AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The Oxford casino will remain open despite a Superior Court ruling that nullifies its site permit.
Members of the Androscoggin River Alliance challenged the Department of Environmental Protection's granting of the permit citing a whole host of environmental issues. They also objected to the license being granted based on the casino project's first phase and not on the environmental impact of all three phases.
Their appeal to the Board of Environmental Protection failed, but a judge ruled in favor of the alliance and vacated the BEP rulings that granted the permit.
The attorney representing the group say the casino developers took a gamble and moved forward with the project while the issue was still being argued in court. He says it should be shut down.
"We warned them that this was illegal and we'll litigate and they went forward at their own risk and it was a bad bet", said Stephen Hinchman, the alliance's attorney.
Officials at Department of Environmental Protection say they don't plan to shut the casino down. In vacating the permits, the judge remanded the matter back to the DEP. Officials there say they will follow the judge's instructions and reopen the permitting process.
NEWS CENTER