TOWN OF PLYMPTON
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Town House
5 Palmer Road
Plympton, MA 02367
(781) 585-2700
FAX:(781) 585-2700
March 31, 2008
Regional Director, Eastern Regional Office Mr. Franklin Keel Bureau of Indian Affairs
545 Marriot Drive
Suite 700
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
Dear Sir;
The attached comments are in response to the; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement for the Proposed Trust Acquisition of an Initial Reservation for the Mashpee
Wampanoag Tribe in the Town of Mashpee, Barnstable County, and Town of Middleboro,
Plymouth County, MA, Including a Gaming Facility at the Middleboro Property filed in the
Federal register on March 6,2008.
We would like to bring to your attention that no definitive plans on the proposed resort casino
have been made public. There has been a limited amount of discussion on a first phase
including a casino, hotel and parking garage with a second phase consisting of a golf course.
We believe this process should be put on hold until detailed full build out plans are made
available to the public. At that time more public hearings should be held and an additional
45 day comment period be granted.
Once detailed plans are available, comments can be more specific, but until then they have to
be general and voluminous in order to cover anything that could possibly be built on the sites.
As Selectmen in Plympton, a small and rural community less then 5 miles from the proposed
site, we have the obligation to request that our issues be addressed in this EIS process and
have full expectation that they will be.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Freitas, Chair, Board of Selectmen
Barry DeCristofano, Clerk
John P. Henry
Cc: Secretary Of The Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, Department of the Interior
Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs, Carl Artman, Department of the Interior
1849 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
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The following 14 pages contain questions that were gathered from many sources within the Town
of Plympton. We are not looking for yes or no answers but request that the subject of each
question be included as an item to be studied during the EIS process. This should provide
legitimate answers and responses to our deep concerns over this proposed project.
Process
What are the requirements under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to assess potential effects on
communities within a certain radius of the project?
How can neighboring communities ensure that the impact assessment includes them?
Will a neutral website, neither for nor against the putting this land into trust, be developed for the
BIA and IGRA process, with a complete schedule and PDF of all public documents pertaining to
this process, on the model of the site http://www.gorgecasinoeis.com/index.html? How will this
website be funded? Who will manage its content? What standards of promptness of all notifications
will be upheld? How will any potential complaints about the nature of the content and/or
timeliness be addressed? Will the Web site inform interested parties as to how to make such
complaints? Will contact information for specific people/work groups at the BIA be included? Will
the Web site have a subscription feature enabling those interested to receive notice of updates as
they are made?
What national studies will be used to determine social, economic, and environmental
consequences? What scientific and statistical sampling and data analysis will be employed in
determining these impacts? Who will undertake this analysis, and how will their expertise and lack
of bias be ensured and documented?
Who will be responsible for determining to what extent reference studies and comparisons can be
used to accurately and precisely predict impacts and outcomes on this specific site? What criteria
will they use to make these judgments? How will their judgments be assessed for quality; for
example, will a fair and unbiased peer review of the analyses be employed?
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What is the public need for the casino? Will the Purpose and Need reflect a broader public interest
and need than that of the Tribe?
Will the EIS incorporate the results of studies on the effects of casinos elsewhere? Which other
casino sites will be studies? How will the applicability of these selected sites, as comparison sites for
the proposed Middleboro casino, be determined and documented?
Will the EIS incorporate a study on the nature of the contract between the tribe and the investors?
Will the precise amounts each member of the Tribe stands to earn be made public?
Will the nature of the funding for the Tribe?s effort to go through this process be made to the
public?
Will the background of the investors be considered in this process?
How will the applicability of BIA oversight be determined, given the recent decision of the US
Supreme Court to hear case 07-526, Carcieri, Gov. of RI, V. Kempthorne, Sec. of Interior ? Will
the BIA freeze all consideration of this application unless and until oversight is determined to be
appropriate?
Will the BIA publish for the general public rules regarding how all persons and entities
contributing to the study shall interact with any and all outside individuals and entities? How will
the BIA monitor compliance with such rules? Will such rules include requirements for widely and
publicly documenting all interactions? Will the BIA publish widely all contributors to the study,
noting their credentials and the specific parts of the study to which they contribute?
