NITRO, W.Va (WCHS) — The Mardi Gras Casino is seeking an exemption from Kanawha County’s Clean Air Act to allow indoor smoking in their facilities.
This request from Mardi Gras is due to the potential loss of customers and revenue because of not having a smoking option for their patrons.
The Kanawha County Commission said it has not yet received an official proposal.
“Our health department is waiting for that official proposal, that at which time they will set the appropriate public hearings,” Kanawha County Commissioner Marc Slotnick said.
The idea was brought to the table at the end of September at a Kanawha-Charleston Health Department board meeting, when management from Mardi Gras gave their case for a possible exemption.
“Our understanding is that they want to isolate a room and put the proper ventilation in if there’s a such thing as proper ventilation because we don’t know that yet,” Slotnick said.
Slotnick said the original Clean Air Act concerns not only the patrons, but also the employees, and if it’s safe for them to work in a smoking environment.
“It’s not necessarily a monetary decision, it’s based on how we feel about the Clean Air Act and whether there should be exemptions,” Slotnick said.
Slotnick said making exemptions could potentially open the door for more requests from other businesses to do the same.
“I’m afraid of what might continue, if we grant the exemption, but again, we need to review all of the facts, and all the scenarios,” Slotnick said.
The commissioner said when the proposal is made to the health department there will be a 30 day comment period, then the commission will review it and either accept or reject.
“At this point, it’s not been presented officially to us, we of course are aware that it is going on, but here’s nothing we can do at this point,” Slotnick said.
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