EPA Imposes Massive Fine on Providence Waste Management Facility
David Pepin, GoLocalProv News Contibutor
EPA Imposes Massive Fine on Providence Waste Management Facility
The owner and operator of an Allens Avenue hazardous waste management facility have been found in violation on 16 counts of state and federal laws by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Northland Environmental, which operated the facility as PSC Environmental Services, was also found in violation on their state-issued permit to operate the commercial waste treatment, storage and transfer facility, according to a release from the EPA’s Boston office.
David Deegan, spokesman for the Boston EPA office, said the fines would run immediately until the companies are found in compliance, reach a settlement with the agency, or agree to a hearing before an environmental law judge.
A phone call to Sims was referred to PSC corporate headquarters, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
City Councilman Luis A. Aponte (D-Ward 10), whose district includes the plant, said residents’ complaints about unsightly piles of scrap metal at the site date back at least two years, back to its previous operator, Promet Marine Services Corp.
“You can see it from Route 95 at Thurbers Avenue. That’s been accumulating a lot of scrap metal, and it’s still pretty prominent,” he said.
Other companies have been found in violation in the area, Aponte said, from scrap metal to untreated water.
“They need to clean and contain the unwanted actions. It’s important to get enforcement and to ensure that these violations don’t recur,” he said.
Also, the facility is located in a densely populated Environmental Justice (EJ) area of Providence. EPA considers it an EJ area due to the high proportion of minority and low-income population, which historically has had higher exposure to pollutants than other segments of the population.
The most significant violations, the EPA said, alleged that the company failed to determine that some wastes managed and shipped offsite as nonhazardous wastes were, in fact, hazardous, leaving them to be handled at sites not designed or permitted to handle hazardous wastes. The two companies were also determined to have failed to properly list all hazardous waste constituents on required notification and shipping documents.
Also, incompatible materials were also alleged to be stored in close proximity without adequate separation or protection, potentially resulting in fires or explosions.
The facility handles acids, alkalis, flammable wastes, water-reactive wastes, cyanides, sulfides, oxidizers, toxic wastes, oily wastes, photochemical wastes and laboratory packs. Both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes are received at the facility, stored and/or consolidated and then shipped off site for treatment and/or disposal.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested Sims Metal Management was named in the complaint. That section has been removed.