Neronha says Allens Avenue scrapyard to shut down until hearing on July 12

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said that a hearing on the operations of a scrapyard on Allens Avenue in Providence which has burned twice in three months will take place on July 12.

Neronha said his office filed an emergency injunction to shut down the yard’s operations, and that the owners, Rhode Island Recycled Metals, have agreed to close the yard until after a hearing scheduled for July 12.

“Rhode Island Recycled Metals presents an ongoing environmental nuisance and public safety hazard that this office has, for years, fought against in court, alongside efforts by our neighboring communities and stakeholders,” Neronha said.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other local officials called on the state to immediately shut down the yard after it caught fire on July 10, barely three months after it burned in April.

Smiley said that the city has attempted to close the yard multiple times while a case on its operations is pending in Providence Superior Court.

The city had previously issued a cease-and-desist on operations at the yard on March 8 after the owners withdrew a necessary application, and the city council passed a resolution in May calling for the closure due to “environmental concerns.”

Gov. Dan McKee said he supports all actions that are being taken to hold the company accountable.

“This has gone on way too long—these repeated emergencies threaten the health and safety of our nearby communities in Providence, disrupting the daily lives of nearby residents and threatening Narragansett Bay,” McKee said. “I support the actions taken today to push forward efforts to hold Rhode Island Recycled Metals accountable for the damage it’s done to this site and the environmental harms it has caused to the community.

The full statement from Neronha can be read below:

Rhode Island Recycled Metals presents an ongoing environmental nuisance and public safety hazard that this office has, for years, fought against in court, alongside efforts by our neighboring communities and stakeholders.

Today’s fire at their facility is yet another example of RIRM’s inability to safely operate. This afternoon, our office appeared before Superior Court Justice Brian Stern to request that the court order RIRM to immediately shut down their operations. We also argued for the court to immediately convert the special mastership into a receivership.

The court took these matters under advisement and scheduled a hearing for Friday, July 12 at 11 a.m.  RIRM has agreed that it will not resume operations prior to the hearing.

My office will now be formally filing a motion for an emergency preliminary injunction to shut down RIRM’s operations, and to convert the special mastership into a receivership.

It has now become more than evident that the monitoring and oversight provided by the special mastership is not enough—our office will continue to argue that to adequately protect the public, the full operational control of a receivership is required.