Suffolk Downs, the East Boston racetrack competing to build a resort casino, has been fined $1.25 million for discharging horse dung, urine, and other pollutants into tributaries of the Boston Harbor, according to court records filed in US District Court in Boston Wednesday.
The racetrack agreed to a consent decree that was filed with the court after federal officials began investigating high levels of bacteria and fecal matter in the wetlands around the racetrack. A review beginning in 2008 found the pollutants had been funneling into Sales Creek, which cuts through the racetrack’s 161 acres of land. From there, they made their way into the Belle Isle Inlet, becoming part of Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean and endangering aquatic life.
Comments
Chip Tuttle is a bad, bad boy. Here we all are recycling to save our ocean and he's dumping horse manure into Boston Harbor. I can't tell you how this cynical arrogance hurts my heart. He should be sentenced to shovel manure for 10 years, he likes it so much. AAAARGH!
Was Suffolk Downs unaware that disposing of horse effluent in public waterways polluted our water and violated numerous federal laws and regulations? If they were in fact aware, why did they conduct their business this way? So, the owners or operators were either ignorant of the law or elected to ignore it. Why, then, should we trust them to abide by the laws associated with a casino?