Pond View's V.P. Refutes Accusations With Government Documents

Overlooking Omega Pond, TLA/Pond View has been a target of animosity from Rumford residents, along with local and statewide politicians claiming a poor quality of life due to pollution and noise they say comes from the Dexter Road facility.

A primary charge of the several weeks ago was that the facility was not operating with the two needed certificates, one from the State Planning Council and the other from the East Providence Waterfront Commission.

In a sit-down interview Friday, the Regional Vice President for Transload America, Jack Walsh, addressed the mounting accusations building against the company's East Providence waste processing site, known as Pond View.

According to Walsh, the criticisms have been deemed null by one commission and not prioritized by the other.

Walsh produced a letter of exemption from the State Planning Council from 1997 (one year before the site opened) asserting that TLA/Pond View was "not subject to the State Planning Council review" and therefore did not need certification to operate.

According to the letter, which cited Rhode Island General Law 23-18.9-9, only sites classified as a "private solid waste disposal facility" are subject to the council's certification. Since TLA is a waste processing facility and not a disposal facility, Walsh said there was never a legal reason to seek certification.

Walsh also produced dozens of a field inspection reports from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. RI DEM recently begun performing a high volume of random checks on the facility, including two within the first week of April alone, he said.

Walsh noted that each of the field inspection reports revealed nothing illegal or hazardous from Pond View's activities. Two of the three most recent field reports noted that after having walked through the facility, the inspector noted that it "looks OK."

The City of East Providence, however, and the Attorney General's office, named both TLA/Pond View and RIDEM as defendants in a lawsuit they filed in November, seeking to shut the operation down because they say they are operating without the required certificates.

TLA/Pond View has an application pending with RIDEM to expand the amount of solid waste it is permitted to process from 500 tons to 1,500 tons per day — 10 times more than the company was originally granted permission in 1998.

Walsh also responded to the claim that neighboring residents notice an unpleasant smell attributed to the Pond View facility. He produced a 2008 letter from the city which stated the results of an investigation into an informal complaint of odor back in 2007. The letter concluded that the smell "could not be directly traced to [Pond View's] operation."

Another issue of contention Walsh addressed was that of neighboring residents complaining of disturbances from TLA's trucks driving past the homes on Roger Williams Ave. to get to the facility.

"Even though Roger Williams Avenue is designated as a through-way for truck traffic, we addressed the concerns of our neighbors and ordered that our trucks not drive down Roger Williams Ave.," Walsh said. "Every single one of our trucks travels down Dexter Road from the beginning. I personally ordered it."

Walsh added: "We are but one company in an industrial park; but I'm telling you, TLA trucks don't travel down Roger Williams Ave. anymore."

The issue of environmental damage is the most pressing concern for the residents of Rumford, a clear shot across Omega Pond from the Pond View facility. Protestors spoke of more than a decade of concerns of environmental and health risk said to be linked to Pond View's activities.

But Walsh said Pond View is not responsible for any environmental damage and said he is willing to personally prove it.

"I've offered, and continue to offer, a tour of our facility so people can see that we are not doing the kind of harm they say we are," he said. "You know how many [critics] have taken me up on my offer? Zero. My door is still open."

Walsh went on to say that he felt the situation was unfortunate from an economic vantage point.

"I find it troubling there are reports that our city is facing a $7 million deficit, and this is what ends up occupying over half of every City Council meeting," said Walsh. "You've got people like Councilman [William] Conley racking up litigation fees on behalf of the tax payers, and we're here paying around $100k in taxes a year as good citizens. Something's not right here."

He also added that Pond View "employs 53 people, which ends up branching out to about 250 people, once you include their families."

Conley, who has , also serves as the City Solicitor for the town of Johnston, home to the state's landfill. Walsh speculated that Councilman Conley may be trying to shut down the facility so that he can bring in more revenue for the town of Johnston.

"The City of Johnston is his client," said Walsh. "We're one of the only waste processing sites in the state. If we shut down, the odds are good that what we take in will be sent to Johnston. There may be a vested interest in shutting us down. It's worth thinking about."

Conley did not return calls for comment.

Walsh says he plans on hosting a community meeting at "in a few weeks" to try and speak with Rumford residents about their concerns.

He is also planning a neighborhood walk with Mayor Bruce Rogers in the first week of May with the hopes of mending area relationships.

"If people don't want to take our invitation, we'll go to them," Walsh said.

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