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4.12 Unavoidable Adverse Effects 

This section identifies unavoidable adverse effects that may occur as a result of 

implementing the Proposed Action or one of its alternatives. The conveyance of lands into 

trust would not result in significant direct or indirect effects to the physical environment 

since no ground disturbance would occur and there is no proposed change in land use. 

Therefore, resource categories related to the physical environment, such as soils, 

groundwater, air, noise, wildlife, vegetation, wetlands and others would not be subjected 

to unavoidable adverse effects. On the other hand, the various scenarios associated with 

the respective alternatives could have unavoidable adverse effects on New York State, the 

local communities, or the Nation. These potential consequences comprise the majority of 

the effects addressed in this section. 

Regulatory Jurisdiction 

New York State and the local governments have asserted that lands transferred into trust 

would have an unavoidable adverse effect on the state, towns and counties in that they 

would not have the future ability to regulate uses and activities on Nation lands once in 

trust status. Further, their position has been that the removal of lands from New York 

State and local regulatory jurisdiction would adversely affect the regulatory scheme as a 

whole because environmental and municipal laws are effective only if they apply uniformly 

and equitably over an entire geographic area. 

These lands, once in trust, would continue to be regulated by federal laws that apply to 

tribal land and to the extent that these laws would be enforced in a manner consistent 

with New York State laws, would provide environmental protection. In addition, the land 

would be regulated by Nation laws and ordinances, many of which have been in place for 

nearly 10 years, covering building construction, land use, public safety, and environmental 

protection. Through those policies, the Nation is committed to environmental protection 

and conservation consistent with or equivalent to local and state laws and regulations. 

This consistency in the application of environmental and land use standards on lands held 

in trust could avoid or minimize the potential unavoidable adverse effects to regulatory 

jurisdiction that are contended by the State and local governments. 

Land Use Planning and Zoning 

The State and local governments have asserted that lands conveyed into trust would have 

unavoidable adverse effects on some municipalities if the local government is unable to 

effectively implement consistent community planning and the enforcement of zoning, land 

use, or other regulations. In all alternatives, except Alternative G - No Action, portions of 

Nation trust lands would be interspersed with non-Nation lands. Local governments 

would have no jurisdictional control over these lands and have stated that this would have 

an adverse effect on their ability to cohesively plan and to uniformly enforce their zoning 

and land use regulations. The extent of this potential effect would partially depend on the 
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different amounts of land entering trust in the various alternatives and in which 

municipalities. Generally, the potential for this effect is greatest for towns that have a 

greater number of parcels or percentage of land area entering trust compared to towns 

with only a few parcels or little total acreage held in trust. This is more fully discussed in 

Sections 4.2.4 Land Use and 4.8.6 Land Use Plans and Zoning. Predominantly, there is at 

present general consistency in uses of Nation and non-Nation lands. Once in trust, lands 

would be regulated under the Oneida Indian Nation Land Use Ordinance that requires 

development to be compatible with adjoining uses. This consistency in the application of 

land use plans and regulations on lands held in trust could avoid or minimize the potential 

unavoidable adverse effects to zoning and planning that are contended by the State and 

local governments. If there are changes in the future land use planning or zoning 

regulations by either the Nation or local governments, resulting affects on land uses could 

be resolved through cooperative planning efforts. 

Employment 

Losses of jobs would be unavoidable in certain alternatives and their scenarios. In 

Alternative E, overall Nation employment would decrease from 4,611 to 3940 and 177 

jobs would be lost from local non-Nation businesses. In Alternatives C, D, E, and F under 

the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure scenario, jobs would be lost due to the 

alienation or foreclosure of the excluded lands, most notably in Alternative D where there 

is a loss of 301 jobs and in Alternative E with a loss of 942 jobs. 

Under the Alternative G - No Action Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close or Property 

Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure scenarios, there would be a significant drop in employment 

including the loss of all 3,779 jobs at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, losses in other 

Nation enterprises and its government, and a loss of 946 jobs in local non-Nation 

businesses. Overall, 5,773 jobs would be eliminated, affecting 4,992 residents of Madison 

or Oneida Counties. 

Housing and Real Estate 

Under the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close

scenarios, concerning lands excluded from trust in Alternatives D, E or G, there would be 

the significant adverse consequences to the Nation due to alienation or foreclosure of 

lands containing most or all current member residences and not constructing planned 

residences for 66 additional families. 

