A year ago, members of the American Indian tribe proposing an Enterprise Rancheria casino near Sleep Train Amphitheatre believed 2009 would be the year they'd get, or at least eke closer to, final approval from the federal government for the project.

But even with no word from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on how soon a necessary Environmental Impact Statement for the project will be released, tribal officials with the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe said they're still hopeful of progress soon.

And Charles Altekruse, a community relations director working with the tribe, said if final state and federal approvals come, the economy won't be a deterrent to breaking ground.

"It's a great time to build now from a cost point of view," said Altekruse, explaining the massive slowdown in construction in the Mid-Valley region means there's plenty of available labor for the project, and building materials are affordable.

In an ideal situation, the casino and accompanying hotel and spa would open as the economy moves more forcefully out of recession, he said. But though gambling entertainment has suffered in the current economy, he said, regional draws, as Enterprise Rancheria is envisioned, have taken less of a hit than destinations like Las Vegas.

"We think there's unmet demand locally," Altekruse said, adding a casino and accompanying businesses in Yuba County would generate jobs and prevent economic "leakage" to casinos elsewhere.

As proposed, the casino would be on 40 acres near the amphitheater on Forty Mile Road and include a 170-room hotel, restaurants, gift shop, meeting centers and more. Tribal officials said the casino and resort would generate about $200 million in annual economic activity locally.

Still, until there's movement at the federal level, the casino is more vision than reality.

Altekruse said he believes the delay stems from a new presidential administration taking over last year and revamping its review process for such proposals.

"We believe it'll be sometime soon, but we've believed that for six months," Altekruse said. "The problem is being caught in the re-review process."

Officials with the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not return calls for comment Monday.

Even with the EIS, though, Enterprise Rancheria has other hurdles to clear. Federal regulators must also issue a record of decision on putting casino land in a trust, and state officials must craft a compact with the tribe and ratify it, Altekruse said.

There's also still opposition to the project. County residents voted against the proposal in a nonbinding 2005 referendum, and Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, helped lead that campaign when he was a county supervisor.

As well, Mooretown Rancheria, which operates Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, has opposed the casino on what its tribal chairman calls grounds of "reservation shopping."

"Our take is the approach that Enterprise Rancheria has traditional tribal land here in Butte County where they should be building," said chairman Gary Archuleta. "As far as our tribe is concerned, we're going to oppose it."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@ appealdemocrat.com. For more Yuba County news, see Ben's blog "Yuba County Insider" at appealdemocrat.com.