MedRecycler-RI Appeals Medical Waste Permit Denial

WEST WARWICK, RI — Proponents of a controversial plant that would process up to 70 tons of medical waste per day using a high-heat process called pyrolysis have filed an administrative appeal after their application for a license was denied last month by state regulators.

The challenge by MedRecycler-RI names the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and its Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management.

Although the appeal document is dated August 2, it first appeared on the RIDEM website today, August 12, barely within a 30-day window allowed by law. Residents in West Warwick and East Greenwich have been fighting the plant, citing a litany of potential environmental impacts.

RIDEM on July 13 denied MedRecycler a Medical Waste Treatment Facility Permit following two-and-a-half year review period. In a denial letter, RIDEM director Terrence Gray said the company's permit application was deficient in several respects. Gray also referenced a newly-passed Rhode Island law that severely limits siting options for such plants. Gray said he believes the new law, signed by Gov. Dan McKee on July 9, prevents RIDEM from granting its approval.

MedRecycler argued that RIDEM previously told them their application was complete. They also asserted that the new law regarding medical waste incinerators and pyrolysis plants is not retroactive, and does not apply to their situation.

MedRecycler also accused state regulators of playing politics.

"The purported insufficiencies, inconsistencies and deficiencies are arbitrary and capricious and can only be described are [sic] subterfuge and artifice — concocted by RIDEM due to substantial public pressure and to avoid the specter of litigation against the State of Rhode Island for monetary damages and injunctive relief," wrote MedRecycler lawyer Michael A. Kelly of the KSP law firm.

Attorney Kevin Budris of the Conservation Law Foundation, who has been working with project opponents, previously said that RIDEM had sufficient grounds to reject the plant regardless of the scope of the new law.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha last month also defended the RIDEM decision:

"The Department of Environmental Management made the right decision in denying the permit application for the proposed medical waste treatment facility in West Warwick, and I am grateful for their close review of a proposal that would have impacted many Rhode Islanders," Neronha said.

Denise Lopez, leader of a citizens group fighting the plant, said Friday that the DEM did not abuse its discretion in denying MedRecycler's license.

"The Notice of Intent to Approve expressly states, 'As a result of comments received during the comment period , the Department reserves its rights to issue a denial of the final application,'" Lopez stated. "RIDEM provided 978 pages of a response to public comment. The denial was
fully justified. We will continue to be vigilant and monitor the situation."

The appeal will be heard by a tribunal under RIDEM's administrative adjudication division.

MedRecycler-RI is headed by Nicolas B. Campanella, chairman and CEO of Sun Pacific Power Corp of 215 Gordons Corner Road in Manalapan, New Jersey. Campanella previously said that his company is exploring all legal options in connection with the denial.