Traffic
How many vehicle trips will be generated, including trips by employees and service and delivery
vehicles? How will these estimates be determined? How will the assumptions, calculations, and
degrees of uncertainty in calculating these figures be made public? Will these assumptions,
calculations, degrees of uncertainties, and methodologies be included in the EIS itself? Will the
study include vehicle trips affiliated with a full build out of the site?
Will the study separate out vehicle trips by each local road and per highway?
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What will be the so-called carbon footprint (impact on greenhouse gas levels) of this level of traffic?
Will the impacts of standstill traffic be included in these estimates? What would be the cost of
implementing remedies to ensure no net increase in emissions in the local area as a result of
increased traffic? How will baseline assumptions be made and who will be responsible for ensuring
a fair and peer-reviewed assessment?
How will travel times between points in the region be impacted? Which points will be assessed?
What are the seasonal and special-circumstance fluctuations (max/min per season, including
summer season, high-travel holiday times, winter storm, spring flooding, etc.)? What is the dollar
value of person-time for extended travel times in the area? What will be the increase in fuel
consumption and emissions due to extended travel times of local trips that are a part of current
travel? What will be the estimated stress-related morbidity due to such increases in commuting
times? What will be the economic impacts to local, currently existing business due to lateness
and/or stress-related illness (sick leave, decreases in productivity) due to the stress of increased
commuting time? What economic and anthropological/psychological models will be used to make
these assessments? Will such study include consideration of the potential increased time spent in
day care for children of parents who are impacted by changes in commuting time? How will such
consideration be made? What will the economic impacts (increased cost of day care) be, as well as
the social/family impacts due to the potentially decreased time that children spend within their
family units?
How will changes in traffic patterns and volume impact the length of time that children will need
to spend on school buses be determined and reported?
How will changes in traffic patterns and volume impact the average response time of emergency
responders be determined and reported?
What are the risks of increased road rage incidents? How will this be determined? Will the
methodology for making this determination be included in the EIS? If not, how will the methods
be made widely and readily available to the public?
Will the study project the impact on average wait time at each and every stop sign and traffic light
currently in use in the area? What will be the baseline level of traffic and the projected level when
the site is fully built-out? Will the study separate out impacts during high-road-use times or other
specific points of use to enable a minimum and maximum, as well as an average, impact to be
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determined? What ?area? (region) will be considered; that is, which communities will be included
in the study, and what will be the number of data points considered in each? How will this
assessment be made (methodologies, assumptions, statistical significance, peer review)? How will
information about these methodologies, assumptions, etc., be made widely known to the public?
Will the study project the need for increased numbers of regulated intersections, needs for new
lanes, stoplights, stop signs, and other signage on local roads and byways in the area? Will the study
make recommendations for new traffic patterns, comparing alternate solutions and their impacts on
specific roads and neighborhoods in the region? Will the study recommend the number of new
lights, signs, and other traffic regulation interventions to enable optimum traffic flow, and will the
study recommend the locations for each and every of these interventions? Will this information be
shared in map form as well as a street-by-street listing?
Will there be a mechanism for individuals to request study of their specific location for specific
traffic impacts? Will each and every request be honored? If not, what criteria will be used to
determine whether to act on such requests? How will the criteria be made widely available to the
public? Will all such requests, whether denied or accepted, be made widely available to the public?
How; where; when?
How will the impact of increased travel on local road maintenance (and/or renovation) be assessed?
Will considered impacts include?but not be limited to?impacts on the environment due to road
work, increased traffic emissions and vehicular-source contaminants to soil and water? How would
such impacts be assessed, and how will the methodologies be made public? Will the costs of such
increases be included in the study? How will they be reported: per annum by road? What
inflation/other economic assumptions will be used to estimate/calculate future costs?
When considering costs of construction, will the costs of implementing any potential new
processes to determine workers? legal resident/citizenship status be included? Who will bear these
costs?
