The end of the comment period for the environmental impact statement for Enterprise Rancheria’s casino brought a pair of responses from Yuba County’s neighbor to the east, with both stating concerns about air quality impacts if the project is approved.

Perhaps most prominent of the comments came from the Sierra Club, whose Sierra Nevada group/Mother Lode chapter is based in Nevada City. In a letter, group conservation chair Barbara Rivenes said the EIS didn’t consider the potential for worse air quality in Nevada County as a result of the casino.

“Western Nevada County is in a ‘non-attainment’ area for ozone which is created and transported from the northern Sacramento Valley and beyond. The negative health effects from ozone are well known and documented,” Rivenes’ letter states. “Hence, we have serious concerns when development that will cause a large influx of automobile traffic and its attendant ozone producing pollutants into our already unhealthy air.”

Her letter also makes reference to comments from Grass Valley Neighbors, a land use and environmental group also based in Nevada County. In a separate letter, Steve Enos, who describes himself as a land-use planner, states similar concerns about air quality.

“The proposed Enterprise casino in Yuba County would be a large ‘out of area’ traffic generator that has the potential to decrease air quality here in Grass Valley,” the letter states. “As a result the proposed casino project in Yuba County must undertake a comprehensive and meaningful environmental review to identify potential impacts and possible mitigation measures to address impacts and safeguard the health of the public before a decision is made.”

Charles Altekruse, a spokesman for the Enterprise Rancheria tribe seeking to build the casino on 40 Mile Road, said Thursday he wasn’t aware of the Sierra Club’s comments and couldn’t directly respond.

“I would say there’s a distinct advantage from an environmental standpoint in putting the casino on the valley floor rather than the more ecologically diverse foothills,” he said.