By Associated Press
Salamanca, NY – A stretch of a second Western New York highway is now at the center of a dispute between the Seneca Nation of Indians and the state.
Leaders of the Seneca Nation say they've let Governor Spitzer know that his administration needs to begin negotiations with the tribe or it will cancel a 30-year-old easement involving the Southern Tier Expressway, now known as Interstate-86.
A section of the highway cuts across the tribe's Allegany Reservation in Salamanca.
Seneca officials say the state hasn't lived up to its end of the deal that allowed the highway to be built across nearly 800 acres of tribal land. The president of the Seneca Nation says negotiations have to begin immediately or the tribe will cancel the agreement.
Last month, the Senecas announced they were rescinding the agreement that allowed the state to build part of the Thruway across their Cattaraugus Reservation near Silver Creek.
The Senecas and the state have been at odds over Spitzer's plans to collect taxes on gasoline and tobacco products sold by Seneca retailers.