Will the EIS assess the environmental impacts of the construction and maintenance of new
transportation (especially highways, roads), as well as identify how such impacts will be minimized
and addressed?
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Will the EIS evaluate noise increases and their known and potential impacts on flora, fauna, and
human health and psychology? How will this evaluation be conducted? What study parameters will
be used? What radius increments will be considered and from what central points? How many
locations will be sampled? How will the study characterize the nature of the change from a rural,
quiet atmosphere to even an otherwise relatively low level of consistent noise?
Will the EIS evaluate the level of service and overall traffic generation from various activities at the
site including: various generators and modes such as hotel, casino, special events and other
activities; construction traffic; and the level of service and overall traffic generation reasonably
expected from project-associated growth in the surrounding communities? Will this evaluation be
made on a daily, weekend, and seasonal basis? Will daytime and nighttime numbers be considered?
Will the changes from a current baseline be considered for each of these data points? Will the study
of this consider the number of trips if the site is fully-built out?
Will the traffic study calculate road maintenance costs attributable to the project? Will the study of
this consider these costs as if the site is fully-built out?
Will the traffic study consider the operational costs of all new traffic lights in the area? How large
an area will be considered? Will this study consider the costs for a fully-built out site?
Will the study indicate the differences between state and local regulations and federal regulations,
and show how differently the Tribe may operate under federal regulations?
Will the study base its recommendations on the full build-out potential of the site, rather than the
proposed plan?
What is the capacity of Route 58 and local streets to accommodate additional traffic associated with
the casino and casino-induced development? Will the study of this consider this capacity if the site
is fully-built out?
Will the study include an evaluation of the ability of the proposed highway capacity to effect
emergency evacuation routes, including a full casino, in a fully built-out condition? Will all
possible emergency scenarios be considered? Will the study include?but not be limited to?
consideration of the following: Which locations would be impacted? What category hurricane?
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Disease outbreaks? Nuclear accident? Terrorist attack(s) on the nuclear power plant and/or other
sites in the area?
How will the study address the impact of the fact that the proposed site is actually situated on an
evacuation route from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and is adjacent to another evacuation
route from the south (I-495)? Will the Department of Homeland Security be consulted? To what
extent?
Will the EIS evaluate transportation options such as bus or light rail service?
How will pedestrian, bicycle, horse and farm vehicle access and safety be addressed with additional
traffic on secondary roads? Will the study of this consider these issues if the site is fully-built out?
Will the traffic study address how vehicular traffic (volume, new patterns, changes in roadways)
will impact pedestrian and bike, as well as horse and farm vehicle, traffic on local roads? Which
local roads will be considered? Will the study make recommendations (with estimated costs) for
enabling foot, bike, and horse traffic to be safe and unimpeded? Will the environmental and land
use impacts of any new structures, walkways, paths, etc. for foot, bike, and horse traffic be
addressed? Will the costs be documented?
What will be the impact of the traffic due to the casino on local water quality and quantity, and soil
quality? How will these impacts affect local farms and industries? How will they affect wells and
gardens? How will they affect wildlife habitats?
What will be the impact of an increased amount of hydrocarbon leaks on water quality?rivers,
ponds, streams, wells, and soil?
What will be the impact on air quality from increased traffic? What will be the impacts on human
health from increased particulates in the air?
What will be the impact of increased traffic on migratory and territory travel patterns of land and
water animals?
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What will be the pressures on wildlife from the development of new roads and surfaces? How will
these pressures impact the overall health of natural communities and ecosystems beyond the
physical boundaries of the site and new roads?
What will be the impact of increased traffic and new roads and surfaces on biodiversity? To what
extent can we expect indigenous species to suffer at the expense of hardier and possibly nonindigenous
species?
What will be the impacts of the introduction of new species to the area due to increased travel into
the area from a broad range of geographic areas?
What are the risks of increased environmental hazards due to trafficking of hazardous chemicals
such as, but not limited to, petroleum products on the local roads? Will an inventory of increased
traffic of such chemicals, due to the site?s development and consequential developments
throughout the region, be included?
