Federal Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Operators of Woonsocket Sewage Plant

Federal Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Operators of Woonsocket Sewage Plant

Years of failure at the Woonsocket wastewater treatment facility and the adjacent Synagro waste incinerator have now sparked a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Providence on Wednesday.

The lawsuit comes after rampant odor complaints and improper discharges into the Blackstone River tied to the operation of the facilities.

Named in the suit are Synagro Woonsocket, LLC, and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. — Synagro is the operator of the incinerator facility and Jacobs operates the waste treatment facility for the City of Woonsocket. Woonsocket is not named in the lawsuit.

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A series of GoLocal stories identified violations in 2022 and 2023 that showed how Attorney General Peter Neronha and the RI Department of Environmental Management failed to take enforcement action to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act.

After years of delay, the Neronha and the state announced enforcement action in mid-March.

The law firm that brought the class action suit is the Detroit-based Liddle Sheets Coulson P.C, a firm that specializes in environmental litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the law firm has “more than 75 households within the proposed Class Area have contacted Plaintiffs’ counsel reporting and documenting the noxious odors they attribute to Defendants’ Facility.”

 

Neighbors: "Smell is so bad you cannot have your windows open"

The lead plaintiffs in the class action suit are neighbors to the facility.

“Plaintiff Maurice Doire reported that because of Defendant’s odor emissions, ‘[o]ur whole neighborhood smells like an open cesspool or at times like chemicals in the air.’ Mr. Doire reported that when the odors are present, ‘[w]e cannot enjoy our home.’ He further reported that ‘[a]t night, can’t sleep, during the day must go elsewhere to breathe. Also affects our eyes and throats at times,’” states the lawsuit.

“Plaintiff Joshua Hoye reported that because of Defendants’ odor emissions, ‘[t]he odors that are smelled on a daily basis smell like I live across from a large city dump on a 90-degree day.’ He further reported that he ‘cannot walk outside w/o wanting to throw up.’ He also reported that as a result of the offensive odors from Defendants’ Facility, ‘[o]n a daily basis from around 9 am – 11 am & 7 pm – 3 am, the smell is so bad that you cannot have your windows open to enjoy fresh air, even with brand new windows being closed you still cannot breathe fresh air. He “can’t even think about going outside during those times,’” according to the lawsuit.

Jacobs is a Texas-based firm that claims $15 billion in annual revenue and 60,000 employees. Synagro is a Baltimore-based corporation.

The lawsuit cites, “Through their operation and maintenance of the Facility, Defendants have a duty to take reasonable steps to control and prevent noxious odors from being emitted off-site into Plaintiffs’ homes and community. Defendant is required to control its odorous emissions by, among other things, utilizing adequate odor mitigation and control technologies at the Facility; adequately operating and maintaining its odor mitigation and control technologies to prevent off-site odors; adequately and/or timely disposing of the waste, wastewater, and sludge produced through the Facility’s industrial processes to prevent off-site odor emissions; ensure that the Facility has adequate capacity to receive, store, handle, and process the waste received at the Facility; and undertaking other reasonably odor mitigation, elimination, and control systems available to Defendants.”

The lawsuit further states, "By failing to properly maintain and operate the Facility, Defendants failed to exercise the duty of ordinary care and diligence, which they owe to Plaintiffs, so noxious odors would not physically invade Plaintiffs’ private properties. A properly operated and maintained facility will not emit noxious odors into neighboring residential areas.

When reached on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for Synagro stated that he was unaware of the lawsuit.