TLA/Pond View Vice President Hopes Governor Will Veto Bill

A construction waste demolition facility in East Providence might have to shut down operations if a bill that would limit the amount it can process per day becomes law.

Jack Walsh, a regional vice president for Transload America, released a statement Friday saying that he hopes Gov. Lincoln Chafee will veto a bill that passed in the Statehouse earlier this week that would likely limit the company's operations to processing 150 tons of waste per day.

"It is our hope that the Governor will veto this bill," Walsh wrote in the statement. "If he doesn't, it is likely that Rhode Island will add 52 people and over 253 family members to its roll of unemployed, as it is not economically feasible to operate at 150 tons per day given our investment in the facility."

— with conditions — from the state Department of Environmental Management in May to expand to processing 1,500 tons of waste per day. 

The bill, sponsored chiefly by state Sen. Daniel DaPonte and Rep. Helio Melo, would require construction and demolition facilities to that they are not in violation of city zoning ordinance and give residents who live within a 1,000-foot radius of such a facility the ability to have a say in whether the companies can process more than 150 tons of waste per day. 

The facility on Dexter Road is located across Omega Pond from Rumford. Many residents there have long complained of dust, odor, and truck traffic from the facility. 

The city has been tied up in legal battles with the company on and off for more than a decade. But some city residents, including Mayor Bruce Rogers, have talked about trying to work with the company to resolve issues outside the courtroom. 

Walsh also wrote that "businesses that are operating within the law should not be targeted for closure in order to appease protesters. It is this type of special interest legislation directed at a single entity that earns Rhode Island the reputation for being the least business-friendly state in the nation." 

He also wrote that the facility has been operating for more than 13 years and has received no violations from the state and that it has been more than two and a half years since there has been a reportable injury at the facility. 

"We continue to be optimistic that we can find common ground and work together with the City of East Providence and its residents to provide solutions that really work and benefit both businesses and residents,” Walsh wrote.