The Northeast's First Green Casino

Empire Resorts and St. Regis Mohawk Tribe made public their project to build the Northeast's first green casino at Monticello Raceway in Sullivan County NY. The half-billion-dollar facility is the first of this kind in the region to be approved by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) organization

LEED was created as a response to the requirements of the legislature to develop environmentally-friendly buildings. Its role is to establish the standard co-ordinates for the “green buildings”, to lobby for integrated whole-building practices and recognize environmental leadership in the building industry.

Steven Winter Associates will supervise the LEED certification process of the new casino. It is the first company that used the LEED standards and has lots of LEED-certified buildings.

The officials from St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Empire Resorts are very excited to develop the casino project that will implement advanced environmentally-friendly systems and expects to be followed by other owners. Anyway, the application of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe for LEED certification demonstrates the Tribe's commitment to protecting the environment while moving forward with this project.

On the other hand, Sullivan County Legislature Chair Chris Cunningham consider that the legislature has made a priority from promoting green industries to Sullivan County and believes strongly that green technology should be utilized in new economic development projects.

In relation with this, tribal Chief James W. Ransom mentioned that St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has one of the best environmental programs in Indian country and they want to bring the same approach to the building of the casino from Sullivan County.

In order to be approved the casino plan was analyzed by the Environmental Assessment following the National Environmental Protection Act standards and an Environmental Impact Statement under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. All these actions represent an important step for the protection and enhancement of the environment for future generations along with a reasonable development of the facilities.