Embattled Scrap Metal Yard Fighting RI and Providence over $25K Fine, Back Taxes

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Rhode Island Recycled Metals is fighting city and state officials over a $25,000 environmental fine and nearly $160,000 in back taxes that officials claim the embattled scrap metal business must pay.

The company has been at the center of intense regulatory scrutiny in recent months, which attorneys for the company argue has been excessive and unfair. R.I. Department of Environmental Management spokesperson Mike Healey confirmed the state fined the company $25,000 after it failed to submit a public involvement plan by a Dec. 15 deadline.

Richard Nicholson, an attorney for Recycled Metals, however, argues the deadline was arbitrary and they were denied a request for an extension of time they felt was necessary given the timing around the holidays. Nicholson is appealing the fine — which he described as “punitive” — and told Target 12 the state has been “relentless in trying to shut down the business.”

Nicholson also rejected allegations that the company is a polluter and operates unlawfully. The company has also been ignoring a cease and desist letter Providence licensing officials sent the business earlier this month, as Nicholson argues the company has a license to operate with the state, and doesn’t need one with the city to operate.

Company officials initially submitted a license application with the city earlier this year, but they withdrew it a few weeks ago because Nicholson said they were told a day before a hearing that the application would be denied.

He declined to reveal who told them it would be denied, but argued it violated open meeting and due process laws that he said would be explained more clearly in a motion he plans to submit for declaratory judgement on the matter.

The company has been butting heads with DEM officials for years, and the state has argued they are using different regulatory and legal actions to make sure the company follows environmental laws. DEM officials allege the company has dragged its feet in cleaning up contaminated soil piles, which the agency said they saw in aerial photos taken last year between March and April.

“Since 2010, DEM has taken many legal actions to force the company to comply with environmental regulations,” Healey said. “Working through Superior Court and using enforcement tools such as the notice of violation filed in this instance, DEM remains committed to bringing Rhode Island Recycled Metals into full compliance.”

In January, Recycled Metals appealed the $25,000 fine to the Administrative Adjudication Division, the administrative tribunal for all environmental matters originating at DEM.

According to the appeal, Nicholson notified DEM that the plan would be done by the Dec. 15 deadline but later said that “was not reasonable” given factors outside of the company’s control. The first draft was submitted on Dec. 28.

“Respondent asserts that the proposed penalty is arbitrary, capricious, excessive, unfair, unreasonable, and in excess of statutory and regulatory authority,” Nicholson wrote.

As for the back taxes, another attorney for Recycled Metals, Nick Hemond, said there’s a disagreement over how much the company should pay. The city alleges it’s owed $158,234.64, but Hemond said a portion of those taxes were assessed on tangible property that the company had already sold off as part of a court-ordered auction.

As such, Hemond said the company owes far less than the city estimates, adding that the company is currently in discussions with Providence lawyers to try and determine what the amount should be.

More broadly, Nicholson alleged the company has been the victim of political and regulatory scrutiny because the state is trying to reduce the value of the property. He said the company has been in discussions to sell the land to the quasi-public agency ProvPort.

The General Assembly in 2016 approved $20 million in bonds for the port operator to expand, and Nicholson said the plan was to use that money to purchase the property of Recycled Metals.

He said the company is considering filing what’s known as a “1983” lawsuit, which allows people to sue for different kinds of civil rights violations, including the unlawful acquisition of private property.

Nicholson alleged the government is overreaching.

Courtesy: www.wpri.com