NEW: Commission Formed to Investigate Landfill
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Rep. Stephen R. Ucci will lead a new special House commission that will investigate ways to put an end to the strong smell that has been emanating from the landfill in Johnston in recent months.
The Special House Commission on Rhode Island Resource Recovery will examine the problems causing the odor, ensure communication with public about the problem and search for solutions used by other landfills.
The panel will include Representative Ucci (D-Dist. 42, Johnston, Cranston), who will serve as its chairman; Rep. Deborah A. Fellela (D-Dist. 43, Johnston), who will be vice chairwoman; Rep. Thomas Winfield (D-Dist. 53, Smithfield, Glocester), Rep. Michael W. Chippendale (R-Dist. 40, Foster, Glocester, Coventry) and Rep. Michael J. Marcello (D-Dist. 41, Scituate, Cranston).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe commission’s first meeting is scheduled Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Johnston High School, 345 Cherry Hill Road. Rhode Island Resource Recovery, the quasi-public agency that operates the landfill, and the Department of Environmental Management will be asked to make presentations.
Representative Ucci requested a House inquiry into the matter last month after residents in his district sought information about what was being done about the powerful odor and when it would be eliminated.
RIRRC has said the powerful stench, which has been described as a sulfur smell akin to rotten eggs and is strong even miles away, is caused by problems created by heavy rainfall this autumn.
Representative Ucci (D-Dist. 42, Johnston, Cranston) said he has received more calls about the odor from constituents recently than in all the rest of his seven years as a legislator combined, and he believes the problem has reached a magnitude that warrants further examination.
Although he said RIRRC has improved its operation in recent months after getting new board members and a new director, Representative Ucci said he believes that heavy rainfall is not an unusual situation, and perhaps hearings into the matter could determine what landfills elsewhere do to prevent the problem.
“Our commission will look for new ideas that could stop this odor and prevent similar problems in the future. I’m sure other landfills deal with similar problems, and we ought to make sure ours is using whatever means are available to prevent odor from ruining the quality of life for people miles around. We should see what works at other landfills and insist that RIRRC take the steps necessary to fix this problem and avoid similar situations from now on,” said Representative Ucci. “We’re also going to provide a public forum for the discussion of this situation, so the tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who are affected by it find out what’s being done.”
He and local leaders met with RIRRC officials last month, along with the Department of Environmental Management, which has notified RIRRC that the stench is violating air pollution regulations.
In that meeting, RIRRC pledged to use soil to cap more of the landfill, install more gas-collection wells and work to clear flooded gas-collection pipes and wells. Representative Ucci also urged the corporation to hire an independent agency to evaluate whether the problem is causing a health hazard, and RIRRC agreed. The agency will also communicate with nearby residents about the problem.
Representative Ucci has also reached out to Rhode Island’s congressional delegation in an effort to get the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency involved in a solution.
“We should leave no stone unturned as we look for a solution to this problem,” said Representative Ucci.
He said he appreciates that RIRRC is taking steps to mitigate the current problem, but he wants the new commission to determine whether the agency is diligently trying to prevent such problems from occurring in the first place, and what technology is used by other landfills to prevent excessive odor.
