PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has issued a Notice of Violation to New England Ecological Development (N.E.E.D.) Inc., of Johnston, for emitting objectionable odors beyond the facility's property line. The violation carries a penalty of $27,000. N.E.E.D., Inc. operates a solid waste management facility at 23 Green Hill Road. The company is owned by Louis Vinagro, Jr.

In a separate action, DEM has issued two Notices of Violation to Louis Vinagro, Jr., for operating solid waste management and composting facilities without a license and for altering 7,300 square feet of freshwater wetlands on two properties that he owns in Johnston - one on Old Pocasset Road and another on Green Hill Road (across the street from the N.E.E.D. facility.) These violations carry penalties totaling $297,576.

The odor violation notice charges that N.E.E.D., Inc. emitted air contaminants that created an objectionable odor beyond its property line on at least 36 occasions over the past 11 months. The facility failed to take any reasonable or appropriate steps to prevent or mitigate the odors.

N.E.E.D., Inc. has been ordered to immediately take remedial measures to prevent objectionable odors from migrating beyond the property lines of the facility, in accordance with the facility's approved operating plan. The company also must submit a written plan to DEM within 20 days, detailing all odor control measures implemented in response to the violation notice.

The first solid waste violation, which carries a $75,160 fine, charges Vinagro with disposing of 85,944 cubic yards of processed construction and demolition debris on property located on Old Pocasset Road. The property is not part of a licensed solid waste management facility, and Vinagro does not have a license or registration from DEM to operate a solid waste management or composting facility at this location. DEM observed the illegal dumping and obtained samples of the materials. The solid waste deposited on the property has the potential to cause odors and impact surface and ground water.

Vinagro has been ordered to immediately stop disposing solid waste on the property, and has 90 days to remove the waste and dispose of it at a licensed solid waste management facility. He must also submit receipts documenting the removal of the solid waste to DEM's Office of Compliance and Inspection within 10 days of completing the disposal.

The second solid waste violation also entails a wetlands violation and carries a total fine of $222,416. The notice charges Vinagro with illegally disposing solid waste and altering freshwater wetlands on property he owns on Green Hill Road. DEM investigators observed the illegal disposal of 347,729 cubic yards of processed construction and demolition debris on the property; samples taken by DEM determined the material was solid waste. Vinagro does not have a license or registration from DEM to operate a solid waste management or composting facility on the property; nor does he have a permit to alter freshwater wetlands.

At the Green Hill Road property, DEM investigators observed clearing, grading and soil disturbance, in addition to solid waste filling material, at three perimeter wetland areas that previously were natural forested areas. Among the filling materials found were soil, stone, broken/crushed bricks, wood debris and slash, metal, broken asphalt shingles, paper, plastics and rubber. A total of about 7,300 square feet of wetlands were altered as a result of this illegal dumping.

The second violation notice orders Vinagro to immediately stop accepting or disposing of any solid waste, including construction and demolition debris, on the Green Hill Road property, and to refrain from further alteration of any freshwater wetlands on the property. He must submit to DEM a written plan to remove the solid waste from the property within 10 days, and will have 90 days to complete the approved removal plan. By November 1, Vinagro also must restore all freshwater wetlands by following a plan established by DEM.