Politics & Government

Officials say Duct Tape, Broomsticks at Landfill Gas Collector was Safety Hazard

Officials said the makeshift parts carrying gas through a hose could have caused an explosion.

Local officials said that Broadrock Renewables LLC, which collects gas from the Central Landfill in Johnston and runs a power plant, was putting the public in danger by venting untreated gas into the atmosphere and bypassing treatment by moving gas through a hose propped up with duct tape and a broomstick.

Those concerns prompted yesterday's shut down of the $100 million plant, said Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena, who also said as long as he has a pulse, Broadrock will not be able to reopen its landfill gas collection facility until all the issues are resolved.

"It was scary, a potentially dangerous situation and an accident waiting to happen," Polisena said.

Flanked by members of the Johnston Town Council, Building Inspector Bob Nascenzi and Fire Chief Tim McLaughlin, Polisena said an uptick in odor complaints prompted the cease and desist order issued Tuesday morning following an investigation at the site that revealed workers there were using a makeshift tools and equipment and venting untreated gas into the atmosphere.

Pictures taken at the site last week show what appears to be a hose held together and stiffed with duct tape and a broomstick that carried untreated gas over the plant, bypassing treatment, through hose into a wooded area.

"When I was shown the pictures, I was shocked and disgusted," Polisena said.

Officials said they could smell the noxious rotten-egg-like odor emanating from Broadrock's facility on Shun Pike. Over at Rhode Island Resource Recovery's side, there was no smell.

"It was like night and day," Polisena said. "They can't smell odors in New Jersey and Texas where the people who run the corporation live."

Johnston Fire Chief Tim McLaughlin said that any time there is untreated gas being sent into the air, or gas is being passed through a makeshift pipe, there is "extreme danger of any type of explosion at any time."

"What they did up there was outrageous," McLaughlin said.

The recent issues follow a long line of disputes between the town and Broadrock, some of which date back to the severe odor problem that plagued landfill operations in 2011, sending a sickening smell wafting across a large portion of northern Rhode Island and reaching as far north as Attleboro, Mass.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery, which operations the landfill itself, was partially responsible for some of the odor problems in 2011 but has taken measures to prevent it from happening again, such as using more fill, not using construction debris as fill, and other things.

Back then, Polisena said, the odor problem was 60/40 split between Broadrock and Resource Recovery. Today, he said, the problem is 100 percent Broadrock.

"Their only task is to extricate gas out of the landfill," Polisena said. "They're not growing mushrooms out there."

Nascenzi said it appears Broadrock has been bypassing the conditioning aspect of their plant because it is not working properly. And in an effort to mask the issues, it appears that some type of fragrance or odorant has been added to the gas before it was vented into the air.

When confronted with the problems, Nascenzi said supervising workers at Broadrock's plant admitted to the problems and essentially shrugged their shoulders, telling him "we'll fix the problem."

The cease and desist order was based on previous violation notices that were sent to the company, responded to, but never addressed, Nascenzi said, noting that duct tape is "not a sufficient seal" for gas piping and the pipe was not rated for carrying flammable gas. Putting rope and wood into the mix is a recipe for disaster.

Broadrock issued a response yesterday afternoon and said that the town's actions are "ill advised" and the company has not been releasing untreated gas into the atmosphere.

“Broadrock personnel had been working cooperatively with the Town of Johnston to address issues the Town has raised previously. Plans to address these issues have been requested by the Town and submitted by Broadrock and this latest action today came as a complete surprise,” said Bill Fischer, spokesperson for Broadrock.

“Broadrock’s new collection and treatment system has been working efficiently and safely to collect and process landfill gas. Broadrock is not releasing untreated landfill gas from the new facility into the atmosphere.

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The Town’s action in shutting down the new system forces Broadrock to fall back on the old, inefficient flares for gas destruction, which is inconsistent with modern methods for controlling and beneficially using landfill gas.

“The only certain outcome from the Town’s action is that the community will be deprived of the benefits of Broadrock’s new system.” 

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Town officials said that the determination that untreated gas was being released into the atmosphere was made by local officials and investigators from both Rhode Island Resource Recovery and the state Department of Environmental Management.


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