The U.S. Senate has approved legislation – the Fiscal Year 2002 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill — that includes $2.47 million for four Rhode Island projects.
The bill includes $2.11 million to fund the dredging of Providence River and Harbor; $160,000 for engineering and design work for habitat restoration projects in southern Rhode Island; $150,000 to study the Quonset Point navigation channel; and $50,000 to continue an ecosystem restoration study.
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“Providence Harbor represents one of Rhode Island’s most important economic lifelines to an increasingly globalized world economy,” said U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-Rhode Island). “Last year, we succeeded in winning almost $600,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an environmental impact statement, the preliminary results of which are due out next month. I’m confident that by adhering to the study’s findings, we can dredge Providence Harbor in an environmentally sound fashion, thereby ensuring Rhode Island’s future economic prosperity.”
“Narragansett Bay is the crown jewel of Rhode Island’s natural environment and the lifeblood of our economy,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island). “If we want to continue to protect the bay, we must maintain the Providence River Channel and Harbor in a way that balances economic interests with environmental protection. With the report from the Army Corps of Engineers due out next month we will be one step closer to making that happen.”
The Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill is one of 13 spending bills approved by Congress each year. It includes funds for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE) and a number of independent agencies.
On April 30, 2001, Chafee and Reed wrote to the Chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee to request the inclusion of funding for four Rhode Island projects:
Providence River and Harbor ($2,110,000) — Chafee and Reed requested
$2.11 million to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to perform maintenance dredging
of the Providence River and Harbor federal navigation channel, including waters
extending from the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier to the Francis Street Bridge. The
proposed dredging project involves the removal of approximately four million cubic
yards of material.
The Corps of Engineers is expected to release a draft of the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for which the Senate provided $584,000 in fundraising last year, in August. Barring unforeseen delays, dredging is slated to begin in autumn, 2002.
Rhode Island South Shore Habitat Restoration ($160,000) — Breachways were
established on the Ninigret, Quonochontaug and Winnapaug Ponds in the early 1900s
and stabilized in the 1950s. These permanently open inlets in the associated tidal
channels have changed the geology, chemistry and biology of the ponds by increasing
the rate at which sand accumulates on the flood-tidal delta.
These sedimentation basins, designed to trap sand as it surges through the three breachways, have not been adequately maintained since their construction. Tidal sand deltas have formed inside the breachways and the shifting sand has killed aquatic vegetation that once sustained fertile fish and shellfish breeding areas.
The South Shore Habitat Restoration Project seeks to selectively restore these once productive habitats in the breachway tidal deltas of Ninigret, Quonochontaug and Winnapaug Ponds, as well as the fish passage in the salt pond tributaries leading to Cross Mills and Factory Ponds. This goal will be accomplished through a combination of choices that include planting, seeding and sand removal.
A feasibility study has already been completed. Senators Chafee and Reed requested $160,000 to fund preconstruction engineering and design work.
Quonset Davisville Port ($150,000) — A reconnaissance study is
under way to determine the federal interest in maintaining the Quonset Point navigation
channel in Narragansett Bay. Senators Chafee and Reed requested $150,000 to conduct
a feasibility study to determine the methods for keeping the channel open.
Rhode Island Ecosystem Restoration ($50,000) — The biologically
diverse ecosystems created by the many salt mashes and wetlands in Rhode Island
have historically provided exceptionally productive fish and wildlife habitat.
Salt marshes and wetlands provide significant economic and environmental benefits
for the region by providing flood storage, wildlife habitat and filtering pollutants.
In addition, these ecosystems are critical to tourism as well as the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Over the past century, many of these natural salt marshes, eel grass beds and wetlands have been lost or degraded by development activities in the coastal and riverine floodplains and from the disposal of dredged material. Historic anadromous(saltwater to fresh water travelers) fish populations have also been impacted by the loss of habitat areas combined with the construction of dams.
Two years ago, at the request of the late U.S. Sen. John Chafee, Congress funded three separate reconnaissance studies investigating the opportunities to: restore degraded salt marshes and freshwater wetlands, restore anadromous fisheries and improve overall fish and wildlife habitats. Each of these studies focuses on a specific region: the coastal region, the Pawcatuck River and the Pawtuxet River watersheds, the Mohassuck River, Ten Mile River and the Woonasquatucket River watersheds.
The reconnaissance studies have been completed. This year, Senators Chafee and Reed requested $50,000 to complete a feasibility study that will identify environmental restoration alternatives.