Economics and Taxation
Many businesses in Plympton, from horse farms to farm stands, market themselves in terms of their
bucolic setting. Plympton has attracted artisans who work in their backyards and rely on our open
space and quiet, rural way of life. Will a comprehensive economic analysis be undertaken to
identify potential effects of the proposed project on Plympton?s small businesses?
What will the economic and environmental consequences to the region be if these businesses are
lose revenue and are forced to sell their properties, especially if the land is sold for the purposes of
new residential or industrial/commercial use?
What will be the time frame for the assessment of economic and social impacts; 10, 20, 50 years?
Will this study of this consider the impacts if the site is fully-built out?
For comparison purposes, will the socioeconomic effects of casinos on other communities in their
regions be examined? What other casino sites will be included in this comparison? How will their
applicability to this site be determined, and how will applicability criteria be made widely available
to the public?
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Will the EIS examine the effects of casino development on other potential economic
development activities in surrounding communities, as well as Plymouth and Cape Cod? Will it
examine its effects on the plans for the Plympton Industrial Park? Will this study examine these
effects if the site is fully-built out?
Will the EIS evaluate the impact on Plympton?s tax base, with increased pressure for housing
workers, while possibly losing land for commercial development? Will this study consider these
impacts if the site is fully-built out?
Will the Compact and the agreements between local governments and the Tribes be considered
when studying the social and economic impacts? Are these agreements linked to increases in the
development of the site in the future?
How many jobs will be created; at what wage levels? What percentage will be earmarked for local
residents; for Tribal members? What percentage of work will be reserved for local contractors?
What will be the consequences on property values and property taxes for Plympton? How will
these values be affected if the site is fully built-out?
How will the project impact existing and proposed restaurants, hotels, motels, RV facilities, and
other overnight lodging facilities? How will these businesses be affected if the site is fully built-out?
Will the EIS assess whether there will be a loss of workers from existing businesses?
What nationally accepted professional or scholarly data will be used to evaluate the potential
impacts over the next ten, twenty-five, and fifty years?
Will the EIS assess the current social and economic impacts of not having adequate public and
essential commercial services (e.g., housing, medical, emergency) for current and future residents
and visitors?
Social concerns
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Our State Legislator says that this Middleborough casino ?will destroy Plympton.? We take this to
mean that our quiet, rural, way of life will be overrun by increased traffic, and pressure to build
housing. Our town is ill-equipped to handle the increased pressure on our police system, schools,
and infrastructure. How will the EIS propose to prevent the ?destruction? of our town? How will
the EIS address protecting Plympton even after the land comes under Tribal sovereign control?
How will gambling-related social problems such as increased crime and gambling addiction; family
violence; bankruptcy; alcohol abuse; drunk driving; stress on children in families impacted by
gambling issues; loss of retirement and other personal financial safety nets be dealt with in the
study? What reputable, non-gambling funded studies are being consulted for identification and
mitigation of gambling-induced problems?
How will increases in both the numbers and rates of drunk driving incidents be monitored and
addressed?
Will the study examine the social and economic impacts of siphoning revenues from existing
programs toward court costs, counseling services, etc.?
Will the EIS, based on credible data, quantify effects on churches for providing additional
counseling services for gambling impacts such as divorce, job terminations, home foreclosure,
gambling addictions, and crimes of embezzlement, theft, or fraud?
Will similar studies be made of the effects on other non-profit, community-based organizations?
Will an economic study be made of the financial costs in lost time and productivity for businesses
whose workers are impacted by family members? or their own problems?
Will the EIS consider the cost to schools and learning impacts on students of quickly changing
demographics, children stressed by family problems stemming from increased gambling, divorce,
and other problems listed above? Will the impacts on standardized test scores and associated effects
(costs of teaching and curriculum, property values, etc.) be included in this part of the study?
Will the EIS consider the environmental impacts of increased population and population density in
this area? Will development build-outs be made on a timeline, with a carbon footprint impact
statement being addressed?
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How will effects on quality of life, including community character, demographics, and small town
atmosphere be studied and assessed? What methodologies will be used to make such a study, and
how will the methods be made broadly public? Will the impacts to participatory and personal
governance inherent in a small town be assessed? Will Plympton be included in such an assessment?
