Rumford Residents Organize in Capitol Against Expansion

Elected officials and dozens of Rumford residents crowded onto the House-side staircase in the Capitol rotunda Thursday afternoon. Activists of the East Providence community made their voices heard concerning a pending decision by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management on waste management company TLA Pond View's requested expansion.

Ken Schneider of the East Providence Coalition, state Sen. Daniel Da Ponte, Sylvia Broude of the Toxics Action Council and Councilman At-Large William Conley reiterated the claims of environmental and health-related harm some residents say stems from the Pond View facility.

The youngest of the speakers was Martin Middle School student Tyler Witherell, who lent a childhood perspective to the rally.

"I like to go fishing on Omega Pond," he told the crowd. "But there are days it smells so bad."

Witherell went on to say that he and his family cannot "leave their windows open in [their] house" and that his home smells like "rotten eggs."

The most lively speaker was Councilman Conley, who loudly rallied those in attendance.

"You presented evidence," he said. "The odors in the neighborhood, the noises—the department cannot ignore your testimony and evidence."

Jo-Ann Durfee, a principal organizer for the Rumford area cause against Pond View's expansion, shared space on the staircase with her fellow neighbors and did not speak at the podium.

As the rotunda cleared out, Broude led a "small delegation" of Rumford residents to deliver an open letter to RI DEM Director Janet Coit. The letter granting Pond View's application to process 1,500 tons of waste a day, up from its current allowance of 500 tons.

The letter states concerns that Pond View may be processing "lead painted wood" and is "inappropriately close to homes, schools and parks..."

The RI DEM has until May 2 to make a decision as to whether or not the Dexter Road facility will be allowed to process more waste, adding to the sense of urgency by those in attendance Thursday.

Among the residents in attendance at Thursday's rally was Anthony St. Angelo, who claims that his young daughter has received lead paint poisoning as a result of Pond View's operations.

"We didn't know our last house had lead paint in it, so we moved," he said. "Now my daughter has lead paint poisoning again, and our new house near [Pond View] doesn't have lead paint in it."

St. Angelo did say that his daughter's doctor could not "prove directly" where the source of the most recent bout of lead poisoning, but did add that "with no lead paint in our new house, it must have come from [Pond View]."

Following the rally, Da Ponte (D) of District 14, said he does not want Pond View to be closed.

When asked why he favors a reduction in waste processing rather than a complete shut down of the facility, given the strong claims of danger echoed by his constituents, he stated that "there would be nothing wrong with [Pond View] processing at 150 tons a day, as long as it was covered."

Following the rally, the House Committee on Municipal Government convened on East Providence State Rep. Helio Melo's bill that would limit the amount of waste processed by facilities such as Pond View.

As the person spearheading the bill, Melo provided opening testimony in which he touted the regulations the bill would introduce, such as requiring additional licensing requirements from "host municipalities" and the "approval of town managers."

Melo's legislation mirrors that of Senator Da Ponte's which recently unanimously.

Councilman Conley also testified on behalf of passing the bill, along with Corliss Blanchard of Roger Williams Avenue, who gave stern testimony.

"I predate Pond View," Blanchard said. "I don't have asthma, I have it now. Can I point to where it comes from? No."

Blanchard also testified that she has seen trucks entering and exiting the Pond View facility from Roger Williams Avenue, something that Vice President Jack Walsh .

"I dropped a friend off in Providence recently," she told the committee. "Around 1:15 in the morning, I saw a Pond View truck driving down Roger Williams Avenue, so I  followed it. It went in to Pond View and another came out."

Blanchard favored shutting the facility down completely, and said that while she sympathizes with the 53 employees of the facility in the current economy, she was confident that a "big company such as TLA would be able to find another location."

The hearing soon turned into a civil tit-for-tat, with one side refuting the claims of the other. Jim Damian, an employee of and one of the many witnesses brought forth by Pond View, testified against Blanchard's claim.

"Everything I heard isn't true," he said. "I also drive trucks for Pond View. So, if there's any trucks of ours on the road [at that hour] they're probably being stolen. "

Walsh also testified, citing two years of RI DEM inspection reports and an absence of formal nuisance complaints. The TLA team also stated that the RI DEM has air monitoring system within a 1,500 square foot radius of the facility which shows results matching the other reading from sites in the state that have no such facilities nearby.

Questions from the committee were few and far between, as the afternoon had a feeling of being rushed for the sake of hearing other proposed legislation.

No vote was taken to move Rep. Melo's bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House, as the committee chairman's motion of "holding all bills for further review" passed by a vote of 8 to 2.

Rep. Melo's bill is eligible to go before committee again if it is brought forth for consideration, at which point it would be posted and heard.