Pond View Cleanup to Start Soon, End Within 60 Days

The cleanup of the former TLA Pond View construction-debris recycling facility in Rumford is expected to begin in two weeks and be completed within two months. 

The RI Department of Environmental Management made that announcement last week. The cleanup of the piles of debris at the site at the end of Dexter Road has been long-awaited since the company went into receivership and closed last September. 

As anticipated and with some teeth gnashing by neighbors, who have battled for the cleanup for years, the DEM chose Kenneth Foley – the owner of the property and the former owner of the facility before he sold it to TLA – to do the cleanup. That pending agreement was announced several weeks ago. 

Foley will be paid to clean up his property from an $800,000 bond that DEM required TLA to post in 2011 when it got an operating license. Cost of the cleanup is expected to be no more than $610,000, according to DEM. 

“It’s been a long process, and we all want to see the site closure completed successfully. DEM will brief local officials and provide information to the public throughout the closure process,” said DEM Director Janet Coit.

The cleanup will occur on weekdays between 6 am and 6 pm, according to the agreement. Most of the debris will be removed by rail on a spur line to the property. 

DEM said the cleanup could be noisy and create odors – a situation that is not dissimilar from the noise and dust neighbors have been complaining about for years. 

DEM said in a press release that it “will monitor performance to ensure that the property owner is performing the work satisfactorily and in accordance with all applicable requirements. In addition to DEM inspectors, the Department will engage an independent oversight contractor who will be on site every day during the closure.

“This independent contractor will be paid from the bond funds to oversee the closure, perform air monitoring and report daily to DEM. Air monitoring data will be provided to the RI Department of Health for review. As well, weekly construction meetings will be held at the site throughout the duration of the cleanup. These meetings will include a representative of DEM and the property owner. DEM will oversee the closure, including the disbursement of the bond funds dedicated to finance the closure. Money from the bond will only be used for activities directly addressed in the closure plan.

“To monitor conditions at the site and the progress of the closure, DEM said it has been conducting regular inspections and actively participating in the legal proceedings related to the receivership, with a goal of seeing that the required closure take place as efficiently as possible. DEM inspectors have examined and measured the piles on many occasions and have seen no evidence of any wastes other than the construction and demolition debris that TLA/Pond View was licensed to handle when it was an active facility.

“There is no evidence of any toxic or hazardous wastes on the site. The inspectors have also been specifically looking for any evidence that additional disposal had occurred at the site and have seen no evidence of this. What remains are the piles left when the facility ceased business operation.”

Information and updates on the closure will be are posted on DEM’s website at www.dem.ri.gov. Inquiries about the closure can be made by emailing DEM at TLAPondViewClosure@dem.ri.gov.

You can check the DEM TLA/Pond View Closure webpage for additional information.