Slow going for environmental bills

Contentious Environmental Bills Stall at Statehouse 

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

PROVIDENCE — Only one of a handful of environmental bills made it out of a March 21 hearing of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Agriculture. Two bills aimed at easing building restrictions for developers were the most strongly opposed by environmental advocates.

A bill (pdf) intending to set limits on minimum lot sizes for development raised concerns from environmental groups over the potential for pollution and groundwater contamination. The bill also would benefit home builders by allowing certain sloped areas to be included when calculating buildable lot sizes.

"It's frightening," said Mimi Karlsson of the Hopkinton Affordable Housing Partnership. "We're under assault by builders. We don't have jobs, we don't have people to buy houses. Why are we under pressure to do this?" 

There was no testimony given in support of the bill.

A second bill (pdf) favoring developers would set new standards for buffers, known as setbacks, between sewers and wetlands and construction projects. The Audobon Society of Rhode Island and Clean Water Action opposed the legislation due to concerns that the standards might circumvent local setback standards, which at times are stricter than state standards.

The state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) also seemed to concerned that the bill takes setback standards for environmentally sensitive areas out of the hands of cities and towns. 

Scott Rabideau of the Rhode Island Builders Association testified in favor of the bill, noting that "often these (existing) setbacks are not founded on technical merit."

The committee voted both bills to be held until a later hearing.

CRMC to DEM. A bill (pdf) switching control of agricultural wetlands from the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to the DEM was held pending the addition of a provision to the bill.

Portsmouth landfill. Two Portsmouth residents took the DEM to task for oversite of a project to develop a soil cover for the old landfill in the Island Park neighborhood. Proponents of the legislation (pdf) say the fill contains questionable levels of naturally occurring arsenic, and that mounds of the fill creates dust that "goes around the entire community," said Tom Casselman. "Is it safe? We've been trying for a year now to get that answer."

The bill would require the DEM to test all old landfills and brownfield sites in Rhode Island for arsenic and heavy metals prior to construction on the sites. Opponents noted that the project is complying with the same rules already being followed in the state and across the country.

The bill was held for further study.

School construction. A bill (pdf) to set regulations for schools built on hazardous waste sites was postponed until meetings between the DEM and the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island could be held. The leaching of noxious fumes, called vapor intrusion, is a concern for proposed construction on toxic sites at Alvarez High School and three others in the state.

"These sites are too hazardous and there's too little known about vapor intrusion to build on these sites," said Amelia Rose of the Environmental Justice League.

Abandoned boats left at a mooring or dock or run aground would be under control of a state agency for removal and disposal in a proposed amendment (pdf) to the boat obstruction law. Federal funding for the current program overseen by Clean The Bay runs out in 2013. The bill was held for further study pending further deliberations with DEM.

A Marina Users Bill of Rights (pdf) giving consumer protection rights to boat owners was ordered held for further study

4x4s on state land. Creating dedicated open space on DEM-owned land for 4x4s was met with opposition. Catherine Sparks, director of the DEM's Department of Forestry Management, said her department has serious concerns about using such property for off-road vehicles, prompting the committee to hold the bill (pdf) for further study. A similar bill is under consideration by the House Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources.

Arsenic and landscape. The Senate committee passed a bill (pdf) removing DEM from a seat on the state board of landscape architects. It also eliminates the requirement for a redundant permit for the purchase of metal plating chemicals by metals manufactures. DEM asked out of the board as it no longer has a staff landscape architect. The metal plating permit is seen as added red tape with a fee that is already required for a state permit that is needed to buy toxic chemicals such as arsenic. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill March 28.