May 12, 2005 

Re: Draft of the Proposed Facility Licensing Regulations 

Dear Tribal Chairman: 

As you know, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) requires that each tribe issue a 

license for each place, facility, or location where gaming will occur. The Act also 

requires that gaming be on Indian lands eligible for gaming, and that the construction and 

maintenance of a gaming facility, and the operation of that gaming, must be conducted in 

a manner which adequately protects the environment and the public health and safety. 

The IGRA does not specify what a facility license must contain, nor how the National 

Indian Gaming Commission (Commission) is to readily ascertain that gaming facilities 

are in compliance with these provisions. 

Therefore, the Commission is in the process of developing new Facility Licensing 

Regulations that address these ordinance requirements. The intent of these regulations is 

to provide a method of identifying the Indian lands on which tribes are gaming and 

assuring that the environmental and public health and safety standards are adopted by 

each tribe. Over the past year we met with many tribes in individual consultations and 

solicited their views. As a result, the draft regulations are limited in scope and purpose. 

Enclosed is a copy of the Commission’s latest working draft of the proposed Facility 

Licensing Regulations. In accordance with the Commission’s consultation policy, we are 

soliciting your comments on these draft regulations and methods of improving them. 

Please note that the deadline for your pre-rulemaking comment on the enclosed 

working draft of the proposed Facility Licensing Regulations is June 30, 2006. 

Comments should be addressed to: 

Facility Licensing Regulations Comments 

Attn: Jerrie Moore 

National Indian Gaming Commission 

1441 L Street NW, Suite 9100 

Washington, DC 20005 

Sincerely, 

Philip N. Hogen 

Chairman Enclosure 
DRAFT Facility Licensing Regulations 

25 C.F.R. Part 559 Annual Facility Licenses 

559.1 What Is The Scope and Purpose Of This Part? 

(a) The purpose of this part is to ensure that each place, facility, or location where 

class II or III gaming will occur is located on Indian lands eligible for gaming 

under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and has been constructed and 

maintained, and is conducted, in a manner which adequately protects the 

environment and public health and safety. 

(b) Each gaming place, facility, or location conducting class II or III gaming 

pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or on which a tribe intends to 

conduct class II or III gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

is subject to the requirements of this part. 

559.2 When Should the Tribe Issue a Facility License? 

At least annually, a tribe shall issue a separate license to each place, facility, or 

location on Indian lands where class II or III gaming will occur and shall submit a 

copy of this license to the Commission. A license may only be issued to any 

place, facility, or location located on Indian lands eligible for gaming that has 

been constructed and maintained, and where the gaming will be conducted, in a 

manner which adequately protects the environment and public health and safety. 

Each license shall be issued with appropriate certifications. 

559.3 For Open, Licensed Gaming Operations, What Should the Tribe Submit to 

the Commission? 

(a) For the first annual facility license issued under this regulation, the tribe will 

provide to the Commission the following: 

(1) A certification from the tribe’s governing body that the gaming operation 

will be or is located on Indian lands eligible for gaming pursuant to the 

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 

(2) A legal opinion from a licensed attorney affirmatively stating that each 

gaming place, facility, or location is located on Indian lands eligible for 

gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The legal opinion 

shall be entitled “Indian Lands Gaming Eligibility Opinion”, shall be 

signed by the attorney, and shall contain adequate documentation 

supporting the legal conclusion. 

(b) The first annual facility license, certification, and legal opinion with 

supporting documentation shall be submitted in a joint package to the 

Commission headquarters no later than one hundred and eighty (180) days 

after the regulations are published as a final rule in the Federal Register. 

559.4 What Supporting Documentation Should Be Submitted With The Indian 

 Lands Gaming Eligibility Opinion? 

