The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Cayuga Indian Nation's of New York's application for trust status on roughly 130 acres of local land is woefully inadequate.

The report, which was the subject of a public hearing in Seneca Falls last week, is remarkable for the amount of detail it provides without actually touching on the most important information.

The massive document arrives at the conclusion that trust status for the tribe's land, which would make those properties exempt from local and state tax laws, would have a negligible impact on the local economy. In fact, it attempts to make the argument that the economy would expands by millions of dollars if the application is approved.

Amazingly, that conclusion comes with no analysis on how the Cayugas' ability to operate businesses without being subject to taxes or regulations would impact neighboring businesses. We already know the answer to that because we've seen retailers struggle in the past when the tribe was disregarding tax laws.

No where does the BIA report assess how much revenue competing businesses would lose, and how that would affect jobs as well as the local sales tax revenue streams that governments need to balance their budgets and provide services to taxpaying residents.

In fact, the only mention of sales tax impact in the document relates to the nation. The report says the Cayugas wouldn't be able to continue a scholarship program for its members if it is forced to collect sales taxes on cigarette purchases by non-Indian customers.

Pardon us if we're a little skeptical that profits from tax-free cigarette sales are the only way to sustain a scholarship program. But there's no doubt that giving the nation's businesses unfair advantages in the marketplace will hurt the local economy.

Before it does anything else, the BIA needs to go back and address this vital issue.