One proposal would set Rhode Island on course to reduce its global warming emissions 80 percent by 2050. Another would require utility companies in the state to make a long-term commitment to purchasing renewable energy. A third would require older diesel trucks that haul garbage for the state to be fitted with pollution-reducing filters.
Those ideas are among dozens of proposed bills being drafted by local environmental groups that lawmakers in the R.I. General Assembly may consider this year. The legislative wish list includes virtually every aspect of environmental concern in Rhode Island, from increasing public transportation to preserving open space to protecting the state’s water supply.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change is perhaps the most urgent environmental matter facing the state, said Denise Parrillo, campaign organizer for Clean Water Action and a spokeswoman for Environment Council of Rhode Island (ECRI), a coalition of more than 60 environmental organizations in the state, including Save The Bay, Environment Rhode Island, Conservation Law Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and the Rhode Island chapter of the National Audubon Society.
To that end, ECRI is working to draft language for a bill that would create a program to reduce global warming emissions in Rhode Island 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.
The environmental coalition began work to build support for the legislation in November, when it held a rally at Roger Williams Park Zoo to announce the kickoff of its “GO BIG little rhody” campaign. Several other proposed bills that environmentalists hope to put before lawmakers this year would contribute to the battle against global warming in various ways as well, Parrillo said.
“We really want to take the next step in reducing our global warming pollution in Rhode Island,” said Agatha Wein, a global warming associate with Environment Rhode Island. “We really think that it’s important for the state to commit to reducing global warming pollution at the level that scientists say is really necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.”
As with any special interest group lobbying at the State House, the environmentalists are seeking support from state lawmakers grappling with Rhode Island’s increasing budget woes. Whenever possible, the environmental groups are trying to craft legislation that protects the environment without costing the state money, Parrillo said.
For example, a proposal that would require all diesel vehicles that work for the state to meet stringent emissions requirements puts the onus on the owners of older diesel trucks to retrofit their trucks with muffler-like filtration systems that remove toxic particulates, Parrillo said.
But several items on the environmentalist coalition’s legislative wish list come with price tags attached, such as its push for passage of new bonds to preserve open space and clean up sewage treatment plants.
Despite the state’s dire financial situation, many lawmakers have become more willing to consider environmental legislation in recent years, Parrillo said. She attributed the change to a growing acceptance of global warming and awareness of other environmental problems.
“I don’t know that we could pass a bill that calls for 80-percent reduction of global warming pollution even a couple of years ago – even last year. So that momentum has definitely helped our work,” she said. “But on the other hand, with the budget, we’re definitely having to be creative about getting the legislation we need to protect the environment.”
The environmental groups also have outlined a set of policy decisions they support that don’t involve new legislation, including maintaining or increasing funding and staffing at the R.I. Department of Environmental Management and the Statewide Planning Program.
The ECRI is also pushing for environmentalists to be included on such boards and commissions as R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation, which operates the state Central Landfill in Johnston; the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC); the R.I. Public Transit Authority; The Narragansett Bay Commission; the Renewable Energy Development Fund; the Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council; and the R.I. Water Resources Board.
Legislative and policy proposals the ECRI plans to pursue this year:
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· Coordinate agencies that manage water supply and create incentives and regulations to reduce water use across the state.
· Place an $85 million bond issue on the 2008 ballot, with the money to be used for maintaining and upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities and to help homeowners replace failing septic systems or tie-in to local sewer lines.
· Require National Grid to procure at least 5 percent of its electric power load through long-term contracts for renewable energy.
· Fund the state’s Comprehensive Energy Act, which would dedicate $15 million for an energy-efficiency program for oil-heated buildings, and provide energy assistance for low-income Rhode Islanders.
· Require manufacturers to pay for collecting and recycling discarded electronic equipment that contains lead, mercury and other toxins.
· Require retrofits on older diesel state vehicles and on garbage trucks.
· Increase RIPTA funding by $3.5 million to meet demand for public transit.
· Issue at least $15 million in new bond funding for open-space programs to preserve working farms, create or expand state parks, and protect natural areas from development.
· Raise fines for the most serious toxic waste violations from $1,000 per day to $50,000 per day.
The Environment Council of Rhode Island, founded in 1972, is a coalition of more than 60 local policy groups. The ECRI also serves as the Ocean State affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. Additional information – including application forms for the John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Awards – is available at www.environmentcouncilri.org.
