“Stain on the Bay” - Allens Avenue’s Recycled Metals Fined $25,000 by DEM
Friday, March 22, 2024
Scrap yard RI Recycled Metals on Allens Avenue in Providence has been in litigation with the RI Attorney General's office for more than a decade. PHOTO: GoLocal
DEM has levied a $25,000 fine against the real estate company that controls the site and is legally intertwined with the scrap company.
The site has been called the "stain on the bay" by the environmental advocacy group Save the Bay.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"The [notice of violation] pertains to RIRM’s failure to submit a public involvement plan (PIP) by the deadline of December 15, 2023, and the submission of the site investigation report 12 days after the deadline of December 1, 2023. After the NOV was issued, DEM received the PIP on December 29, 2023," said Michael Healey, spokesperson for DEM.
"RIRM has appealed the NOV to the Administrative Adjudication Division (AAD), which, as you know, is the administrative court for all environmental matters originating from DEM,” added Healey. “The AAD adjudicates all appeals of enforcement actions taken by the many regulatory programs within DEM and hears enforcement appeals for alleged violations of statutes and/or regulations under the jurisdiction of DEM. Such hearings are mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act,”
The resolution of the appeal can take months.
A series of GoLocal articles has unveiled the lack of action progress by state officials - tied to more than a hundred court hearings, conferences, and filings.
In April of 2023, DEM director Terry Gray, in an interview with GoLocal, voiced his frustration about the delays in efforts to force RIRM to comply with environmental laws due to near endless court delays.
In April of last year, top environmental activists and Rhode Island legislators voiced frustration with the lack of enforcement by state officials for the lack of prosecution of existing environmental violations and the lack of monitoring of RIRM.
GoLocal first reported that the owners of the facility via a separate corporation purchased the adjacent property -- the 9.8 acres of so-called "Cumberland Farms" land.
Save the Bay Blasts Failure to Enforce Environmental Crimes
"The site is an ongoing environmental disaster, and the fact that they continue to operate is an insult to anyone who cares about the Providence River and Narragansett Bay. Strong and timely enforcement at the time these violations were discovered could have prevented more than a decade of unchecked pollution,” said Mike Jarbeau, Narragansett Baykeeper at Save The Bay, in 2023.
The first environmental enforcement against the facility dates back to 2012.
Then, after years of delays, in 2015, DEM and then-Attorney General Peter Kilmartin hit the company with a series of enforcement actions.
A complaint had been filed against Rhode Island Recycled Metals, LLC, and AARE, LLC, along with the property owner, and the onsite manager for RI Recycled Metals, Edward Sciaba, Sr. The complaint concerned violations of Rhode Island’s Oil Pollution Control Act and Water Pollution Act, and DEM's Water Quality Regulations, RI Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Regulations, and Oil Pollution Control Regulations.
"These corporations failed to obtain the permits that were required to begin operations, ignored the law, and then did not comply with the agreement they reached with DEM to resolve their environmental violations," said then-DEM Director Janet Coit. "By failing to invest in the equipment and other measures necessary to prevent pollution, their actions harmed the environment. As government officials work together to stimulate the economy, it's so important that we ensure compliance with our laws to provide an even playing field."
What Has Happened with the Enforcement of the Violations? Nothing
In 2016, a Special Master was appointed by Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein. The attorney appointed to “oversee” the facility — Richard Land — and the court's involvement was designed to spark the clean-up of the property.
Today, the case is before Superior Court Brian Stern.
According to court records, Special Master Land was paid more than $265,000 through April of 2023.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, whose office is the lead for the state, refuses to answer questions about the failed environmental enforcement.
The Letter of Enforcement to RIRM issuing the $25,000 penalty outlines the long series of twists and turns by the state against the scrapyard:
In May 2012, RlDEM issued a Notice of Violation ("2012 NOV") to RHODE ISLAND RECYCLED METALS, LLC ("RIRM") and ACR Realty, LLC ("ACR") alleging certain violations of Rhode Island's Water Pollution Act, Water Quality Regulations, Oil Pollution Regulations and Regulations for the Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The violations involved failure to comply with a stormwater permit and unauthorized activities in Providence River, including the dismantling of vessels.
In July 2013, RIDEM, RIRM, and ACR executed a Consent Agreement to resolve the 2012 NOV. In March 2015, RIDEM and the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General ("RIAG") filed a complaint in the Rhode Island Superior Court ("RISC") against Respondents alleging that Respondents failed to comply with the Consent Agreement. In July 2016, RISC issued an order appointing a Special Master ("Special Master") to address the environmental violations at the property. The order barred RIDEM from taking any administrative enforcement action except in an emergency without first notifying the Special Master and allowing the Special Master to bring the matter to the attention of the court. On 30 March 2023, RIDEM and Respondents met to discuss Respondents' plans for the property.
At that meeting, and as further written in meeting minutes sent to Respondents on 10 April 2023, RlDEM directed Respondents to perform a site investigation ("SI") of the property and submit a site investigation report ("SIR") in accordance with Rhode Island's Rules and Regulations for the Investigation and Remediation of Hazardous Material Releases (250-RICR-140-30-1) ("SR Rules"). After multiple disagreements with the scope and timing of the required investigation, RlAG and RID EM petitioned RISC to impose standing fines of $500 a day for missed deadlines and to require RIRM to pre-fund the escrow account to a level sufficient to complete the remediation.
On 13 June 2023, RISC issued an order returning RIDEM's administrative authority to proceed through the site remediation process and to allow RIDEM to bring an administrative enforcement action for violations of the SR Rules. On 16 November 2023, in response to a petition RlDEM received from the community in accordance with the SR Rules, RIDEM issued a letter to Respondents requiring the submission of a draft public involvement plan ("PIP") to RIDEM. On 5 December 2023 and on 14 December 2023, RIDEM received electronic correspondence from Respondents' attorney that submission of the PIP would not be made by the deadlines specified by RIDEM, without properly requesting an extension and without providing an adequate justification. As of the date of this Notice of Violation ("2023 NOV"), Respondents have failed to submit the PIP to RIDEM.
Last month, the City of Providence issued a cease and desist order due to the facility's failure to have a city license, according to a WPRI report.
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