Amgen came to Rhode Island in 2002 when it purchased Immunex and its West Greenwich facility. Since then, the biotechnology firm has grown into a major player in the state’s economy, employing 1,300 people. But now, to keep growing, it needs water.
Amgen uses the West Greenwich plant to make the active ingredient in its drug Enbrel, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Sales of Enbrel have doubled since 2002, and Amgen is investing more than $1.1 billion in the plant to boost manufacturing capacity.
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Predicting this growth, and knowing it would need lots of water to make the biological product, Amgen talked right from the start with the Kent County Water Authority, which supplies water to seven communities in central Rhode Island.
In 2002, the authority said it could provide the 1.2 million gallons Amgen said it would need to accommodate its expansion. In July 2004, however, the authority began sending out letters warning that it couldn’t guarantee water for future development in the region.
Francis J. Perry Jr., chairman of the Kent County Water Authority Board of Engineers, said the board has stopped guaranteeing water to avoid any potential litigation.
When the authority told Amgen it had enough water, Perry said, it was expecting to have that water available. At the time, the board was negotiating with the R.I. Department of Environmental Management to expand its existing groundwater wellfield in Coventry and West Greenwich, which was permitted to draw 2.9 million gallons daily.
The authority had hoped that the proposed wells would add 1.4 million gallons to its daily supply. But the DEM issued a permit that was too “restrictive,” Perry said. It included extensive monitoring stipulations that would have been too costly, he said.
So the authority, after putting in years of work and investing nearly $6 million in the proposed expansion, walked away. In addition, in the time since negotiations with DEM began, the authority has had to take existing wells offline to be treated for non-hazardous contaminants. No viable alternative water source has been found, Perry said, although the authority is meeting its current obligations, which total 19.84 million gallons daily.
For Amgen, however, getting more water is essential. Its current draw is 500,000 gallons.
By reworking its usage, the company has been able to lower its projected future needs to 800,000 gallons. To force the authority’s hand, it is pursuing legislation to guarantee a steady supply. On March 1, the state Senate approved a bill, which would guarantee 800,000 gallons a day through the authority.
Amgen spokesman Larry Bernard said the company isn’t making any threats to the state, but without the water, it would have to re-examine its situation.
“If we don’t have a guarantee of water supply to meet the demand, it is possible we wouldn’t be able to meet our production goals,” said Bernard. He added, however, that Amgen is “absolutely committed to Rhode Island” despite having manufacturing facilities.
William Parsons, deputy director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation and member of the R.I. Water Resources Board, said the supply of water is necessary for the state’s efforts to attract biotech companies and help Amgen continue its expansion.
The bill passed by the Senate helps the state in those efforts, he said.
“It’s a necessary step in order to keep them here,” Parsons said. “Look at the number of jobs they have, and look at the investment they’ve put into the state.”
Right now, the Kent authority is drawing nearly all of its water from the Providence Water Supply Board and its connection to the Scituate Reservoir.
The problem in finding a viable new source mainly exists in the “high service gradient,” a portion of the authority’s service area that sits at a higher elevation than the bulk of its system. The area, which encompasses parts of Coventry and West Greenwich, is slated for vast amounts of residential and commercial growth. It is this area of the authority’s service area more than Amgen that is causing the difficulty in forecasting the water needs and supply.
Several approaches are being examined, including groundwater wells in West Greenwich’s Big River Management Area that the state is developing. In addition, the authority is looking at the possibility of buying more water from the Providence board through a connection on Bald Hill Road in Warwick, Perry said.
“If we can increase that amount, we have a couple of booster stations in the area around the West Warwick Industrial Park that can pump into the high service gradient,” Perry said.
But without a clear-cut answer, the authority is now embroiled in controversy. Local leaders claim it is stifling development. The General Assembly has a commission charged with examining all aspects of the authority.
And a West Warwick-based developer, Nicholas E. Cambio, sued the authority and its board members for refusing to guarantee water for a business park he is developing in Coventry. (The lawsuit has since been settled.)
“We’re walking this very narrow line of trying to not hold anybody back and trying to not … make promises we can’t keep,” Perry said.
The concerns are echoed by state Sen. Stephen D. Alves, D-West Warwick, who was the primary sponsor of the bill to guarantee Amgen its water. He said the bill’s passage is “crucial” if the state wishes to ease the biotech giant’s mind.
“They’ve known of this [need] for five years,” Alves said of the authority. “It’s time for action now. Everything has been growing in this end of the state.”
Juan Mariscal, director of the state Water Resources Board, said he is unaware of other water agencies in the state voicing the same concerns as Kent County’s. Currently, the Providence board has nine other agencies drawing out of the Scituate Reservoir.
However, the growth in the suburbs of the state has caused the board to examine ways to increase its available supply.
“The business of providing water to customers in the state is an issue of great importance,” Mariscal said. “That is going to have to be addressed by additional supplies in the future as well as new management techniques.”
