Public comment period begins as Mashpee tribe releases environmental impact report for Taunton casino
TAUNTON —
The draft environmental impact report on the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s proposed $550 million casino project has been submitted to state officials and is now subject to a public comment period.
Although the tribe announced the publication of the report Tuesday, the 1,000-plus-page document is dated May 15. It details the tribe’s plan to build a 400,000-square-foot resort casino featuring a 15-story structure, 900 hotel rooms, a 132,000-square-foot gambling floor, multiple restaurants and a 25,000-square-foot water park.
“We are pleased to provide this comprehensive analysis of our proposed destination resort casino in Taunton,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement. “The publication of this report is a critical step forward and helps us keep this project on track to bring thousands of jobs to southeastern Massachusetts.”
The document, produced by Maynard-based Epsilon Associates describes the current conditions in and around the 151-acre site in East Taunton, projects the impact a casino would have on the area and details planned mitigation steps. It also describes scaled-down alternative plans in addition to the tribe’s preferred plan.
The Mashpee, backed by Malaysian casino conglomerate Genting, have a purchase option on the land, which sits within Liberty and Union Industrial Park. Some of the parcels are adjacent to Routes 24 and 140.
The tribe’s preferred plan would result in a number of effects on existing infrastructure, including a peak of 20,900 new vehicle trips on Fridays, an increase of 309,000 gallons per day drawn from Taunton’s water system and 225,000 additional gallons of wastewater each day.
Grossly understated and Tribes have priority water rights.
Planned mitigation measures include dozens of offsite road improvements including new ramps on Route 24 and Route 140, widening a section of route 140 and redesigning the Hart’s Four Corner’s intersection. Plans also call for a new entrance ramp connecting the casino site directly to Route 140.
Proposed water infrastructure mitigation includes installing larger water mains in the area and rehabilitating an existing pumping station.
In a May 15 letter to the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Epsilon states that the tribe has refined the casino design to minimize its environmental effects.
“For example, on-site impacts to wetlands and other water resources have been minimized by constructing the large majority of the development on areas that have already been disturbed and by making adaptive reuse of two existing buildings on site,” the letter states.
Under U.S. law, any federally recognized tribe that has sovereign land in a state that allows expanded gambling may open a tribal casino under certain conditions. The Mashpee, who got official recognition in 2007, are currently without any reservation land.
The tribe has an application pending with the federal government to have the Taunton land, as well as 170 acres in Mashpee taken in trust to establish an initial reservation. Opinions differ sharply, however, on when, or if, that approval will come.
The Mashpee say they are on track for an expedited land approval and will be ready to begin construction early next year, but some have said such a decision could take years. The 2009 Carcieri v. Salazar Supreme Court decision clouds the issue further, suggesting that tribes are only eligible to have land taken in trust if they were under federal jurisdiction before 1934.
The 2011 state law that legalized casino gambling froze commercial projects out of the southeastern region to give the Mashpee a chance to resolve their land issues.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, recently ended the tribe’s exclusivity and allowed commercial developers to bid on a casino license in the region. Such a move does not, however, end the Mashpee’s pursuit of a casino through the federal process.
The draft environmental impact report is available online at
http://mwtribe.exstream.tv/firstlightresort. The state is receiving written public comments on the project until July 12. Comments may be mailed to: Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Attn: MEPA Office, Ms. Holly Johnson, EEA #14924, Cambridge St., Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114. Comments may also be emailed to Holly.S.Johnson@state.ma.us, or faxed to 617-626-1181.
Read more: http://www.enterprisenews.com/business/x871008234/Public-comment-period-begins-as-Mashpee-tribe-releases-environmental-impact-report-for-Taunton-casino#ixzz2WgRTCnb1
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Although the tribe announced the publication of the report Tuesday, the 1,000-plus-page document is dated May 15. It details the tribe’s plan to build a 400,000-square-foot resort casino featuring a 15-story structure, 900 hotel rooms, a 132,000-square-foot gambling floor, multiple restaurants and a 25,000-square-foot water park.
“We are pleased to provide this comprehensive analysis of our proposed destination resort casino in Taunton,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement. “The publication of this report is a critical step forward and helps us keep this project on track to bring thousands of jobs to southeastern Massachusetts.”
The document, produced by Maynard-based Epsilon Associates describes the current conditions in and around the 151-acre site in East Taunton, projects the impact a casino would have on the area and details planned mitigation steps. It also describes scaled-down alternative plans in addition to the tribe’s preferred plan.
The Mashpee, backed by Malaysian casino conglomerate Genting, have a purchase option on the land, which sits within Liberty and Union Industrial Park. Some of the parcels are adjacent to Routes 24 and 140.
The tribe’s preferred plan would result in a number of effects on existing infrastructure, including a peak of 20,900 new vehicle trips on Fridays, an increase of 309,000 gallons per day drawn from Taunton’s water system and 225,000 additional gallons of wastewater each day.
Grossly understated and Tribes have priority water rights.
Planned mitigation measures include dozens of offsite road improvements including new ramps on Route 24 and Route 140, widening a section of route 140 and redesigning the Hart’s Four Corner’s intersection. Plans also call for a new entrance ramp connecting the casino site directly to Route 140.
Proposed water infrastructure mitigation includes installing larger water mains in the area and rehabilitating an existing pumping station.
In a May 15 letter to the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Epsilon states that the tribe has refined the casino design to minimize its environmental effects.
“For example, on-site impacts to wetlands and other water resources have been minimized by constructing the large majority of the development on areas that have already been disturbed and by making adaptive reuse of two existing buildings on site,” the letter states.
Under U.S. law, any federally recognized tribe that has sovereign land in a state that allows expanded gambling may open a tribal casino under certain conditions. The Mashpee, who got official recognition in 2007, are currently without any reservation land.
The tribe has an application pending with the federal government to have the Taunton land, as well as 170 acres in Mashpee taken in trust to establish an initial reservation. Opinions differ sharply, however, on when, or if, that approval will come.
The Mashpee say they are on track for an expedited land approval and will be ready to begin construction early next year, but some have said such a decision could take years. The 2009 Carcieri v. Salazar Supreme Court decision clouds the issue further, suggesting that tribes are only eligible to have land taken in trust if they were under federal jurisdiction before 1934.
The 2011 state law that legalized casino gambling froze commercial projects out of the southeastern region to give the Mashpee a chance to resolve their land issues.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, recently ended the tribe’s exclusivity and allowed commercial developers to bid on a casino license in the region. Such a move does not, however, end the Mashpee’s pursuit of a casino through the federal process.
The draft environmental impact report is available online at
http://mwtribe.exstream.tv/firstlightresort. The state is receiving written public comments on the project until July 12. Comments may be mailed to: Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Attn: MEPA Office, Ms. Holly Johnson, EEA #14924, Cambridge St., Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114. Comments may also be emailed to Holly.S.Johnson@state.ma.us, or faxed to 617-626-1181.
Read more: http://www.enterprisenews.com/business/x871008234/Public-comment-period-begins-as-Mashpee-tribe-releases-environmental-impact-report-for-Taunton-casino#ixzz2WgRTCnb1
Follow us: @enterprisenews on Twitter | EnterpriseBrockton on Facebook
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