Verona, New York (WSYR-TV) - There's a recommendation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs that could finally settle which land belongs on the Oneida Indian Nation.

This has been a contentious issue for several years between the local governments and the nation.  This decision will determine how much the state gets in tax revenue and how much property the nation can keep in its own trust.

The decision is that the nation can keep 13,086 acres of land in its tax-free land trust.  That's about 400 acres less than it has right now.  It's equal to 1% of the land in both Madison and Oneida counties.

This was one of at least nine options for the bureau to consider.

The 17,000-plus acres of Oneida Nation land currently runs from Smithfield to the Erie Canal.  The nation wanted to keep all of it.  However the bureau recommends taking away about 400 acres.  That leaves two concentrated areas, one in Oneida County, one in Madison.

One of the land clusters that would be kept in the land trust is 32 acres of mixed land use just south of the city of Oneida.  It includes a SavOn gas station.

The other cluster of land centers on the Turning Stone Casino.  The recommendation would allow the nation to keep all of the gaming casinos, agricultural land, four golf courses, and wetlands near the property.  If this plan sticks, they would never have to pay property tax on any of that land.

In a statement the nation said:  “We are grateful for the Department of Interior's hard work during this process. Now is a good time to move beyond the negativity and toward a better community for all of us."

But the negativity continues from some politicians.  Senator Dave Valesky says this recommendation does not solve the issue of lost tax revenue.

Madison County will not comment until next week.  Their release cited that the counties wanted to put 1,000 acres around Turning Stone into the land trust, that's significantly less than what the nation would get to keep under Friday's announcement.

There are specific properties mentioned that would be excluded from this land trust: including the quarry, public access marinas, and CNY Fiberglass and Boat Repair.

Also among the properties left out of the recommendation:  several SavOn gas stations.

People protest the land trust, in part, because nation-owned businesses don’t pay the same taxes as other property owners in Madison and Oneida Counties.

State attempts to regulate gas pumps at nation-owed businesses just add to the complaints.
Weights and Measures inspectors have been kicked off Oneida Nation gas stations in the past.  The nation saying it did not have to comply with surprise inspections.

But now, nine of the 13 gas stations will no longer be part of the nation's land trust, if the recommendation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is accepted.  Only four will still be on sovereign land.

None of the managers of SavOn were allowed to talk on camera.  The question we wanted to ask is: what happens next?  Friday's report alludes to the fact that these properties, if taken off of the land trust, could foreclose and that would mean a loss of jobs.

Obviously it will be up to the nation to decide if its chain of stores can survive on taxable land.  Their representatives did not want to discuss those options Friday.

As for the inspections, the Madison County Supervisor says that relations have improved in the last year and inspectors have been permitted to check SavOn pumps.  He expects the same procedure to continue on both the non-nation and nation businesses. 

The Department of Interior has one month to accept the land recommendation.