Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced a settlement with a Massachusetts-based contractor that disposed of contaminated material in Providence during the construction of the Route 6/10 interchange.
Neronha says Barletta Heavy Division has agreed to pay $11 million to the state after admitting it illegally dumped tons of contaminated fill in the Olneyville neighborhood.
“Companies that treat our state as a dumping ground and place the health and welfare of Rhode Islanders at risk, as Barletta has here, must face real consequences for their unlawful conduct,” said Neronha.
Neronha says Barletta supervisor Dennis Ferreira lied about the source of the material during the certification process by submitting an environmental testing report from another site. When pressed by state regulators, Neronha says Ferreira repeatedly lied about the fact that the fill was contaminated.
Ferreira has pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false document and received a one-year suspended sentence and one year of probation.
Most of the settlement money will be used to pay for dental care services for children who live near the 6/10 interchange.
“Too often, I’ve seen the illegal and immoral decisions of bad actors lead to bad outcomes for Rhode Island’s predominately black and brown communities, with children being one of the most vulnerable groups within these communities,” said Neronha.
