Eastbayri.com

To the editor:

In response to Mr. Fred Massie’s letter to the editor dated January 10, 2012, the CRMC would like to correct statements made concerning the Koolen matter in Warren.

Mr. Massie purports that the CRMC did nothing following Mr. Koolen’s illegal installation of docks in the Kickemuit River in Spring of 2011. “Despite many resident calls for action to CRMC and other local, state and federal regulatory agencies, no effective steps were taken.” This statement is false. The CRMC took immediate, aggressive enforcement action, and when Mr. Koolen failed to take it seriously, filed and successfully obtained a court order for removal. Because Mr. Koolen then filed for bankruptcy, the process is now at the mercy of the bankruptcy court. The following is a chronology of events.

The CRMC, in response to a complaint, immediately went to the site in June. The CRMC then issued a Cease and Desist order to Valarie Koolen c/o Thomas Koolen, which required the owner to contact CRMC within 10 days and to relocate the floats to a legal location within 14 days. Shortly thereafter, the CRMC was able to reach Mr. Koolen via telephone, at which time he said he needed another 3-4 weeks to remove the docks. The CRMC told Mr. Koolen he had one week before a fine would be issued.

A week later, CRMC enforcement staff did a follow-up inspection and found the floats still in place. The CRMC issued a Notice of Administrative Fine and a lien was placed on the property. The matter was then scheduled before the Council on July 26. When the staff contacted Mr. Koolen to inform him, he said he wouldn’t be able to attend and sought a continuance. The continuance was denied by the Council and the hearing was held, at which time an Order to Remove was approved. The Council decision was delivered to Mr. Koolen, and pursuant to state statute, the CRMC filed a motion 30 days after the decision and after the appeal period had expired, in late September.

A Rhode Island Superior Court judge, on November 18, ordered immediate removal of the structures. On December 2, the judge issued Mr. Koolen a $25,000 fine, which was recorded in land evidence records, and found Mr. Koolen in contempt of the original order. A December 13 court hearing was continued until January 10, 2012, and CRMC legal counsel submitted a brief arguing that the order to remove is not stayed by the bankruptcy proceedings Mr. Koolen started.

In early January, CRMC discovered the docks had broken free during a late December storm and were now strewn along the shore and in the water. At a January 10 hearing, the judge ruled that although the bankruptcy proceedings do not protect Mr. Koolen from environmental enforcement actions, the court would seek a concurrent ruling from the bankruptcy court, and the matter was continued until January 31. The Attorney General’s office has also taken an interest in the matter and is working with the CRMC on the bankruptcy issue, highlighting its importance to the state.

According to Mr. Massie, the CRMC only took action in September of last year, when Mr. Koolen tied three vessels to the docks. Obviously, from the timeline above, it’s clear his version of events is erroneous, and that CRMC has been doggedly pursuing this matter to the extent of our jurisdictional and legal abilities.

In addition, to mock the CRMC’s claim that the court’s ruling was a victory for the agency belittles the legal process and the ruling itself. Mr. Massie is missing the point: that the Rhode Island Superior Court has supported and vindicated the enforcement actions of the CRMC in an attempt to bring environmental violations like Mr. Koolen to justice. And the CRMC will continue to do whatever it can to see that Mr. Koolen’s docks are removed from the Kickemuit River as soon as possible.

Laura Dwyer

Wakefield

Ms. Dwyer is the public educator and information coordinator for the state Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).