Enough Is Enough

A group of North Kingstown resident, fed up with eye-watering odors infiltrating their neighborhood, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Canadian-based company that began operating an asphalt plant in Quonset almost a year.

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“At this point, enough is enough, it’s time for action,” said Vanessa Mascaro, one of three named plaintiffs in a class action suit filed in U.S. District Court in Providence on Friday. Mascaro first detailed problems the plant has caused, in a Hummel Report investigation, published in February in The Providence Journal.

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The company is owned by Bitumar of Montreal, and operated in the Quonset Business Park by Ponderosa Solutions of Oklahoma and located on the western edge of the park, just off Route 403.

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On Aug. 12, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management sent a notice violation to the company, confirming what neighbors have been complaining about for months: “strong asphalt fumes” discovered by its own state inspector that resulted in a notice of violation and an $8500 fine.

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The operation is described an “asphalt transloading facility,” where rail cars bring in product that is heated to almost 300 degrees then transferred into waiting trucks, which then take it to hot mix asphalt plants for further processing.

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The state ordered the company to draw up a mitigation plan within 60 days, but neighbors say nothing has happened since then and the noxious odors persist. “The odor was so bad one morning, I had enough and decided to do something,” Mascaro said.

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So she started researching law firms that specialize in “neighborhood environmental contamination” and found one in Michigan that has successfully sued other asphalt plants. Mascaro said when she contacted the firm, a lawyer told her that the plant in Quonset was already on their radar screen.

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Along with local counsel, Liddle Sheets P.C. of Detroit filed a 21-page complaint on Friday that seeks damages – but more important to Mascaro and her neighbors: injunctive relief that would put a stop to the odors immediately.

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“Money is great, but the main objective is to stop the odor,” Mascaro said. “And not just stop the odor…don’t replace it with something equally as toxic, but we just can’t smell it. The idea is to clean the air.

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“It’s becoming discouraging,” she added. “All of sudden it’s going to be winter and they’re going to close. And we’ll have to deal with this again in the spring.”