Will the potential dislocation of current residents due to an increased cost of living be
considered?
Will the EIS recommend how to enable residents who feel their way of life is destroyed or radically
disrupted to move out of the area without suffering financial losses, should housing values fall?
Will the EIS consider, based on the experience of casinos elsewhere, effects on levels of poverty?
Which comparisons will be made? Will the specific sites used for comparison be made public?
How will the applicability of these sites for comparison purposes be determined, and how will
these criteria be made broadly available?
Will the EIS assess whether low income or people of color communities will be impacted by the
proposed project and disclose what efforts were taken to meet environmental justice requirements
consistent with Executive Order (EO) 12898?
What will be the need for additional public services, including public safety and emergency
services, and for infrastructure improvements to be met? Will the report account for how these
needs will change as the site is further developed? Will a dollar value, including projections for
inflation, cost of increased health insurance for workers, and other similar concerns be included?
What impacts to the Plympton and Silver Lake School systems can be expected, 10, 20, 50 years
into the future?
How will quality of life impacts, for people who moved to Plympton to live in a rural setting, a
community of people who work as farmers, artisans, and in other trades locally, be assessed?
What will be the impacts on artisanal farming and animal husbandry concerns? What will be the
impacts on commercial agriculture? What will be the impacts on traditional industries such as the
trades?
How will the value of land and resources lost to local, value-adding industries be assessed?
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Will the affects of increased light and noise pollution on quality of life be assessed?
How will the impacts of the casino development on the work of regional town and watershed
associations be assessed? How will the financial investments of governments, individuals, and
foundations on local environments be protected?
Will the affects of the visual presence on quality of life be assessed? How? What methodologies,
prior studies, and expertise will be used to inform the study?
Will the loss of open space on quality of life be assessed? How? What methodologies, prior studies,
and expertise will be used to inform the study?
Environmental
Will the EIS examine the differences between state and local regulations and the more relaxed
federal regulations? How will these different requirements impact the ecology of the area, and
surrounding towns? How will species indicated as endangered by the state, and not the federal
government, be protected? How will the relaxed federal laws affect the potential full build-out of
the property?
What are the plans for sewage and solid waste disposal? Will these plans show means for sewage
treatment and waste disposal when the site is fully built-out?
Will the EIS include the affects of increased worker populations in the surrounding areas?
What water usage is projected? In a drought situation, will there be adequate water to serve all
needs? What will be the demands when the site is fully built-out?
Can the demand for power be met without adversely affecting local homes, businesses, and
industries? What will be the demands when the site is fully built-out?
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How will housing needs for employees be addressed? Where will employee housing be developed?
How will increased need for water and septic treatment be addressed and met?
What will be the scope of analysis of advertising, light pollution, and other visibility impacts? How
will the EIS assess effects of light and glare from the project site to Plympton?said to have the
darkest night sky in the region? Will Plympton?s outdoor lighting regulations be considered?
Do the layout and design of buildings consider the new ?Dark Sky? limitations for outside lighting
and advertising? How will the lighting be regulated if the land is under Tribal sovereign rule?
How will the visual impacts be mitigated?
What methodology will be used to assess the impacts of air pollution in the region, and how will
these methodologies be made public, with publication including?but not limited to?information
on uncertainty levels?
What methodology will be used to assess the impacts of noise pollution in the region, and how will
these methodologies be made public, with publication including?but not limited to?information
on uncertainty levels?
?
How extensive will the assessment of air, water, soil, and dark-sky quality and visibility impacts be?
Will emission sources to be studied include boilers, emergency generators, and other secondary
sources? Will the EIS evaluate the impacts on air quality and visibility caused by fugitive and
exhaust emissions from construction, traffic, and bus emissions, and all point source emissions? Will
the EIS analysis include airborne pollutants associated with the casino?s day-to-day operations
(such as industrial laundry facilities)?
Will the EIS identify the endangered, threatened, and candidate species under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), and other sensitive species within the proposed project area for each alternative?
