TLA/Pond View Cleanup Starting

The long-awaited removal of construction and demolition debris from the former TLA/Pond View recycling facility at the end of Dexter Road in Rumford is scheduled to begin today, May 28.

The Department of Environmental Management announced the actual start of the cleanup schedule last week. The department said it wanted to wait until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend to get started.

The business was put into receivership in March, 2012, and the facility ceased operations last September. Under the terms of a "performance agreement" between DEM and Ken Foley, the former operator of the facility who owns the property, closure of the site will be completed within 60 business days.

The hours of operation for cleanup work are from 7 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday, and from 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.  During this time, residents may notice increased traffic and smell some odors.

Foley said he plans to remove most of the material via a rail line that runs to the site; recyclable material will be removed by truck.

DEM will monitor performance to make sure the property owner is performing the work satisfactorily and in accordance with all applicable requirements, DEM said. The department has hired Fuss & O’Neill as an independent oversight contractor who will be on site during the closure.

Fuss & O’Neill 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.

Weekly construction meetings will be held as well at the site throughout the duration of the cleanup. These meetings will include a DEM representative 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, and once the closure is completed, the existing license to process construction and demolition debris at this site will be terminated.

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, DEM said.

The inspectors have also been looking for any evidence that additional disposal had occurred at the site. They have seen no evidence of this, said DEM. What remains are the piles left when the facility ceased operation.

Information and updates on the closure of the former TLA/Pond View facility are posted on DEM’s website at www.dem.ri.gov.  

Inquiries about the closure of the TLA/Pond View facility can be made by emailing DEM at TLAPondViewClosure@dem.ri.gov.