“We may still purchase the property in the future,” said Sherry Mulhearn, RIRRC’s executive director. “But as of today, we are abandoning our plans to purchase the land and extract its valuable gravel resources for use as cover material at the Central Landfill. I will repeat once again that the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation never intended to store solid waste on the Global property. Our sole interest was the rich deposits of gravel and granite.”
Because Resource Recovery would have had no use for the land after the gravel and granite had been extracted, the corporation was willing to sell the land to the Town of Coventry at a reduced rate to ensure that the land would be used for recreation. Now, the town faces an uncertain future because the property contains contaminated material left by the out-of-business Global Waste Recycling facility.
The decision to withdraw the plan follows a vote whereby all five members of the Coventry Town Council announced that they would not sign an agreement with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp. in regards to the state agency’s use of the Global Waste property.
The decision follows the group’s earlier decision to approval the measure, saying that the RIRRC was the best way to control the agency’s operations, as well as protect the town’s interest.
However, after initially approving the move, strong opposition from town residents pressured the council to change their vote.
The proposed agreement -- formalizing promises that Resource Recovery has repeatedly given town officials -- stipulates that the 98-acre Global property would be used only for mining gravel, and not as a landfill, waste storage site or recycling operation.
The agreement would allow the town to acquire the land in 12 to 16 years, when Resource Recovery expects to have exhausted the site of gravel.
Town Council members originally viewed the agreement as the only means of controlling Resource Recovery's operation.