Coastal Services Center

Dockside gambling has more than fulfilled its promise of bringing economic development to the State of Mississippi. As other states look to copy that success, coastal resource managers can plan for the environmental challenges resulting from this booming industry.

"The problem is not so much the gaming industry, but the development that comes with it. Gaming was just the catalyst that provided the economic boost," said Steve Oivanki, director of the Coastal Ecology Division of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Jim Nelson, assistant secretary of state in Mississippi, said, "It's a terrifically interesting balancing act between economic development and preserving the environment. The key is to steer the economic activity in sensible ways. We must use the economic boom to enhance, and not destroy, the quality of life and uniqueness of the Gulf Coast."

Nelson added, "States that are looking at doing any kind of development, whether it's gambling or a new industry, should come and study Mississippi's experience. Other states can learn and benefit from our mistakes and successes."

In the relatively short time Mississippi has had gaming laws, the state has experienced tremendous growth. According to the 1996 proceedings of a workshop on the coastal zone impacts of the state's dockside casino industry, 50,000 more tourists visit the Gulf Coast annually than before gaming began, and the industry has created about 29,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs. Mississippi is now second in the nation in casino square footage and third in gross gaming revenues.

"We've had an incredible economic boom," Oivanki said. "But we want to be careful that, to quote the Joni Mitchell song, we don't 'pave paradise and put up a parking lot.' We want to keep what we have and keep the growth."

Oivanki said coastal managers in the state never anticipated how quickly the gaming industry would grow when legislation in 1989 first approved gambling on cruise ships once they were 10 miles offshore. In 1990, the legislation was changed to permit gambling on riverboats traveling on the Mississippi Sound or up the Mississippi River. That same year, the legislation was altered again to allow dockside gaming on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, there are 29 dockside casinos, 11 of which are located on the coast.

"It really mushroomed beyond our expectations," he said. "I think Mississippi saw it as three or four casinos, and more of a mom and pop industry. We didn't foresee the development and we didn't plan for it. My advice to other coastal managers is to plan for the maximum. Prepare for more than you imagine rather than the opposite."

Reilly Morse, a Gulfport environmental attorney, agreed. "Nobody, but nobody thought this would mushroom like it did. Planners need to plan ahead and plan big. A small town boom requires big town restrictions, quick. You need to have them in place before development begins."

One of the biggest issues resulting from the gaming industry's growth is non-point source pollution, Oivanki said. Much of the problem stems from the traffic created by tourists trying to get to the casinos. The primary route is U.S. Highway 90, which runs along the beach, and has experienced the most gaming development. "U.S. 90 is not made to handle the kind of traffic we're seeing. All this stop and go traffic creates a lot of non-point car drippings and there is no treatment of the runoff."

He said water quality is also being affected by "runoff containing bacteria from animal and human waste. This is resulting in the closing of numerous oyster beds whenever it rains because the runoff raises the bacteria levels in the oyster reefs." The problem has been made worse by the large number of people moving to the state's coast. "We are having a building boom. All our urban areas are built out so they are rapidly throwing up subdivisions and trailer parks in wetlands areas without public sewer systems," Oivanki said.

Loss of wetlands is another problem being created by the massive development associated with gaming. "This is a rapid growth problem. The trend now is that each casino wants to be bigger than the last. In the beginning, there would be investments of $200,000 to $300,000. Now they are making $1 and $2 billion investments," he said. These new "mega casinos" may have five or six casinos, hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, marinas, and other large amenities. A casino may be the size of several football fields. Other large retail developments, such as outlet malls, also are flocking to the state, Oivanki said. "All of this development affects the wetlands. You can't build anymore without impacting wetlands."

Oivanki added, "What we are concerned about are the cumulative effects in the end. We're looking at water quality, but also the quality of life on the coast."

To help direct the development, the Department of Marine Resources has instituted a comprehensive resource management planning effort. "We're getting all the parties together to develop the process and tools to manage the development created by the gaming industry," Oivanki said. "We want to steer the development so that it will have the least impact; steer it to areas that can stand the development."

Ronald Krizman, chief of the Regulatory Office for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, said the Corps, which is the only federal agency involved in regulating casinos in the state, is looking at undertaking an Environmental Impact Statement for the casino industry in sensitive areas. He noted that there are several casino proposals on the table that will likely require a project environmental statement. One such project is a casino that wants to fill 100 acres of the Mississippi Sound for a $2 billion development.

Oivanki said comprehensive planning is difficult because of projects like the proposed Mississippi Sound development. "They are bringing up issues we never even thought of. There is always something new, and there is no set standard. Every time we set the standards they come up with a new wrinkle."

He said other coastal managers whose states are considering casinos "should not be afraid to ask for whatever is necessary to mitigate the impacts of a large-scale development." He recommends that before development begins, managers "make the decisions for what the maximum build out will be, and decide up front where the development will go."

He noted that Mississippi's coastal program "allows for the destruction of wetlands if the economic impact outweighs the environmental concerns. A billion dollars outweighs a lot of concerns."

Morse said, "The political pressure is beyond anything you can imagine. Once one agency approves a project, the succeeding agencies in charge of regulation are put under pressure not to obstruct it. Agencies need to think big and be selective about anything they allow to be developed, and get big value for whatever they allow to be developed."

Nelson said states would benefit from having central or coordinated planning. "It would help to have one agency in charge. If you have several different agencies involved, it's important that all the agencies communicate and work well together." He said states should also consider any additional revenue as a "one-time windfall." He noted that Mississippi has been able to use increased funding from tidelands leasing to purchase sensitive wetlands areas.

"It's not just the gambling industry, but any big, new industry with deep pockets that increases development pressures. People tend to vilify gambling as the root of all evil. The truth is you will face similar problems with any new industry," Nelson said. "The key is establishing partnerships between the developers and the community to mitigate the larger impacts."

For more information on how dockside casinos have affected Mississippi coastal management, contact Steve Oivanki at (228) 374-5000.