Polisena Updates Council On Landfill Meeting

During the Jan. 9 town council meeting, Mayor Joseph Polisena spoke about a meeting he hosted that morning with state and local officials, as well as representatives of and Broadrock Renewables, about the continuing odor issue at the Central Landfill.

Among the attendees at were Gov. Lincoln Chafee and administrators from the state Department of Environmental Management and Department of Health; state Sen. Frank Lombardo; Cranston Mayor Allan Fung; Johnston Town Council Vice President Stephanie Manzi and Councilman Ernest Pitochelli; and representatives of the two companies that operate at the Landfill, Polisena confirmed during a phone interview this morning.

"We had about 20 people in the conference room," Polisena explained. "I brought them together and I said, 'Listen, we still have problems, this is, in my opinion, not fixed. You're not even 50 percent there.'"

During the course of the meeting, Polisena said he found "a huge disconnect between Resource Recovery and Broadrock Energy — they were pointing the finger at each other, and I said: 'Wait a minute. You guys need some marriage classes here. You can't get a divorce in this situation.'"

Polisena said he felt that the argument between the companies was hindering progress in solving the .

"My thing is, if they're fighting with each other, that doesn't help our cause. Forget the blame game, just fix the darn thing," Polisena explained.

The mayor also credited Chafee with attending the session and helping keep the pressue on the two companies.

"We were very, very fortunate to have Gov. Chafee here," Polisena explained. "Whether you like the governor or not — and I happen to like the governor — the power of the governor's office goes a long way."

With a , Polisena said the governor's presence — and the private nature of the session — allowed all parties to discuss the issue effectively.

"I think they were concerned, because every time you speak in public, esp with a lawsuit, I know that I'm very cautious. The governor was surprised — [but] I said, 'We're not here to talk about the lawsuit — I want the problem fixed.'"

Combined with the response from DEM — that the agency could force the companies to take further steps to solve the smell problems — Polisena said he thinks the the town's lawsuit and governor's participation are speeding up the solution to the issue.

"If I didnt have the gov's office on our side and if we didn't file the lawsuit when we did, [the Landfill companies] would just be giving us lip service," Polisena explained.