Ducks along a wet walk next to a pond near parking for the $800 million casino proposed for the Eastern States Exposition have prompted the West Springfield conservation area to contend the area is subject to flooding.
WEST SPRINGFIELD – A dispute between the local conservation officer and engineering consultants over wetlands boundaries on land near a potential casino site has taken on a new wrinkle.
City conservation Officer Mark A. Noonan said that he took photographs Friday of the walkway along the eastern pond on the Eastern States Exposition campus where there was evidence of flooding.
A consulting engineer for the Eastern States Exposition has contended that the pond is not subject to flooding, and the area in question is therefore not subject to protection under the state Wetlands Protection Act. That act gives conservation commissions jurisdiction over work within 100 feet of a wetland.
Hard Rock International wants to build an $800 million casino in the vicinity of the pond on a section of the fairgrounds off Circuit Avenue. It has promoted its plans for $35 million in traffic mitigation at and near the site to ease residents’ concerns. Developers have also pledged to be respectful of wetlands and the environment.
Briony Angus, a project manager with Tighe and Bond of Westfield, has appealed to the state the local commission’s refusal to act on a request to issue a determination of applicability regarding wetlands boundaries centering on whether the land adjacent to the pond is subject to flooding.
Local conservation officials have said they declined to take any action on whether the land contains vegetated wetlands, citing a lack of information on the project from engineers on their application for a determination of applicability of the Wetlands Protection Act.
Angus could not be reached for comment Monday.
Noonan said he took photographs of the wet walkway as part of the inspections he makes of wetlands after considerable rain, which the area experienced over several days.
Noonan said he was planning to email his photographs to members of the Conservation Commission.
Noonan said Conservation Commission Chairwoman Maryellen Hammond told him he is the spokesman for the board.
Noonan has stated that the presence of the ponds need not prevent the proposed casino project as there is sufficient land nearby over which Hard Rock has options to create wetlands should existing wetlands be disturbed.
However, Noonan did say that if land bordering the pond is subject to flooding, that could increase the acreage over which the Conservation Commission has jurisdiction subject to the state appeal.
Hard Rock has proposed building a casino complex on about 38 acres near gate nine of the 175-acre fairgrounds off Memorial Avenue. The site would be reached from Circuit Avenue. The parcel is currently used for overflow parking during the 17-day Big E annual agricultural fair.
Mark Rivers, president of the Bronson Companies, development consultants to Hard Rock, issued a statement saying it has not been determined whether flooding in fact has occurred or whether it is on Hard Rock’s site.
“This may not be flooding – it may be standing water or overflow water,” the statement said.
Noonan responded that whether the pond is on the 38 acres to be leased by Hard Rock is irrelevant. He said they are on Eastern States Exposition land and on maps of the proposed project.
“Why would they be appealing something that is not on their lease area? I don’t know specifically where their lease area is,” Noonan said. “It (the pond) shows up on their renderings.”
Further, Noonan said the issue is whether the pond is subject to flooding.
Rivers pledged that the project will comply with applicable environmental regulations. The project has been designed and sited to avoid or minimize impacts to wetlands and sensitive areas, Rivers said.
Rivers stated that if portions of the site are regulated by the Conservation Commission, the project can comply with standards by establishing additional wetlands.
Noonan said, “They (developers) can just adjust the project accordingly.”
He expressed disappointment that developers appealed to the state Department of Environmental Protection after saying they wanted to be respectful of the environment.
“Instead, they want to challenge it,” Noonan said.