(a) Supporting documentation for the Indian Lands Gaming Eligibility Opinion 

 must include: 
(1) a name and address of the place, facility, or location; 

(2) a legal description of the gaming site; 

(3) a road map or plat map of the area indicating the gaming site that is eight 

inches by ten inches in size; 

(4) a copy of the trust or other deed(s) for the property if one exists, or if such 

documentation does not exist, then an explanation as to why such 

documentation does not exist; and 

(5) documentation indicating that the tribe has jurisdiction and exercises 

governmental authority over the gaming site if not located within a 

reservation. 

(b) Supporting documentation for the Indian Lands Gaming Eligibility Opinion 

 may include, but is not limited to: 

(1) documentation detailing all landowners or trust beneficiaries of the land, 

including i) whether each owner or beneficiary is a member of the tribe 

planning to game on the site, a member of another Indian tribe, or a nonIndian; and ii) the fractional share of the property for each person; 

(2) copies of any applicable court settlement agreements, Congressional Acts, 

Executive Orders, or Secretarial Proclamations or decisions; and 

(3) any necessary historical records or other documentation used in the 

analysis. 

(4) documents indicating a tribal leasehold interest in the property, including 

any approvals of the lease agreement by the Secretary; and 

(5) any documents evidencing that the operation is individually owned. 

(c) The Commission may in its discretion request additional documentation as 

needed to assess the eligibility of the lands for gaming. 

 

559.5 For New Gaming Facilities, What Should be Submitted With The 

 First Facility License and When Should it be Submitted? 

(a) A tribe shall notify the Commission that it intends to open a gaming facility at 

least one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the opening of a new gaming 

place, facility, or location on Indian lands, and shall at that time provide the 

tribal certification and the Indian Lands Gaming Eligibility Opinion with the 

supporting documentation listed in 25 C.F.R. 559.4 to the Commission. 

(b) A tribe may request a waiver of the one hundred and twenty day (120) prior 

notice period if the new gaming facility will be located within the tribe’s 

reservation boundaries or on land acquired into trust by the United States for 

the benefit of the tribe before October 17, 1988. 

 

559.6 For Open And New Gaming Facilities, What Must The Tribe Submit To 

Certify That The Construction And Maintenance Of The Gaming Facility 

And The Operation Of That Gaming Is Conducted In A Manner Which 

Adequately Protects The Environment And The Public Health And Safety? 

(a) Each year, prior to issuing its annual facility license, a tribe shall certify that, 

at each place, facility, or location on Indian lands where gaming will occur, 

the construction and maintenance of the gaming facility, and the operation of 
that gaming is conducted in a manner which adequately protects the 

environment and the public health and safety. 

(b) The tribe shall annually submit the table of contents for each of the standards 

adequate to protect the environmental and public health and safety that have 

been adopted by the tribe. These standards shall include, but are not limited to 

standards for the following: 1) emergency preparedness; 2) food and water; 3) 

construction and maintenance; 4) hazardous and other materials; 5) sanitation; 

6) law enforcement and security; and 7) other environmental or public health 

and safety standards adopted by the tribe in light of local climate, geography, 

and other local requirements and applicable to its gaming operations. 

(c) A complete copy of such standards must be readily available upon request of 

the Commission. 

(d) Each licensed place, facility, or location on Indian lands where gaming will 

occur shall remain in compliance with the environmental and health and 

safety standards adopted by the tribe. 

(e) The certification, and list of tribal standards required in this subsection shall be 

submitted to the Commission each year at the same time as the gaming 

operation’s facility license. 

559.7 Are There Any Situations Where The Commission May Act Even If The 

Tribe Is Meeting Its Own Standards? 

Yes, the Commission may take an enforcement action to protect the environment 

and public health and safety if imminent jeopardy exists or if the tribal standards 

are clearly inadequate to protect the environment and public health and safety. 

559.8 What Situations Rise To The Level Of Imminent Jeopardy? 

Imminent jeopardy exists if conditions are present that pose a real and immediate 

threat (a) to the environment, which, if left uncorrected, would result in actual 

harm to life, serious degradation of the natural environment, or destruction of 

property; or (b) to public health and safety which, if left uncorrected, would result 

in serious harm to human health and well-being, including conditions that may 

result in serious injury or death.