WOONSOCKET – Residents are being promised some relief from longstanding issues at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, as officials move forward on a new partnership with Veolia Water North America-Northeast LLC.
The City Council on Monday approved a resolution authorizing the administration to engage Veolia to operate the plant on an interim basis. The plant’s operation has been blamed for a chronic stench in the area.
The agreement is for six months, which can continue to be extended six months at a time. Each additional agreement has to come back to the council for approval.
Councilor Jim Cournoyer said Veolia, which operates the wastewater collection system, will run the plant the way it should be run. He said Jacobs Engineering Group has been running the facility since 2012, sarcastically stating what a “fabulous job” the company has done with that.
Cournoyer also confirmed again that the city is moving to shut down the incinerator off Cumberland Hill Road. The arrival of Veola is a “very good outcome” after months of talks, he said.
Councilor Michael Dubois said this process has been carried out methodically over nearly two years since Jacobs representatives said they wanted to cancel their contract, done in the best interest of everyone. Veolia will operate things as a permanent solution is discussed, he said. There will be long-term plans to operate the wastewater plant, and the incinerator will also be shut down, he stated.
Councilor Valerie Gonzalez said this is an issue every councilor is locked in on as one. They know the target, she said, and are moving forward.
Public Works Director Steve D’Agostino shared that he has “ultimate confidence” in Veolia, saying its staff has always been professional, accessible, and there for Woonsocket. He said there’s lots of institutional knowledge from when the company previously ran operations.
“That plant won awards many years ago,” he said, and though it’s not doing so now, it will again.
Mayor Chris Beauchamp said this has been an uncomfortable situation for many years. He said the incinerator will be closed shortly, though there is no definitive date yet.
John Oatley, of Veolia, told officials he can help the city get to a better place, said the mayor, and he did so without corporate speak. Veolia is a company with extensive experience in Woonsocket and expertise operating this plant, he said.
Council President Dan Gendron echoed others, joking that the agreement should guarantee Oatley’s presence in perpetuity. So many ideas have been discussed, said Gendron, including selling the facility, but that was blown up when the avenue for getting rid of sludge in North Kingstown was “torpedoed,” forcing the city in a new direction.
The council then unanimously approved the resolution.
According to the document, the city is the owner and permit holder of the Woonsocket Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, which consists of the wastewater treatment plant and a related but separate sludge processing and incineration facility, which includes a burning incinerator.
The city has had a long-term contract with Jacobs to operate the wastewater plant and a separate contract with Synagro Woonsocket to operate the incineration facility. Jacobs’ contractual duties owed to the city includes overseeing, monitoring and managing Synagro’s incineration facility and sludge processing activities, but Jacobs has taken the legal position that their contract is terminated and therefore they are no longer under a contract with the city, claiming a breach of contract in connection with an alleged non-payment in 2024.
The city disputes that legal position and maintains that the contract is still in full force and effect, since Jacobs has no factual or legal basis to unilaterally terminate the contract.
Regardless of conflicting legal positions, Jacobs has notified the city that they are winding down their wastewater operations permanently to permanently leave its post and depart the city, which requires the city to immediately secure a qualified and licensed operator to take over, at least on an interim basis.
That work will including around-the-clock operations of the treatment facility and the overall oversight of Synagro’s sludge processing activities.
Veolia previously operated facilities before Jacobs, and currently operates the wastewater collection system. The company has indicated that it is ready, willing, and able to mobliize and step in to operate the wastewater treatment facility under an interim agreement.
“The interim agreement will allow the city to immediately fill the operator gap created by Jacobs’ departure to ensure that the (the wastewater facility) and incinerator facility operations are properly carried out in accordance with the city’s permit. Veolia also operates an incinerator in Cranston.
