Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: April 26, 2008
Byline: Jennifer Lin

Denial of casino permit advised

Two federal entities gave the recommendation that the Army Corps block the SugarHouse project.

Two federal regulators have recommended denying the SugarHouse casino a key permit for building into the Delaware River, while a third is asking for more information from the developer.

The recommendations were stated in letters filed this month with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and obtained by The Inquirer under the Freedom of Information Act.

As SugarHouse wrangles with the city over the right to build on riparian land, it also needs federal permission to dredge, fill in more than an acre of water and build a stone embankment on the waterfront.

The company was selected in December 2006 to build a 3,000-slots casino on 22 acres in Northern Liberties and Fishtown on the Delaware River, but has faced delays and court challenges on permits.

Under the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps must decide whether to issue a permit for building into the water, based on input from other federal and local agencies, as well as the general public.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote on April 1 that it was "concerned" that the casino developer did not submit alternatives to its design or layout to minimize the need to dredge or fill-in water. The EPA also said SugarHouse needs to provide an analysis that examines other sites.

Meanwhile, the Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Interior, said in an April 3 letter that SugarHouse did not provide ample proposals for mitigating the damage to shallow-water habitats along the Delaware.

The service added that the Army Corps must consider the number of development projects being proposed for the waterfront and "the resulting cumulative impacts to important aquatic habitats."

Finally, the National Marine Fisheries Service, under the U.S. Department of Commerce, wrote on April 1 that it needed more information on alternatives to dredging or filling in the river. It called for another month of public comment.

Leigh Whitaker, a spokeswoman for SugarHouse, said in an e-mail that the responses from the EPA and Fish and Wildlife "were not unexpected, as the various regulatory agencies were simply commenting on the summary information in the Corps Public Notice."

Whitaker added that the agencies "did not have access to the wealth of information that comprises our entire permit record."

"We continue to work with the Corps to clarify our permit application with the various commenting agencies," she said.

The public files did not include follow-up comments from any of the agencies.

SugarHouse's request is under review, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman in the Philadelphia office of the Army Corps.

Since March, the Army Corps has gathered more than 200 public comments on the project from individuals and groups, a majority of whom have requested a public hearing on the project.

Walls declined to say whether there would be a hearing or how long the review process would take. "We never give out a time line," he said.

SugarHouse is one of two casinos planned for the waterfront. The second — Foxwoods in South Philadelphia — also has requested a general permit from the Army Corps for building new storm-water outflows into the river.

"We have had some discussions with them about their project," Walls said. "We are not moving forward with review of their application until we get some additional information from them."