Planning Board Votes Down Burrillville Artificial Turf Field at High School
May 5, 2025
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BURRILLVILLE, R.I. — The Planning Board recently voted against a sports complex project, thwarting plans to install an artificial turf field at the high school.
Members expressed concern over the artificial turf, which opponents have argued would leach toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment, and voted the plan down, according to Burrillville Planning director Raymond Goff.
The town solicitor, William Dimitri, town manager Michael Wood, and Town Council President Donald Fox all declined to comment on the vote or what steps they will be taking with the field going forward.
At the moment, the complex behind Burrillville High School has bleachers and goal posts, but the playing area remains a field of gravel — construction crews have already torn up grass that was originally there.
Adam Schatz, a Burrillville resident and former Conservation Commission member who had spoken out against the artificial turf, said he felt “in some sense relieved that it was properly handled by the Planning Board, but the unfortunate fact is that we have a field that’s been ripped out and no plan moving forward.
“If proper planning had been followed from the outset, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
The April 28 Planning Board vote came after Associate Justice Melissa E. Darigan denied a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the installation in Providence Superior Court.
Local conservationist Roberta Lacey filed the lawsuit last fall, asking for the injunction, leading to a temporary restraining order and stalling the project and installation of the artificial turf.
Lacey argued in her complaint that the field would contaminate groundwater with PFAS, a class of chemicals that have been linked to several health problems.
Several experts testified on whether the field would constitute a serious contamination risk to the community, and although witnesses said that PFAS leaching was possible, their conclusions varied on the impacts, with most concluding the level of PFAS contamination would be minimal.
Darigan’s decision noted that while the understanding and regulations of PFAS are evolving, the field complied with current Environmental Protection Agency standards.
“Based upon all the evidence … this Court cannot find that harm to Ms. Lacey is imminent or presently threatened,” Darigan wrote.
Although the decision denied the injunction, it noted the town violated its own ordinances when it didn’t bring plans for the turf field before its Planning Board for approval before moving forward with the project.
Lacey’s lawyers argued the field constituted a development, and Goff admitted on the stand that it should have been reviewed by the board but wasn’t.
Dimitri told ecoRI News, before the town submitted the most recent version of the sports complex plan, that “there were certainly portions of it that would have needed to come here anyway … so the decision was made to put it all out there.”
It’s unclear whether the town will appeal the Planning Board’s decision or use a different material for the field.
The town has experienced serious water contamination in the past, both from PFAS and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive.
The MTBE contamination resulted in a class-action lawsuit and the high levels of PFAS found in an Oakland village water source took the well offline.
In an Executive session the Town Council chose not to listen to the concerns of citizens and voted to appeal the decisions of its own appointed planning board? I think It’s time for the Town to get new leadership.
Yes, Patti! Go for it! (I’m not a Burriville resident, but I have friends who live there who were very concerned.) Why keep wasting the town’s money and time? Is the council’s insistence they HAVE TO HAVE this worth more than the field being done so the kids can play and the residents’ voices being heard?
Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Time to invent a turf system that is non-PFAS containing. Problem solved.
PFAS is just one of the problems with plastic turf; shedding of microplastic particulates is the other. When are we going to start taking plastic contamination seriously? Studies show plastics accumulating in our brains and in plants, disrupting photosynthesis. Narragansett bay alone is estimated to contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics. Kids playing on these fields need to be protected from more exposure to plastic pollution. I hope this town can get it together and spend their money on an organically maintained field.
The planning board voted down the entire project so your grass preference isn’t an option either. If you had any brains at all you would understand that. But you are all about hysterical lies and hypocrisy as most of you drive around in your GAS GUZZLING TRUCKS poisoning MY AIR and MY LUNGS. Also, MOST of the townspeople DO want the turf. You’re just the loudest group with your hysterics and constant name calling immature behavior. You are making this town look like a bunch of dumb hicks. None of you have EVER played on a field. You and your lies of the turf needing to be watered and kids feet being burned is just demonstrating how you lack brain cells.
This is the problem!
SYNTHETIC TURF DOES NOT USE PFAS!
You are making decisions based on fake news. It is insane really. Look around, https://playingforkeeps.info/pfas/ There are many artificial grass suppliers that have switched over from the non-toxic form of PFAS, to using NO PFAS. This happened 2-3 years ago. You are banning things for no reason. TenCate grass does not use any PFAS…. the manufacturing facility is ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL. They have ISO certification for 14001, 45001 and 9001. They can recycle fields. They have spent millions and millions of dollars to get all of these. They have solutions that use no infill product at all, they are completely environmentally ethical. And still, you people do no research and disallow the turf.
Synthetic turf uses NO PFAS.
Synthetic turf is recyclable.
Synthetic turf can be made completely without microplastic shedding rubber infills.
Synthetic turf can be made to be cooler and not hot.
It is unbelievable that the town would not solicit manufacturers from speaking to them first. Go visit manufacturing facilities! GO ACTUALLY DO YOUR OWN TESTING!! You will see NOOOOOO PFAS on new turf installations.
I really wish I kept the article. It was maybe a month ago I read “something” of an article. It was about a “Bio Science” grant or funding for a local small company. Anyway, they were out of Newport I think. And the funding was for something along the lines of “accelerated growth” for like seaweed or something.
I apologize that wasn’t really helpful but maybe somebody knows somebody being RI and all !!