Montville — The U.S. Department of the Interior intends to take 12 parcels of Mohegan Tribe-owned land into trust for the tribe, removing the parcels from the local tax rolls.

The parcels, comprising more than 51 acres, have a total assessed value of more than $7.2 million, land records show.

At Montville’s current tax rate of 30.09 mills, they would generate nearly $218,000 for the town.

Land taken into trust by federally recognized Indian tribes is exempt from local taxation.

In a notice published Friday, the Interior Department said the acting regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Eastern Region determined Sept. 14 that she would accept the parcels into trust “pursuant to the Mohegan Nation Land Claims Settlement Act.”

The decision will become final at the end of a 30-day appeal period.

The Mohegans have owned the parcels for years and applied for them to be taken into trust “a very long time ago,” Chuck Bunnell, a tribal spokesman, said.

He said Interior Department officials had only recently visited the sites, a required step in the land-into-trust process.

The tribe, seeking to re-establish its homelands, has acquired property from time to time since it was federally recognized in 1994, Bunnell said.

Ultimately, he added, it will apply to have taken into trust any land it owns adjacent to its reservation, home of its flagship casino, Mohegan Sun.

The largest parcels to be taken into trust are 25 acres at 41 Sunny Hill Drive, where 60 two-bedroom apartments stand, and 12 acres on Sandy Desert Road that include the Mohegan Sun employee gas station.

Other parcels include a 5.3-acre mobile home park at 134 Fort Shantok Road and residential and commercial lots on Fort Shantok Road, Broadview Avenue and Route 32.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck