After securing backing from town officials, state legislators and the top two Democratic gubernatorial candidates, North Kingstown residents are now turning to the state court to cement their efforts to block a controversial sludge processing plant planned for Quonset Business Park.
The lawsuit filed in Providence County Superior Court Friday alleges the state agencies charged with authorizing the high-heat sewage processing project failed to consider the health, environmental and safety effects for the surrounding neighborhoods, nor give adequate public notice and feedback opportunities.
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The 23-page complaint, filed by North Kingstown Residents for Clean Air and Water, and one nearby resident, Daniel Ferranti, asks a state judge to throw out an air quality permit and a lease agreement for the project, while awarding compensatory damages through a jury trial.
Quonset Development Corporation, the R.I.Department of Environmental Management and R.I. Commerce Corp. are named as defendants, along with project developer QSS Biosolids and its parent company, Green Development.
The $150 million project, which proposes to turn solid sewage waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer through a high-heat process called pyrolysis, has already been paused, pending a comprehensive legislative study of the state’s shortage of wastewater treatment options. Woonsocket has already signaled its intent to close the regional wastewater incinerator, one of two in the state.
Despite verbal agreements by Quonset Development Corp., which oversees the industrial park where the project would be built, and QSS Biosolids not to move forward until the legislative study commission concludes its work in February, local residents remain distrustful.
“The Plaintiffs lack an adequate remedy at law to redress the Defendants’ unreasonable interference with rights common to the general public, which cause the Plaintiffs to suffer special harm distinct from those common to the public,” the complaint states. “Absent judicial intervention, the public and the Plaintiffs will continue to suffer harm resulting from the Defendants’ unreasonable interference.”
Their skepticism stems from the perceived backroom deals that led to the project gaining preliminary approvals without widespread public knowledge.
“RIDEM and QDC deprived the public of its right to participate in the process of a significant project that will have substantial environmental, health, and safety impacts on the community,” the lawsuit states.
Quonset’s board of directors, which includes two representatives from the town, authorized a long-term lease for the project by a 5-3 vote in November 2024. Environmental regulators approved an air quality permit in January. But the families who live, work and go to school in the neighborhoods surrounding the industrial business park did not know about the project until March, due to limited public advertising by Quonset’s board, and none required for the environmental permit.
Outrage erupted as residents, town officials, and state lawmakers learned of the approvals that took place without their knowledge and delved into details of the emerging and mostly untested technology which seeks to avoid the smell and pollutants of traditional sewage incineration. Indeed, the lawsuit alleges both DEM and Quonset violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional due process rights.
“By acting arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably in its approval of the Lease without any relevant information regarding the Facility, QDC and the QDC Board engaged in conduct that shocks the conscience, thereby violating the Plaintiffs’ substantive due process rights protected by the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island,” the complaint states.
Steven King, Quonset’s managing director, acknowledged the lawsuit but did not comment on the allegations.
“QDC continues to fully support the commission process and looks forward to its report early next year,” King said in a statement Monday. “We welcome the ongoing civil and constructive dialogue with the community and all stakeholders.”
But the quasi-public agency has also postponed a scheduled question-and-answer session with residents planned for its Tuesday night meeting, citing the pending litigation.
The agency previously defended its actions in reviewing and authorizing a 25-year lease with QSS Biosolids, having advertised the meeting agenda and published public meeting minutes after, in compliance with state open meetings requirements. Details of the lease agreement were discussed in executive session, but also made publicly available at the Nov. 19, 2024 meeting. No one from the public attended, however, according to meeting minutes.
The lease, while authorized, has not been executed, contingent upon the developers first completing a scaled demonstration that proves it can “achieve the intended results.”
The project also still needs three more environmental permits from DEM for wetland construction, stormwater control and sludge operations.
As the quasi-public agency charged with overseeing development in the 3,200-acre business park, Quonset’s appointed board is not required to hold community input sessions or even let town officials know. The North Kingstown Town Council approved a resolution at its March 30 meeting asking Quonset’s board to rescind the lease, condemning the lack of public input. Town Manager Ralph Mollis has also taken the plight directly to Gov. Dan McKee, who pledged to stand with community members in their opposition.
Both McKee and his Democratic primary rival, Helena Buonanno Foulkes, are scheduled to attend the North Kingstown Town Council meeting Monday. The meeting agenda includes an update from town officials on “active issues involving Quonset Business Park” and potential action authorizing the town manager to advocate for the community regarding the pyrolysis facility. An agreement with Desautel Browning Law to serve as environmental counsel to the town for the sludge project is also scheduled to be presented during the Monday night meeting.
No legal action by the town has been taken yet, Mollis confirmed in an interview Monday.
“How this lawsuit works with the various legal remedies on the town’s side remains to be seen,” Mollis said of the community complaint. “From day one, the residents have been extremely passionate, and rightfully so, about this issue whether it’s a lawsuit or the attending council meetings. They need to be commended.”
The lawsuit also alleges that DEM incorrectly classified the potential emissions from the project, allowing it to bypass a public hearing and more stringent review.
A consultant hired by QSS to submit the air quality permit argued only a “minor source” permit — rather than a “major source” permit equating to a higher level of pollution — was needed because pyrolysis is not mentioned by name in federal or state regulations governing incineration and sludge treatment, DEM in its technical review agreed that the combined emissions did not exceed the threshold for the less stringent permit.
“Simply put, the public had no information or notice related to the use of the Property, the Facility’s permitting, or approvals related to the Facility until the Permit was approved on January 23, 2026 — over fourteen months after the QDC approved Global Soil Solution’s Lease,” the complaint states. “The public was deprived of information, participation in the approval and review processes, and required notice in connection with the Facility’s leasing, approval, and permitting.”
Evan LaCross, a spokesperson for DEM, declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Patti Doyle, a spokesperson for QSS Biosolids, said the company’s legal counsel is reviewing the complaint. Giselle Mahoney, a spokesperson for Rhode Island Commerce, acknowledged but did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Monday.
Michael Kelly, one of three attorneys representing the plaintiffs, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
North Kingstown Residents for Clean Air and Water registered with the Rhode Island Department of State as a nonprofit on April 23, with attorney Michael Resnick listed as its principal agent. Ferranti, a North Kingstown resident who lives 3,000 feet from the site of the proposed pyrolysis project, joined the suit as an individual plaintiff.
The Rhode Island House of Representatives has already approved a resolution authorizing a 20-member joint legislative study commission on sludge treatment that will consider pyrolysis among other potential solutions. A companion resolution has been introduced, but not yet voted on, in the Rhode Island Senate.
The House Committee on Corporations is also scheduled to give first vetting Tuesday afternoon to legislation sponsored by Rep. Julie Casimiro, a North Kingstown Democrat, that bans pyrolysis or thermal conversion projects in Quonset until Feb. 1, 2027 — the same date as the legislative study panel is set to conclude its work.
Nancy Lavin is a senior reporter for the Rhode Island Current.
