PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Mayor Brett Smiley called a temporary shutdown of a Providence scrap metal yard “progress,” but said he isn’t sure the company can safely reopen.
Last Friday, R.I. Superior Court Judge Brian Stern ordered Rhode Island Recycled Metals to stay closed temporarily, siding with the state’s argument that the company is a public nuisance after two massive fires this year.
“This business has shown itself to be irresponsible, and I’m not sure that they could become a responsible business given the track record with the city,” Smiley told Target 12. “At a minimum, we think there needs to be new ownership and maybe, at best, would be that it shut down permanently.”
Stern granted a temporarily restraining order against Recycled Metals and directed a special master to review practices at the scrapyard to determine whether the company has made any efforts to try to prevent similar fires from happening in the future.
The company has been under the watch of a court-appointed special master for the last eight years, after the company and state environmental regulators clashed over runoff from the site that was polluting the river.
Smiley said Tuesday that “statutorily,” the city has the least power to shut down the business permanently, but touted what he called “aggressive” steps the city has taken to halt company operations, like issuing a cease-and-desist over a licensing matter earlier this year.
Target 12 asked the mayor if the city seizing the property using eminent domain was an option. Smiley said he hopes a judge will eventually side with the state to take the more extreme step of putting the company into receivership, the state-level equivalent of filing for bankruptcy.
“If we were to take any property by eminent domain, we have to then compensate that business owner, and the last thing I want to do is enrich this business owner if there’s an opportunity to have the business shut down through the attorney general’s process,” Smiley said. “I’m not closing the door to it, but it is far from the best option available to us.”
A spokesperson for Recycled Metals issued a statement Friday saying the company had already taken steps to “ensure reasonable risk management controls” were in place prior to reopening, which they were anticipating happening in about a week.
A judge needs to approve a fire mitigation plan before that could happen.
Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook.