WETLANDS STUDY EYES LADY LUCK CASINO SITE

A wetlands evaluation impact study must be completed before the Army Corps of Engineers can decide whether to issue a permit for a riverboat casino complex at the Headwaters Diversion Channel.

The project would involve removal of some trees from the site and the filling of about 4.8 acres of wetlands adjacent to and within the Diversion Channel.

The proposal by Lady Luck Gaming Corp. calls for a $63 million complex to include a riverboat casino, visitor center and parking areas at the channel, about a half-mile east of Interstate 55 and along Nash Road.

Construction of the harbor for mooring the riverboat within the channel would impact about seven-tenths of an acre. "Sheet piling will be placed around the edge of the constructed harbor," said Dick Mochow, of the Army Corps of Engineers Memphis office.

Approximately 4.1 acres of wetlands on the land side of the levee, site of the visitor center, hotel and parking areas, would have to be raised.

"Only a minimal amount of fill will be required," said Mochow. The fill would be obtained from a proposed mitigation site south of Nash Road."

The public has until Feb. 10 to submit any comments concerning the project. "And anyone may request, in writing, that a public hearing be held," said Mochow. Requests for a hearing should state the reason for wanting a hearing.

So far no hearing has been requested for the proposed work. "But we have received a number of comments concerning the project," Mochow said.

Comments may be submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 167 N. Main St., Room B-202, Memphis, Tenn., 38103-1894. Mochow also suggests that copies of the comments be sent to the Missouri Department of Natural Resource, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102-0176.

Requesting the 401 Water Quality Certification for Lady Luck was Wetland Science Applications Inc., of Bartlett, Tenn.

"We don't see any problems with Lady Luck's site," said Dr. Thomas E. Heineke of Wetland Science Applications. "No threatened species or their critical habitat are known to exist in the project area."

The investigation is critical to Lady Luck's plans, said Robert Stillwell, Lady Luck public relations director. "This is a part of our pre-development and should further demonstrate our commitment to the Scott City project."

The decision whether to issue a permit for the casino complex at the Diversion Channel site hinges on a number of things, said Mochow.

"We have some concerns about the issue of safe boating on that channel." he said. "A lot of people use the channel for fishing."

He said the Corps also will look at the issues of endangered species, historic properties, water quality and general environmental effects."

The National Register of Historic Places already has been consulted. There are no properties currently listed in the register that would be affected.

The application is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state archaeologist and the state historic preservation office.

Many of the comments already received by the Corps did not concern wetlands, said Mochow. Some expressed concerns about gambling in general. Others questioned the legality of placing a gambling boat in the channel. Some didn't want to see a riverboat cruising down the channel to the Mississippi River.

"These things do not require a Corps permit," said Mochow. "Some of those questions will fall under the Missouri Gaming Commission rulings and, or the U.S. Coast Guard regulations."

Once the comment session is closed, a decision will be issued by the Corps.

"The Corps will decide whether to issue a permit, modify the project, or deny the permit," said Mochow. He said the decision will not be an instantaneous one. "It will take awhile."