The second ruling in recent months regarding an environmental review, the Town of Tyre announced that on October 1st, it had determined that the Seneca County Lago Resort & Casino in upstate New York will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment.

The initial approval by the Tyre Town Board of the environmental review of the proposed Finger Lakes casino was voided by a state appeals court in July when it found that the Tyre board’s “negative declaration” was not provided in a clear, written record. Having thrown out that review, last year’s environmental work was repeated by the Town Board and the same determination was reached.

Board members spent over 25 hours in public sessions and myriad of hours reading documents, listening to residents’ comments, and talking with experts, according to project backers Wilmorite Chairman Thomas C. Wilmot, Sr., and Managing Member of Peninsula Pacific, M. Brent Stevens, press release. Information obtained on WHEC Rochester, Wilmot stated, “The Board and Supervisor have gone above and beyond what any governing body has ever done in carrying out their responsibilities in my 50 years of working on projects across the state.”

Any potential environmental impact on the town must be examined closely by the Tyre Town Board as required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Stevens said, “They put us to the test, as well they should…” and added that, “We are very proud of what Lago will be and we are grateful to the town leaders who pushed us to make it even better, ensuring that we take every step possible to mitigate any adverse impacts Lago could potentially cause for the people of Tyre. We have done that.”

Casino proposals for Lago along with the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady and Montreign Resort Casino in the Catskills were approved by the Gaming Facility Location Board in December, 2014 and since then has been plagued by opponents including community members and other gaming establishments in the area such as the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Casino and Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack that disapprove of a new gaming destination that will be within an hour’s drive, and according to them will cannibalize their businesses and harm local economies.