Thursday, September 5, 2013

Copar Quarries is once again cited and fined for environmental violations

After months of community complaints, DEM cites Copar for air pollution
DEM uses science to nail Copar for air pollution
By Will Collette

The infamous Copar Quarry in Bradford on the Charlestown-Westerly line has been cited by an array of federal and state agencies, as well as by the Town of Westerly, for violating environmental, safety and land use laws. 

But it’s taken months for the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to finally catch Copar in the act of releasing excessive silica dust from the site. Click here to read the DEM notice.

DEM has rebuffed community complaints for months, saying that it could only issue notices of violations if its own inspectors personally witnessed the violations, no matter how carefully the neighbors recorded and reported the violations.

Last March, I reported the inconsistency between DEM’s posture on Copar and their quick issuance of a notice of violation to the Town of Charlestown over the town’s annual New Year’s Eve bonfire. DEM cited Charlestown for the bon fire based on an anonymous complaint without having an inspector personally witness the violation.

Rep. Donna Walsh (D) got DEM to rescind the violation to the town over the bon fire and also took DEM to the woodshed for its inconsistent treatment of complaints from Copar’s neighbors.


That motivated DEM to send inspectors to down-wind locations from the Copar quarry. The inspectors used their cars as collection devices. I am NOT making this up. They made sure the cars were squeaky clean and then collected samples of the dust that accumulated after 45 minutes.

According to the DEM report, “Based on the wind direction and the location of the vehicle, the Facility [Copar] was the only source of the fugitive dust detected on the vehicle’s windshield during the forty-five minute timeframe.”

This was enough for DEM to issue the Notice of Violation which orders Copar to take steps to prevent dust from escaping in the future and fines Copar $1,500 which is a minimal amount. Imagine what DEM might have found had they tested for longer than 45 minutes and actually used real scientific measuring equipment.

Silica dust is a harmful substance. Prolonged exposure can lead to the lung disease silicosis and to other lung ailments, including lung cancer. On August 23, the federal Occupational and Health Administration (OSHA) issued proposed regulations to cut the allowable exposure to silica dust in half. Click here for additional health information.
"Resident Agent" Roberge actually lives here, 90 miles away
(from the Bristol, CT Tax Assessor's database)

According to an e-mail from Governor Lincoln Chafee’s office cited by the Westerly Sun, DEM has had trouble finding someone at Copar upon whom they can serve the NOV.

This may be due to the fact that Copar’s “Resident Agent,” a person who must reside in Rhode Island and be authorized to accept service of legal papers, is Randy Roberge. Contrary to Rhode Island law, Roberge does not live in Rhode Island. He lives at 30 Summerberry Court in Bristol, CT which is almost 90 miles away.

If you happen to see Randy Roberge,
please tell him RIDEM is looking
to give him something
Copar, of course, denies they committed any violation. That has been the company’s consistent pattern despite being cited by the federal EPA, for 54 worker safety violations by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, by the RI Department of Labor and Training for having unlicensed operators working dangerous equipment, by the Town of Westerly for violating town zoning law and being cited by RIDEM for trash violations and warned for dust violations.

One of my colleagues described Copar’s strategy as “Always deny, always appeal, always delay, always manage to have redundant claims filed against you so that even if one gets ruled against you, you can argue that the others need to be heard. Of course, always work to only have one court thing going on at a time and the others just have to wait. Ignore any ruling against you and just keep on hauling gravel. Never comply. Never admit. It’s always a misunderstanding.”

If Copar ever does accept official service of the DEM notice of violation, they will then have the right to contest the citation through a formal administrative hearing process and then in the courts. No doubt Copar will do just that, and in this case, DEM’s peculiar method of using an inspector’s car as the scientific measurement device will probably feature in Copar’s appeals.

Copar’s misconduct is not limited to its Bradford facility. At the former Morrone’s sand and gravel pit off Route 91 in Charlestown, acquired by Copar in March 2013, Copar is already starting to rack up the MSHA fines as the chart below shows.


MSHA cited Copar and its blasting contractor Maine Drilling and Blasting for four worker safety violations since assuming operations from Morrone. Copar is currently challenging those violations, too.

I traveled the US for twenty years battling polluting industries. It was my consistent experience that companies that were frequently cited for endangering their workers were generally even less conscientious about protecting the environment or the health of their neighbors.

So, Charlestown, even though I know Copar makes you so scared, you want to wet your collective pants, now that Copar is drawing MSHA violations at the Route 91 site, you can bet that there might be some environmental violations, too. 

By the way, one of those violations at the former Morrone site was for excessive noise experienced by two drill operators. One of those workers was exposed to noise more than 300% higher than the permissible level.


APPENDIX: complete list of worker safety violations by Copar at its Bradford quarry
US Mine Safety and Health Administration
Citations, Orders, and Safeguards
The current operator Copar Industries, LLC has been the operator since 12/1/2010
In Bradford, RI

Violator
Order No.
Case No.
Date Issued
Final Order Date
Section of
Act
Date Terminated
Standard
Fine Paid
Maine Drilling & Blasting
8713341  
000319913
3/5/2013
8/27/2013 
104(a)
3/5/2013
138.00
Maine Drilling & Blasting
8713342  
000319913
3/5/2013
8/27/2013 
104(a)
3/5/2013
207.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710295  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710291  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
127.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710294  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710292  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
425.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710293  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/12/2012
946.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710289  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
2,106.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8710290  
000312052
12/11/2012
2/24/2013 
104(a)
12/11/2012
946.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704822  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/3/2012
946.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704824  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/3/2012
946.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704823  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/3/2012
190.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704825  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/2/2012
2,106.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704828  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/2/2012
190.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704827  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/2/2012
190.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8704826  
000292607
5/2/2012
7/20/2012 
104(a)
5/3/2012
425.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654287  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654286  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654284  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
108.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654288  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654289  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
12/14/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654290  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
12/15/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654285  
000278536
12/14/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654283  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(g)(1)
12/14/2011
112.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654280  
000281093
12/13/2011
3/24/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
263.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654279  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
12/13/2011
117.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654275  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654274  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654273  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654281  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654277  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
12/14/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654276  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2012
108.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8654278  
000278536
12/13/2011
2/26/2012 
104(g)(1)
12/14/2011
112.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646361  

5/11/2011

104(b)
6/2/2011

Copar Industries, LLC
8646360  

5/11/2011

104(b)
6/2/2011

Copar Industries, LLC
8646351  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(g)(1)
6/2/2011
897.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646344  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
4/27/2011
807.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646345  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
6/2/2011
112.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646349  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
6/16/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646348  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
6/16/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646350  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
4/27/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646347  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
4/27/2011
807.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646346  
000258515
4/27/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
6/2/2011
112.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646341  
000255643
4/14/2011
6/24/2011 
104(a)
4/14/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646342  
000255643
4/14/2011
6/24/2011 
104(a)
4/26/2011
243.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646343  
000255643
4/14/2011
6/24/2011 
104(a)
5/11/2011
243.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646339  
000258515
4/13/2011
7/22/2011 
104(a)
4/26/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8646340  
000255643
4/13/2011
6/24/2011 
104(a)
4/14/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644957  
000247175
1/11/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
362.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644958  
000247175
1/11/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644915  
000247175
1/5/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644916  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
2/3/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644912  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644907  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/18/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644911  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/4/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644914  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/25/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644909  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644908  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
3/28/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644906  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/4/2011
362.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644913  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00
Copar Industries, LLC
8644910  
000247175
1/4/2011
4/1/2012 
104(a)
1/11/2011
100.00