In the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close

scenarios, there would be large amounts of Nation properties foreclosed or alienated and 

entering the real estate market in Alternative C (7,467 acres), Alternative D (13,942 acres), 

Alternative E (17,145 acres), Alternative F (5,384 acres), and Alternative G (17,370 acres). 

This could cause an unavoidable reduction in property values in Madison and Oneida 

Counties as laid-off employees may leave the region or default on their taxes. 
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Taxes 

Lands entering trust would be exempt from property tax in Alternative A (17,370 acres 

and $2.7 million property tax), Alternative B (35,000 acres and $5.4 million property tax), 

Alternative C (9,903 acres and $2.4 million property tax), Alternative D (3,248 acres and 

$1.0 million property tax), Alternative E (225 acres and $200 thousand property tax), and 

Alternative F (11,986 acres and $2.5 million property tax). These tax estimates do not 

include the disputed assessment of the Turning Stone Resort & Casino. In the future these 

foregone taxes would be considered an unavoidable adverse effect on the local government 

revenues. This may also be considered offset by the property, sales, income, and multiplier 

effect taxes generated by the Nation and its employees. Specifically, total revenues from 

taxes paid to the State, Counties, and school districts by Nation employees and others in 

2005 under a multiplier effect offset the assessed property taxes on Nation land reported 

above (see Sections 3.7, 4.7 and 5.0 for further details.). 

The loss of jobs in the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - All 

Enterprises Close scenarios of Alternatives D, E, and G would unavoidably reduce income 

and other tax revenue. In Alternative G - No Action this would be a loss of $3.3 million of 

income taxes and a drop in the multiplier effect on sales taxes of $300,000. 

Traffic 

In Alternatives A through F, traffic is projected to increase to 2,174 trips in 2011 at the 

evening peak due to the projected growth in visitors going to the Turning Stone Resort & 

Casino facilities that presently exist or are under construction. This would have an 

unavoidable adverse effect associated with the growth in visitors and associated increase in 

employment at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino. Due to Nation-funded mitigation 

measures installed in 1997, the roadways in the area can still adequately accommodate 

this anticipated increase in traffic volume. However, a drop in level of service from D to E 

and some increased delay from 37.1 seconds to 59.5 seconds may occur during peak 

periods at the intersection of NYS Route 365 and I-90 Exit 33. 

Agriculture 

Loss of the Nation’s use of agricultural lands and related commercial assets under the 

Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close scenarios 

in Alternatives C through G could result in an unavoidable adverse effect to the Nation 

both economically and culturally. This would include the potential loss of a revenue 

source to the Nation, the inability to recuperate its capital investments in the development 

of its agricultural enterprises, and prevention of the Nation from cultivating traditional 

crops using traditional methods on lands within its aboriginal homeland. 

Historic, Cultural and Archaeological Resources 

Alternative C would exclude important cultural, historic, and archaeological assets located 

in Group 3 lands, the most important of which are located in the Towns of Stockbridge, 

Fenner, Lincoln, and Smithfield in Madison County. Alternative D and Alternative E 
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convey virtually none of the Nation’s important cultural, historic, and religious properties 

into trust. Alternative D would convey only six and Alternative E would convey none of 

the Nation’s important archaeological sites into trust. Alternative F would include some of 

the Nation’s important cultural and archaeological sites but would exclude some other 

sites. In Alternatives C - F there would be an unavoidable adverse effect to the Nation in 

the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure scenario where omitted lands containing 

cultural or archaeological resources would be lost due to alienation or foreclosure. 

The potential adverse indirect effects on the Nation’s cultural and archaeological resources 

would be far more significant under Alternative G than for the other alternatives. Under 

the No Action Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close scenario, the Turning Stone Resort & 

Casino would close and lands containing archaeological and cultural resources would be 

alienated or foreclosed as the Nation would lose its most significant source of the revenue 

which enables the Nation to maintain cultural and archaeological assets and programs. 

The Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close scenario would have a significant unavoidable 

adverse effect on the Nation’s archaeological resources and culture. 

Under Alternatives C through G, lands not conveyed into trust and archaeological 

resources contained there would not have the protection under ARPA and NAGPRA. This 

would have an unavoidable adverse effect on the Nation’s culture if, under the Property 

Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close scenarios, these 

lands are alienated or foreclosed and the properties or cultural assets are impacted by 

others. Under Alternative G, none of the Nation’s archaeological sites would receive 

protection under ARPA and NAGPRA. 