In addition, will the EIS describe the critical habitat for these species and identify any impacts the
proposed project will have on these species and their critical habitat? Will the habitat?known to
host eagles, otters, and other rare species at the confluence of the Winnetuxet and Taunton Rivers
be considered?
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Will the EIS describe the current quality and potential capacity of habitat, its use by fish and
wildlife on and near the proposed project area, and identify known fish and wildlife corridors,
migration routes, and areas of seasonal fish and wildlife congregation? Will the EIS evaluate effects
on fish and wildlife from habitat removal and alteration, aquatic and terrestrial habitat
fragmentation caused by roads, land use, and management activities, and human activity? How will
endangered species and habitat be protected? How will the study consider the preceding in terms
of the broader changes brought on by this development, rather than remaining limited to the
impacts within the site itself? How will the study incorporate the impacts in conjunction with
other environmental trends that threaten wildlife and ecosystems?
How will the BIA ensure that its decision complies with the Migratory Bird Species Act of 1918, as
amended? Will the EIS describe the migratory birds and migratory bird habitats to be impacted
(removed and/or degraded) during project construction, the time of year that removal of existing
vegetation would take place, the migratory bird species that may be affected or occur within
habitats affected by construction and ground disturbing activities, and measures (e.g., seasonal
restrictions and/or habitat restoration) that will be used to avoid short and long-term impacts to
nesting migratory birds?
Will the EIS identify the extent to which essential habitat features such as potential or known
nesting trees and snags will be removed and/or measures that will be used to avoid impacting
nesting raptors? Will the project maintain existing large trees?
What major plant communities are present and affected? Will the EIS consider impacts on sensitive
plant species? How will sensitive plant species in the vicinity be protected?
What will be the impact of developing new impervious surfaces on the site, as well as increase in
impervious surfaces brought on by road and other development (such as, but not limited to
housing), consequential to the development of the site? How will that affect temperatures in
sensitive streams and soil temperatures throughout the region? What will be the impacts of these
changes in temperatures on the local flora and fauna, and the ecosystems in the region, taken as a
whole? What will be the change in energy (electrical, etc.) use by humans as a result of these
temperature changes?
Will the impact of the herring run on the Nemasket be assessed?
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Will the impacts of non-point source pollution on the Taunton River Watershed be assessed?
Will the impacts on the fisheries of Buzzards Bay be assessed?
Will the impacts of additional needs of petroleum fuels and liquid natural gas be assessed, even if
those storage areas are outside the immediate region of the casino?
What will be the impact of developing new impervious surfaces on existing vernal pools on the
project site? What plan will be developed to accommodate preservation or mitigation or
replacement of vernal pools at the project site?
Will the EIS address the thermal effects of paving and buildings?
What will be the affect of increased traffic on secondary roads throughout the region be on our
ecology?
Will the affects of the casino on threatened communities of flora and fauna be considered as well as
individual species?
Will the affects of rapidly building a large development on wildlife be assessed?
Will the effects on human health from ecological changes caused by the casino and its development
be assessed?
Will the effects of water use and impact on aquifer, local water supply at 5 year, 10 year, 20 year,
50 year horizons be assessed? Will the desalination plant in Dighton be a source of water for the
casino? How will permitted quantities for water be maintained?
Will the EIS include study of the effects of increased populations of workers serving the casino on
nearby aquifers and other water sources? Will there be study of the effects of increased human
water use on the ecosystem? Will study include the effects of damage to our regional headwater
ecosystem on saltwater bays and estuaries? Will the EIS include study on the effects on saltwater
fisheries relying on anadromous fishes, and eels--including economic, cultural, health and
ecological effects?
How will the impacts of deforestation be assessed?
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What will be the effects of deforestation be on microclimates? What will be the effects of
impervious surfaces to microclimates?
What will be the effects of the loss of flora and fauna on human health?
Water resources
What is the scope of the water quality analysis? Will the EIS disclose which water bodies, both
above and underground, may be impacted by the project, the nature of the potential impacts, and
the specific pollutants likely to impact those waters? How will these be monitored? How will the
site be regulated if it becomes a sovereign nation?
