In the US, several prominent Massachusetts environmentalists have lined up next to developers, elected officials and Everett citizens and called on Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone to withdraw his appeal against the $1.7bn Wynn Everett casino project.
Curtatone’s filing has blocked the Department of Environmental Protection from granting Wynn a key licence to continue construction at the site. Wynn officials said that includes key environmental remediation, including the dredging the Mystic River near the casino site, restoring the natural shoreline, completing a harbour walk and building new docks.
“Today, the story is about the environmental stewardship of the property, which we take very, very seriously,” Wynn Everett president Bob DeSalvio said.
DeSalvio, along with environmentalists from the Boston Harbor Association, Mystic River Watershed Association and the Environmental League of Massachusetts, argued that Curtatone’s appeal on the grounds of poor environmental impact is largely unfounded, noting that construction work thus far has aimed to improve the river and surrounding waterfront by removing contaminated soil and combating other toxins that have leeched into the river.
