Burrillville Back in Court, Files Countersuit Over Artificial Turf Field Dispute
By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff
December 3, 2024
PROVIDENCE — The town of Burrillville is back in court again this week because of a dispute over its contract to install an artificial turf field at the high school.
Roberta Lacey, a Burrillville resident and conservationist, filed the suit in Providence Superior Court in September, citing concerns that the field may contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” which could contaminate groundwater.
PFAS are a class of chemicals found in waterproof fabric to firefighting foams, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, they can pose risks to human health.
In her suit, Lacey alleges that the town did not adequately test the materials that would be used in the field and should have gone through the town Zoning Board of Review before approving the project and signing a contract with Field Turf to install the turf.
The suit cites a letter from the state Department of Health and state Department of Environmental Management warning the Burrillville Town Council that PFAS contamination had occurred in groundwater downgradient form an artificial turf field in North Smithfield. The letter also noted that if the field was found to contaminate drinking water, the town would be responsible for remediation.
The court issued a temporary restraining order, stopping the construction of the field, in October.
The town has denied that testing of the field materials was inadequate or that the field’s installation poses a public health risk. It also has denied that not bringing the project before the zoning board violated the Town Council’s official duties.
When asked about the lawsuit in October, Town Council president Donald Fox, one of the named defendants in the complaint, said testing done by TRC, a firm hired by the town, showed that the artificial turf was safe.
“Based on evaluations performed to date, it has been demonstrated that the detection of very low levels of a very limited number of PFAS in the artificial turf does not represent a human health risk to those using the artificial turf ballfields and it does not pose a risk to the environment, the groundwater, the surface water, and the aquifer,” TRC wrote in a report from August posted on the town’s website.
In addition to denying many of Lacey’s arguments, the town also filed a countersuit against her, claiming that her complaint is “based on speculative and unsubstantiated fears,” and that the delay caused by the restraining order has cost taxpayers.
Lacey declined to comment on the countersuit.
Court hearings on the case are scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Superior Court Complex.
SOURCE: https://ecori.org/burrillville-back-in-court-files-countersuit-over-artificial-turf-field-dispute/
