May 30--The Mashpee Wampanaog Tribe hopes a proposed rule change by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will speed up the process of land trust applications and limit the threat of lawsuits.

On May 24, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn filed the proposed change with the Federal Register, triggering a 30-day public comment period.

The proposal is in reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, known as the Patchak decision, that gives opponents to land decisions up to six years to file a lawsuit. Previously, the BIA "self-stayed" its final decisions on taking land in trust to see if legal challenges would be filed.

The rule change requires that opponents exhaust remedies within the Department of the Interior, of which the BIA is a part, before seeking judicial review, Washburn said in a press release.

"The principal purpose of this proposed rule is to provide greater certainty to tribes in their ability to develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development," he said. "For such acquisitions, the proposed rule will create a 'speak now or forever hold your peace moment' in the land into trust process."

The proposed rule clarifies that Washburn's decision on acquiring lands for Indian gaming is a final decision and allows him to take the land into trust with no waiting period. Because a simple change in ownership status itself is not an act that causes irreparable harm in many cases, it will place the burden on litigants to come forth and demonstrate such harm if they wish to prevent the trust acquisition from occurring, while not affecting the right to judicial review of the basic decision, the BIA press release says.

The Mashpee tribe has applied to have 170 acres in Mashpee and 151 acres in Taunton taken into federal trust as an initial reservation. The land in Taunton would be used to build a $500 million casino. Uncertainty surrounding that application prompted the Massachusetts Gaming Commission last month to open Southeastern Massachusetts to commercial bids, ending the tribe's exclusive rights in the region.

The tribe has said its application is on track to be completed by the end of this year or early in 2014, but opponents have said the hurdles are too great to overcome.

On Thursday, the gaming commission set a timeline to begin accepting applications for the first phase next week and set a deadline of Sept. 30 for them to be filed, spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. The first phase requires a $400,000 nonrefundable check, money that will be used to do criminal and financial background checks on the applicants, she said.

In a press release, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell praised the BIA's proposed rule change, saying it would "help tribes acquire land without the threat of delays or frivolous lawsuits."

Public comments on the rule change can be made online at www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.

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