RI's Environmental Mess That Never Seems to Get Cleaned Up
GoLocalProv News Team
RI's Environmental Mess That Never Seems to Get Cleaned Up
In 2016 in response to years of problems on the site, then-Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin and RI Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit announced enforcement actions and the appointment of a special master to clean up the site.
The site - Rhode Island Recycled Metals or RIRM.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn 2013, the operators entered into a consent agreement with the Attorney General and DEM.
Located on Allens Avenue, the facility was to remove a submerged Russian submarine and other vessels. RIRM has also been the site of discarded applicance and others materials.
As GoLocal reported in 2016, the State promised big action.
“The operators of this facility have had more than ample opportunity to clean up this site, yet have chosen to flagrantly violate DEM’s Consent Agreement and the orders of the Court for remediation of the site, polluting our bay, and putting navigation of our channel at risk,” said Kilmartin at the time. “I am pleased with the decision to appoint Richard Land as Special Master, and pledge our commitment to work with him, the Court, and DEM to clean up this site once and for all.”
DEM officials promised action too.
“We take our job very seriously in enforcing environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act,” said then DEM Director Coit. “DEM has put significant resources into resolving this matter and forcing action to get this site cleaned up. RIRM and AARE have failed to comply with the Consent Agreement and orders of the Court to remediate the existing violations at the site. The appointment of a special master in this case is a significant step forward, and along with the Attorney General, we look forward to working with the special master to bring this site into compliance and have a comprehensive site assessment completed to determine the extent of contamination – and ultimately remediate it.”
Today, Coit works for Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and according to his LinkedIn profile, Kilmartin is a consultant and lives in Sarasota, Florida.
“I was appointed Special Master on July 27, 2016, and the vessels were all in the water at that time. The remaining vessel is a tug boat that had sunk at some time prior thereto and sits near the navigable channel, but it is not an impediment to vessel traffic. Significant efforts had previously been made to remove that vessel, and RIRM has presented a further plan for its removal,” said attorney Richard Land in an email to GoLocal last week.
When asked for a copy of the remediation plan, Land declined.
“I’m not in a position to forward you the current plan as it has not yet been approved (and it’s not mine to share per se). With respect to a timeline, due to the nature of the project, the actual removal effort would be impacted by the time of year of commencement, weather conditions, etc. That being said, the general goal is to have the vessel removed as quickly as possible once the plan is approved. My expectation is that the vessel should be out of the water before the end of this year,” said Land.
"I do not believe RIRM anticipates ceasing operations at the site – I am not in control of the operation itself as my role as Special Master is more circumscribed than that. However, developing a plan for site remediation is contemplated by the Order under which I was appointed – there are on-going discussions regarding the nature and scope of remediation," said Land.
When Land was appointed by Kilmartin, Judge Michael Silverstein ordered Land to "(1) immediately take initial measures such as covering exposed piles of contaminated soil on the site, (2) investigate the site, (3) develop a plan for cleaning-up the site, and, (4) if the court approves the plan, to implement the plan. All of this is to be done at the site owner’s and the site operator’s expense."
Today, Superior Court Judge Brian Stern oversees Land's actions.
A fire hit the property in 2021
On July 25, 2013, RIRM entered into a Consent Agreement to resolve a Notice of Violation the DEM issued against the company on May 7, 2012 for discharging stormwater to the Providence River without a permit. RIRM agreed to maintain short-term mitigative actions to prevent pollution to the Providence River; complete all construction of storm water controls by September 30, 2014, in accordance with the permits as required by the Agreement; and complete the removal of all derelict vessels from the Providence River and restore the shoreline of the river by December 30, 2014 to its condition prior to the unauthorized activities by RIRM.
Inspections by DEM in October and December 2014 and January and February 2015, and inspections by the United States Coast Guard in January 2015 revealed that the companies failed to: comply with the mitigative measures; install the stormwater controls required by the Agreement; remove the derelict vessels and restore the shoreline; and prevent oil spillage to the land and water.
On the waterfront side of the site, there are several dilapidated watercraft including a decommissioned Russian submarine (the Soviet submarine Julliett formerly used as a museum in the Providence River), a sunken ferry, a sunken tug (now in the channel) and a sunken lobster boat. The tug is an obstruction to navigation.