Government Services 

In the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes- All Enterprises Close

scenarios of Alternatives D, E or G all the Nation’s government programs would be 

severely curtailed or cease altogether as they are located in facilities on lands that would be 

alienated or foreclosed. This would be a significant unavoidable adverse effect on the 

Nation. To remain viable these programs would have to rely heavily on federal funding. 

The Nation’s demand for healthcare, emergency medical services, fire protection and other 

community supplied services would increase with incremental growth in the community 

and potentially with more visitors going to the Turning Stone Resort & Casino. This 

would be an unavoidable adverse effect on the resources of the local governments to meet 

the increased service needs. The anticipated growth, however, would not likely increase 

the demand enough to result in the construction of new facilities or in physical alterations 

to existing facilities. The increased demand would not likely be large enough to affect 

current response times for emergency services. Therefore, the effect on these community 

services is expected to be less than significant. 
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In the past, the Nation has supported the expansion of these services over time by 

providing funding to the local municipalities in a variety of ways. The Nation continues to 

send most of their children to local public schools for their education, utilize existing 

healthcare facilities, cooperate with local police departments regarding law enforcement, 

and rely on municipalities for emergency response and fire protection. Under Alternatives 

A through F and the Property Taxes Paid or Property Taxes Not Paid - Dispute Continues

scenarios, the Nation service agreements related to the provision of community services 

would be maintained. However, under the No Action Casino Closes - All Enterprises 

Close or the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure scenarios in Alternatives C through G 

where Nation lands are alienated or foreclosed, the service agreements would be reduced 

in extent or terminated. 

Hunting and Fishing Lands 

Alternative F would secure 78 percent of the Nation’s hunting and fishing lands. 

Alternatives D, E, and G would convey none of the Nation’s hunting and fishing lands 

into trust, representing a direct unavoidable adverse effect on the Nation. Under 

Alternatives C through G, where all or some variable portion of Nation lands used for 

hunting and fishing would not be conveyed into trust they would become subject to 

foreclosure or alienation in the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure or Casino Closes - 

All Enterprises Close scenarios. This would be an unavoidable adverse effect on the 

Nation and its culture. 

Lifestyles and Cultural Values 

The projects and programs implemented by the Nation that focus on culture, language, 

ceremonies, and community are critical and necessary for the Nation to retain the unique 

Oneida lifestyle attributes, cultural values, and philosophy. Alternatives D and E both 

would exclude all the key lands with respective cultural facilities owned by the Oneida 

such as the Shako: wi Cultural Center, Ray Elm Children & Elders Center, Village of 

White Pines, Festival Sites, traditional croplands plus cultural service departments. Both 

alternatives, under the Property Taxes Not Paid – Foreclosure scenario where these lands 

would be alienated or foreclosed, would have the same direct significant unavoidable 

adverse effect on the Nation. Alternative G would convey no lands into trust and would 

also have a significant unavoidable adverse effect on the Nation. This would especially be 

the case in either the Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close or the Property Taxes Not Paid 

– Foreclosure scenarios where the lands supporting all of the Oneida cultural foundation 

would be alienated or foreclosed. 

Environmental Justice 

The substantial land areas in Alternatives C, D, E, and F that would be omitted from trust 

would not have the added protection of ARPA and NAGPRA, an unavoidably adverse 

effect on the archaeological resources of the Nation. In addition, under the Property Taxes 

Not Paid – Foreclosure scenario for these four alternatives Nation member residences may 

be alienated or foreclosed with most or all residences affected in Alternatives D or E; this 
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would be a significant unavoidable adverse impact on the Oneida and Native Americans. 

Also in Alternatives D and E revenue generating properties would be shut down, 

diminishing the Nation’s ability to provide the same level of services and programs to its 

people. Alternatives C or F would have similar but less significant unavoidable adverse 

effects. 

In Alternative G, under the Casino Closes - All Enterprises Close or Property Taxes Not 

Paid – Foreclosure scenarios, the closure of income producing enterprises, the alienation or 

foreclosure of all Nation lands and member housing, and the limiting or eliminating of the 

Nation’s social, cultural, and health programs would constitute a significantly unavoidable 

adverse effect on the Oneida.