Murky
Future for R.I. Environmental Bills
Rep. Walsh at the State Capitol where she is pushing "product stewardship" legislation to deal with hard-to-dispose-of products (photo courtesy of Clean Water Action) |
By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff
During
the April 24 Earth Day ceremony, Rep. Donna Walsh, D-Charlestown/New Shoreham,
said she expects two producer-responsibility bills — one for paint cans (H7233) and the other for packaging (H7027A) — to at least make it out of
committee.
Producer
responsibility, aka product stewardship, assigns some measure of product
disposal to the manufacturer. In addition to paint and packaging, producer
responsibility bills this year address medical sharps, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries and mattresses. An additional bill authorizes
the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to consider future items
for product stewardship.
The
fate of all of these bills is less than certain.
Walsh
is optimistic, saying Rhode Island
is “on the forefront of product stewardship,” but new bills face much stiffer
resistance from lobbyists than a decade ago.
“I
think manufacturers and producers are saying, ‘Product stewardship is here to
stay and we better get on the bandwagon,’” she said at the Statehouse press
conference.
Sen.
Susan Sosnowski, D-New Shoreham/South Kingstown, sounded much more hesitant
about the future of the state's environmental bills this year. “We also have to
remember it’s a balancing act,” said the chair of the Senate Committee on the
Environment and Agriculture. A difficult economy, Sosnowski said, is one
impediment. She also warned to “be careful” of legislators overreaching for fear
of getting voted out of office. It’s important, she said, “to protect those who
protect our environment.”
During
a Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) board meeting that same
day, Sarah Kite, director of recycling services for RIRRC, said she suspected
the paint and paper packaging bills have been slowed by industry lobbyists and
local manufacturers. “I don’t believe that will go this year,” she said of the
packaging bill.
Abel
Collins, head of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Sierra Club and one of the
legislative monitors for the Environment Council of Rhode Island (ECRI), said
there is ample time for bills to pass, even those opposed by ECRI. Three bills
in particular are on ECRI's watch list: H7276 that would rescind the ban on
municipal waste incinerators; H7866 that would ease development restrictions on
sensitive lands; and S2491 that would allow lawsuits for injuries sustained on
conserved land.
That
last one, Collins said, "would force the state and municipalities to shut
(parks and open space) down."
Collins
also noted that major issues such as public transportation and climate change
can't be ignored. Despite political gridlock in Washington ,
D.C, he urged progress in Rhode
Island . "Really, this is the place where hope
still lives," he said.
One
piece of legislation expected to move through the General Assembly is the
section of Chafee’s budget seeking bond referendums to fund $45 million for
wastewater infrastructure improvements and open space protection. In two brief
visits during to the Earth Day conferences, Chafee urged support for the
referendums. “The people want to pass these bond issues,” he said.