Southern casino faces environmental hurdles State says permits would be costly and difficult

SANFORD – Getting the necessary environmental permits for a casino and resort could be costly and time-consuming for casino developers, state officials say.

Maine voters will decide in November whether to allow a casino to be built in Maine. If the referendum is approved, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation also will have to resolve traffic, waste disposal and a slew of other concerns before they can build a large casino and resort in York County.

Environmental experts said the permitting process probably will not be quick or easy. They said it can take months, if not years, for a project to clear local, state and federal review, but added that the casino investors’ deep pockets should help.

“I cannot conceive that this project will not be big and contentious,” said Jeff Madore, director of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Land Resource Regulation.

Erin Lehane, casino project coordinator, said various concerns are certain to arise in the planning and construction of a casino and resort. But they should all be resolvable, she said.

“I refer to them as the practical realities of development,” said Lehane.

Casino supporters have their sights on land in southwest Sanford about seven miles from the Maine Turnpike. As it turns out, development has been proposed for the land before.

Thirty years ago Richard Gibbs, a Massachusetts oil industry consultant, and his family bought hundreds of acres of vacant land between Route 109 and New Dam Road with the plan to build an oil refinery.

“We spent a fortune on an environmental impact study,” he said.

The project came close to receiving environmental permits, he said. But then the 1970s oil crisis hit, making the project financially unfeasible and shelving the project.

If voters approve the casino, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be involved in reviewing and permitting the project. But the agency likely to be the most involved is the DEP.

Madore said the DEP would review the project’s impact on everything from air quality to storm runoff. It will be up to the developers to address the project’s impact through detailed studies, such as surveying the property for rare species.

The length of the review will depend on the complexities of the site and the sensitivity of the resources on it, said Madore. A simple site review could take four to six months, but a more complex site can drag on a lot longer.

Casino developers also will have to deal with several endangered species in the area, said Gordon Johnson, a longtime biology and ecology teacher at the former Nasson College in Sanford. He has studied the town’s ecology for years and was involved in the environmental review of the proposed oil refinery 30 years ago.

Although there has not been a detailed study of the species on the property now being eyed by developers, Johnson said the general area is home to a number of rare and endangered species, including Blanding’s turtle, several types of dragonflies and plants. He said the area is an important habitat for a variety of animals, including black night herons, great blue herons and otters.

Casino developers will also have to address issues such as sewage discharge, water supplies and city zoning.

Lehane said she does not foresee extreme delays in the permitting process. She said casino developers hope to have the facility open two years after the vote.

“If the majority of voters approve the facility and want to see the revenue for the facility going to the state, I don’t anticipate there will be unreasonable delay by any state agency in the process,” she said.