Quarry finds rocky road to acceptance by neighbors

An industry that put southwest Rhode Island on the economic map – more than 150 years ago – has today become a pit of controversy.
Armetta LLC Sand & Stone, formerly – and still commonly referred to as – Copar Quarries, has been at the center of lawsuits, complaints and disputes since 2011, when it started quarrying in Bradford, a village in Westerly.
Earlier this month Copar agreed to resolve one dispute by paying $80,000 to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it violated federal clean-air standards. According to an EPA complaint, Copar failed to conduct required emissions testing, keep proper inspection of log books and notify EPA when it began operating several pieces of equipment in in 2011. According to EPA, the company has corrected the violations.
Quarrying has a long history in Westerly stretching back to the 1830s when fine-grained granite was discovered and an industry was born. Westerly, and the Smith Granite Co., built a reputation around its “unfading, impervious to weather, capable of taking a glossy polish and practically indestructible” stone, according to a 1981 state report.
Westerly rock has been used in projects including the Rhode Island block of the Washington Monument, the Roger Williams Monument in Providence and the soldier at Antietam National Battlefield.
The industry remained viable in the area until the mid-1900s when it nearly died out. Quarries, like the one in Bradford, filled with water and lay dormant.
Families moved into the area, bought land and built homes.
In 1990 Steve Dubois bought land about 1,200 feet from the Bradford quarry. Dubois claims, at the time, town officials told him the area was all zoned residential.
That changed, however, on Aug. 15, 2007, when then-Westerly zoning official Anthony Giordano determined quarrying should be allowed because “quarrying operations on the property predated the town of Westerly’s current zoning ordinance, qualifying such activities as a pre-existing use,” according to a lawsuit filed by neighbors in Superior Court. The property is now zoned “light industrial.”
“I lived in heaven for 18, or 19 years until one day my wife called me and said there was a bunch of noise and dust blowing into our yard,” Dubois said. “Life is now hell.”
In 2010, Connecticut-based Copar entered into a lease agreement with landowner – and Westerly Granite Co. Inc. principal – George Comolli to quarry his Bradford land at 271 Church St.
Operations started in 2011 and today rock is removed from the earth, crushed to size and sold, according to the company’s website. Armetta’s operation in Bradford employs about 50 Rhode Islanders, according to Armetta lawyer Jeffrey Gladstone. The company also has quarries in Richmond and Charlestown.
Dubois, 53, claims Armetta’s operations have damaged his home and livelihood, saying the dust is so bad he can’t open his windows.
He and two neighboring families have brought a lawsuit against Copar Quarries, Westerly Granite Co. Inc., the town of Westerly and a the subcontracted blasting company called Main Drilling and Blasting Inc. Dubois would like to see operations stop and have Armetta leave, but isn’t too hopeful.
“They’ll never leave in my lifetime,” Dubois said.
In February, Superior Court associate justice Brian Stern ordered the town “not take any action or pass any ordinance that would change, adversely impact, alter or in any other manner affect the current or future quarry operations and, or, use of the quarry property, including but not limited to the intensity of use, hours of operation, or manner of operation.” The ruling came on the heels of Westerly hiring an independent company to assess the quarry’s environmental impact. After several days of testing, the company determined Copar wasn’t in violation of any regulatory standards, according to Town Council member Diana Serra.
Between August 2012 and November 2013, Westerly issued three “Notices of Violation and Cease and Desist Orders” against Copar and Westerly Granite, saying the companies were producing excessive noise and dust. Copar and Westerly Granite appealed and came back at the town with a lawsuit, which ultimately resulted in a settlement on Feb. 25, 2014.
At about the same time, financier and Connecticut businessman Phil Armetta took over Copar Quarries from former CEO and President Sam Cocopard. The name was changed to Armetta LLC.
Armetta lawyer Jeffrey Gladstone, of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, said Phil Armetta had been financially backing Copar operations “for some time,” and took over because of a “problem with prior leadership.”
“Phil Armetta has been the financier for this project and he decided, as time went by, that the leadership and direction of Copar needed to change,” Gladstone said.
Gladstone says the company will continue to develop a “first-rate, state-of-the-art business” and pointedly references the town’s testing when asked about opposition.
“There were a small number of vocal opponents to the operations and because of that we’ve been the subject of intense scrutiny,” Gladstone said.
When asked about the EPA settlement, Gladstone said the company denies any violations and only settled to avoid a lengthy and expensive legal battle with the federal government.
“We’re doing our best to be a good neighbor and hopefully over time there will be less of an impact on the neighbors,” Gladstone said. •

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