An EIS is a tool to assess the potential impacts both individually and cumulatively so that as individual permit actions come up in the future, there will exist a database to understand these impacts. The decision to issue a permit must be based upon the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity, but as recently as 1990, the Corps admitted that it did not give adequate consideration in the permit process to cumulative impacts. However, a study prepared for DMR on pollution effects of casinos points out that wetlands loss is bound to increase significantly if casinos are granted land use changes and begin to locate in sensitive areas. Before developments proliferate in St. Louis Bay, Back Bay of Biloxi, and Deer Island, it is prudent to take a longer-term perspective on wetlands and other environmental degradation. An EIS is an appropriate tool to use when an important ecosystem is threatened by a development boom or when significant threats to water quality exist.
Experts note that the environmental impact of a casino is about the same as that of a small town.
As things now stand, St. Louis Bay will face impacts equivalent to that of two towns before water quality regulators complete a pollution budget for this severely stressed water body. At least three projects have been announced for Deer Island and adjacent water bottoms. Given the problems with administering the Coastal Program and the unrelenting pressure to intrude into pristine wetlands, an EIS is the right action to take, right now. Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOAA, Final Evaluation Findings for Mississippi's Coastal Program, May 1991 through April 1993, 35. 2. Mr. Morse is a third-generation Gulfport lawyer in solo practice.