Residents seeking damages for bad odors from Woonsocket sewage plant - The Providence Journal

Residents seeking damages for bad odors from Woonsocket sewage plant

Lawsuit alleges smells from Woonsocket sewage plant are a nuisance
Alex Kuffner

WOONSOCKET – The smells that come from the city's wastewater treatment plant and an associated sludge incinerator have been so bad that sometimes Joshua Hoye can't go outside without feeling sick.

Maurice Doire leaves during the day for respite, but at night, when he's back home, the odors keep him from sleeping.

“Our whole neighborhood smells like an open cesspool, or at times like chemicals in the air,” he said, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Providence.

Hoye and Doire are the lead plaintiffs in the suit, which is seeking damages for the impact of persistent odors on them and potentially thousands of others who live around the facilities located near the Blackstone River in the center of Woonsocket.

“Plaintiffs’ properties have been, and continue to be, repeatedly invaded by noxious odors on occasions too numerous to list individually,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit was filed against Jacobs Engineering, a Texas-based firm that the city has hired to operate the treatment plant, and Synagro, the Maryland company that owns the incinerator.

Synagro said it is aware of the complaint but declined further comment.

“Synagro has not been served with the complaint as of this time and therefore it is premature to comment on the specific details or merits of the case,” the company said in a statement.

Jacobs did not respond to a request for comment.

Trouble has been brewing for years

Neighbors have long complained about smells from around the treatment plant and incinerator. The problem grew worse over the last two years as aging equipment repeatedly failed.

It came to a head over several days last March when the treatment plant discharged partially treated wastewater into the Blackstone. A passerby reported the spill to authorities after smelling raw sewage in the river.

The incident prompted the state Department of Environmental Management to issue a no-contact warning for the river. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and, with state officials frustrated with the lack of progress, the office of Attorney General Peter Neronha filed suit, alleging repeated violations of the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws.

The plant treats between 6 million and 9 million gallons of wastewater daily, making it the fourth-largest treatment plant in the state. It treats waste not only from Woonsocket but also from a host of surrounding communities.

Sludge from the plant is dewatered and incinerated at the Synagro facility along with truckloads from other cities and towns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The leftover liquid goes back to the wastewater plant for further treatment, but that process encountered difficulties after the breakdown last spring of what’s known as a gravity thickener, which is designed to remove any remaining solids.

It meant that more solids than usual were entering the plant, overwhelming its filtration systems and causing sewage that is only partially treated to enter the river.

Synagro and Jacobs brought in temporary equipment to address the problem, and the city is set to make permanent repairs.

The lawsuit argues that the companies haven’t done enough to address the problems. The complaint alleges that the odors are harming residents’ quality of life and property values.

More than 75 other households have contacted the lawyers representing Hoye and Doire about the odors, according to the complaint.

“The odors that are smelled on a daily basis smell like I live across from a large city dump on a 90-degree day,” Hoye said, according to the complaint.