Massachusetts Firm Charged with Illegal Dumping of Contaminated Fill in Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Massachusetts construction company and a former employee have been charged with illegally dumping thousands of tons of contaminated fill in Providence during a highway construction project, the Rhode Island attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

Barletta Heavy Division, Inc., of Canton, is charged with two counts of illegal disposal of solid waste, one count of operating a solid waste management facility without a license, and one count of providing a false document to a public official, during the ongoing Route 6/0 interchange project, the attorney general’s office.

A former Barletta senior employee is also charged. A phone message was left with Barletta seeking comment.

The company, which is overseeing the $247 million project that started in 2018, and former employee authorized the disposal of more than 4,500 tons of stone and soil contaminated with hazardous materials at the Route 6/10 interchange construction project in July of 2020, the attorney general’s office said.

They allegedly used the 6/10 site “as an environmental dumping ground, and not only for Rhode Island waste,” Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha said in a statement. “Worse yet, they made Rhode Island a dumping ground for Massachusetts waste.”

An arraignment is scheduled in February.