Will the Tribe have an environmental regulatory agency of its own? By what rules and standards
will it operate? How will these standards and rules be monitored and ensured by agencies outside of
the Tribe?
Will the EIS address the need for a complete characterization of the groundwater flows and
resources throughout the region? Without such a study, how will the EIS study be able to
determine impacts on local areas? How will changes in drainage patterns due to development, and
their impact on underground and aboveground water areas be assessed? How will the rates of
recharge be impacted?
Will the EIS address the effects on water quality from the runoff of hazardous materials from
landscaping and from storm water associated with additional impervious surfaces? What are the
plans for storm water containment?
Will the scope of the cultural resources analysis include identifying all historic properties or cultural
resources potentially impacted by the project or associated offsite development, including
traditional cultural properties, other Native cultural resources, and non-Native historic properties?
Will the EIS evaluate noise generating activities associated with construction and ongoing
operations at the casino, including but not limited to: traffic to and from the casino, activities at the
entertainment venue, etc. and the impact on surrounding wildlife, natural scenic values, and
recreation sites throughout the region?
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Will local communities more than 10 miles from the project site, be a part of the Section 20
consultation and no detriment review?
Monitoring and evaluation
How will the outcomes of locating a casino in Middleborough be monitored and evaluated? How
will negative impacts be mitigated?
Will the EIS establish a means to issue cease and desist orders in the event the surrounding
communities have concerns that are ignored or inadequately addressed? How far into the future
will these means be relevant? Will funding be provided to local governments to allow them to seek
legal assistance to protect their interests? What will the funding levels be, and what will be the
sources of this funding?
What guarantee is there that the Tribe will abide by the recommendations in the EIS?
Tribal sovereignty
What impacts will tribal sovereignty over the Middleboro site have on the surrounding
communities? How will its agencies cooperate with Plympton?s?
What are the cultural and historical connections of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to the land in
Middleborough? How does the proposed use for the land square with the Tribe?s cultural history?
How will the cultural connections of other tribes to the land be assessed?
To what extent is the claim to any reservation land nullified by prior legal actions taken by
Massachusetts in regard to Native American populations?
How will national security concerns, including but not limited to the potential creation of safe
havens or shelter areas (possibly unintended) for illegal immigrant populations and potential
terrorists, be addressed when/if a sovereign nation shares a border with several towns? Will the
Department of Homeland Security be consulted and/or have jurisdiction in this area? How will
that be guaranteed should the site come under sovereign Tribal rule?
Plympton, MA Board of Selectmen questions regarding EIS in reference to Proposed Wampanoag Land-into-Trust action
Page 17 of 17
Will the EIS explore all possibility of passport restrictions for crossing the border into and out of
the sovereign area? How would free-passage restrictions such as these impact the assumptions and
estimations made in the traffic/environmental studies mentioned elsewhere in this document?
What current state, local, and federal laws and regulations will not be enforceable within the
boundaries of the proposed reservation? Under what circumstances will local, state, and federal law
enforcement officers be empowered to enter and enforce laws that they could legally enforce just
outside the site?s boundaries?
How will the existence of a sovereign nation within a Massachusetts town impact the ease with
which drug traffickers and dealers can operate? How will local, state, and federal law enforcement
actions be impacted?
Litter
How will the Tribe dispose of trash? Its impact is expected to be the size of a small city. How will
our regional landfill and waste disposal systems handle the increased load? Will state regulations be
applied to the tribe?s waste disposal system, or federal?
Will the EIS address the potential for increased litter along highways and local roads and streets
associated with casino visitors?
How will litter/trash increase impact the Plymouth Bay area, regional rivers and streams?
What impacts on flora, fauna, and wildlife communities from litter throughout the region can be
expected?
How will hazardous wastes from the site be removed/dealt with? Will an incinerator or similar
technology for addressing waste be strictly prohibited in a binding way? If not, what would the
impacts be of such a technology in use on the site; will the study include in-depth analysis of these
impacts on air, water, and soil quality, as well as human and ecosystem health?
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