For Release: September 4, 1998

Contact: Stephanie Powell, DEM 222-4700 ext. 4418

Gregg Perry, AG's Office 274-4400, ext. 2336

PROVIDENCE--The Department of Environmental Management and the Department of the Attorney General filed a five-count civil complaint this afternoon in Providence Superior Court, alleging that four transfer stations in Rhode Island received solid waste generated in neighboring states and then transported it to the Central Landfill in Johnston. The complaint seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from depositing at the Central Landfill any waste generated outside of Rhode Island.

The four companies are: American Disposal, Inc., which operates in Johnston; New England Ecological Development, Inc., which also operates in Johnston; USA Waste of Connecticut, which operates in Providence; and Waste Management of Rhode Island, Inc., which operates in Cranston.

"According to state law and associated regulatory requirements, it is illegal to deposit any solid waste at the Central landfill that is generated or collected outside of Rhode Island," said DEM Director Andy McLeod. "This ban on out-of-state waste is critical to preserving the operating life of the landfill, which is specifically designed to meet Rhode Island's long-range, internal waste disposal needs."

Today's complaint was triggered by concerns raised by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, which operates the state-owned landfill, and supported with evidence gathered by DEM during surveillance activities carried out over the past several months. The complaint charges the companies with violating the applicable law and regulatory requirement governing out-of-state waste disposal, breaching the contracts that each company has with the Corporation, and creating a public nuisance.