Indiana OKs sediment-clearing water jets for riverboat, angering environmentalists

Sunday, May 14, 2000 | 10:28 a.m.

Caesars Indiana said it needs the hydraulic jets to prevent a repeat of last June's costly shutdown of its Glory of Rome riverboat. The two-week boat's closure cost the gaming company at least $7 million in lost gambling revenues.

Emergency dredging was required after the boat nearly ran aground as the Ohio River's waters dropped due to dry conditions.

"It appears we have all the permits we need, but they (Caesars' technical staff) will review that one more time," Caesars spokeswoman Judy Hess said.

The project has been approved by the state Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Both acted over the objections of environmentalists, who fear the jet action will damage a freshwater mussel bed near the boat's mooring cell.

"We don't know if it will work," said Tim Maloney, a spokesman for the Hoosier Environmental Council. "We think it does pose a real risk to the mussel bed."

Hess said that Caesars presented evidence at a state hearing in December that the jets would not harm the mussel bed. She said no date has been set for construction of the system.

Maloney said no decision has been made about whether to appeal the decision to allow the system.

"We would not be optimistic about that given the track record of the (state) agencies going along with the Caesars project and all of their changes in the past," he said. "That would certainly affect our decision in whether we appeal or not."

Last summer's low water levels required dredging during fish-spawning season, a time when federal and state regulators said such disruptive operations shouldn't take place.

Environmentalists have argued that the scouring system would disrupt the mussel bed, and that saving the bed could be impossible once it is buried beneath silt diverted from the riverboat's docking site.

The underwater jets would inject a large volume of water at low velocity to keep silt from settling on the river bottom. They would operate for about two hours twice a day while the boat is cruising.

The jets would be finely controlled so they wouldn't extend beyond the mooring area, and they would be less disruptive than conventional dredging, Caesars officials have said.

Maloney said the debate underscores what environmentalists have maintained from the beginning - that the Harrison County site, which is beside a creek, isn't environmentally suited for a casino operation.