Court Extends Restraining Order on Construction of Burrillville Artificial Turf Field
PROVIDENCE — A Superior Court judge delayed the construction of an artificial turf field in Burrillville until at least the end of November, extending a temporary restraining order placed earlier this month.
Associate Justice Melissa E. Darigan scheduled hearings for the case against the town for Nov. 25 and 26 following a conference on Tuesday at the Providence Superior Court Complex.
“This case is entering a new phase where public servants are being held to a standard of listening to the residents of Burrillville,” lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a statement. “There is no room to ignore scientifically supported evidence of harm to future generations. We now have an even playing field.”
Representatives for the town declined to comment on the case.
Roberta Lacey, a member of the town’s Conservation Commission and a local conservationist, filed the suit in September on the basis that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in the artificial turf will contaminate local drinking water sources.
Also known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are found in myriad projects, from waterproof jackets to firefighting foams to artificial turf fields. The chemicals have been linked to several health issues, including developmental delays in children and some cancers.
The complaint claims that because PFAS have been designated as a hazardous material by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the field is located near an aquifer, the town should have gone through the local Zoning Board of Review for approval.
The suit also alleges that the town did not adequately test the turf products that will be used in the field or the drinking water sources that the field could contaminate.
Speaking to ecoRI News earlier this month, Town Council president Donald Fox called the claims in the lawsuit “baseless,” and said that the testing the town hired a firm to complete was adequate and showed that the field would not pose a risk to drinking water.
Initially, the field was supposed to be finished this fall. According to photos on the town’s website, some of the construction is already completed, with natural grass torn up, bleachers placed, and gravel spread where the artificial turf is meant to go.
Lacey and a group of residents had spent the summer trying to convince the town to cancel the installation of the field, speaking up at town meetings and hearings.
During the campaign, several other organizations wrote letters urging the town to oppose the artificial turf, including the Conservation Law Foundation and the Blackstone River Watershed Council.
The Rhode Island departments of Environmental Management (DEM) and Health (DOH) also wrote a letter warning Burrillville town officials that it could be responsible for remediation if the field contaminates drinking water sources.
The letter also described contamination in drinking wells in North Smithfield, likely caused by an artificial turf field upgradient.
DEM and DOH reminded the town that a recently passed PFAS ban that goes into effect in 2027 could impact maintenance or replacement of the field.
SOURCE: https://ecori.org/court-extends-restraining-order-on-construction-of-burrillville-artifical-turf-field/
