RI DEM Seeks to Suspend C&D Recycler’s License

According to the DEM, the Notice of Intent to Suspend is required pursuant to a Refuse Disposal Act that the state recently amended. The DEM says the following: No construction and demolition debris processing facility shall be issued a license or be able to operate unless it has received a letter of compliance from the host municipality that all applicable zoning requirements and local ordinances of the host municipality have been complied with. 
 

DEM issued a letter to TLA on July 26, 2011, indicating that the recently-enacted statutory provisions applied to facilities such as TLA’s and requesting that the company provide the agency with the required letter of compliance no later than Oct. 31, 2011. To date, TLA has failed to provide the requisite letter. 

 

The Notice of Intent to Suspend requires TLA to provide DEM with a Letter of Compliance from East Providence on or before Jan. 4, 2012. Failure to comply with the required action shall compel DEM to institute appropriate legal action to suspend the License.
 

East Providence issued a Notice of Violation to TLA on May 27, 2011 for alleged zoning ordinance violations. TLA appealed the zoning violation to the city's Zoning Board of Review, and, following a hearing, the board affirmed the zoning officer's findings of violations at its Oct. 19 meeting. The city issued a “Letter of Non-Compliance” for TLA to DEM on October 26, 2011.
 

In the DEM’s statement, it adds that Section 2 of the amended statute provides that its newly amended act shall apply “to any and all solid waste management facilities or construction and demolition debris facility licenses not yet granted or under appeal at the time of passage.” The license issued to TLA-Providence, LLC was under appeal at DEM's Administrative Adjudication Division at the time of the statute's enactment, and therefore the newly-enacted amendment applies to TLA.
 

While the amended statute was enacted in July, DEM says it sought to provide TLA with a reasonable amount of time to obtain the required letter of compliance from East Providence. In light of the recent decision before the city’s Zoning Board of Review and the city's issuance of the Oct. 26 Letter of Non-Conformance, it became clear that the facility may not be able to satisfy the statutory requirement.
 

“Today's action is a very serious and unprecedented step that is necessary for DEM to take under the amended Refuse Disposal Act,” says DEM Director Janet Coit. “DEM is obligated to take this measure related to the TLA Pond View facility, which has garnered lots of attention and raised numerous concerns by East Providence residents, in order to comply with Rhode Island law.”
 

DEM issued a new, three-year solid waste facility management license to TLA Providence to operate TLA Pond View of East Providence on May 2, 2011. While the facility continues to meet all DEM-regulated requirements, the amended statute imposes an additional requirement for compliance with municipal zoning ordinance requirements.