Interior also will require additional processes, the statement.

In the statement, Erickson said that gaining approval for the fee-to-trust process will take significant time, effort and coordination, but “we are confident of a positive outcome.”

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation is contesting the move.

Yakama Nation Chairman Gerald Lewis wrote in a letter to the editor in the Tri-City Herald that Colville “does not have tribal rights in the Pasco area. No federal, state, or tribal government has ever accepted or recognized Colville rights here. Because Colville’s rights don’t extend to Pasco, this means they do not have the tribal right to open a casino in Pasco, and they never will.”