Oxford Casino gets embattled DEP permit
Continued construction at Oxford Casino received state clearance to move ahead after the state's Department of Environmental Protection reissued the casino a construction permit invalidated in 2011 by a Kennebec County Superior Court ruling.
The Sun Journal reported that the new permit comes after the DEP broadened its review of Oxford Casino's development plans.
Originally, the DEP reviewed only Phase I of the casino's construction plans before issuing a permit, which elicited the Androscoggin River Alliance and other abutters to the casino property to request a court review of the permitting process.
The paper reported that the parties requesting a review of the project had believed that by invalidating the DEP construction permit that the court order would require the casino to close.
The court, rather, ordered the DEP to restart the review process, looking beyond Phase I of the casino's building plans in reviewing the project. Samantha DePoy-Warren, DEP spokeswoman, told the paper that the new review found no evidence that the overall project will cause any environmental degradation and that no parties sought a stay of construction for the project.
The paper reported the developers maintain their plans for Phase II and III of the project, which include an expansion of the gaming facility, a parking garage, restaurants and other amenities.
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