NOAA ALLOCATES $1.5M GRANT TO REMOVE BARGE FROM PROVIDENCE RIVER PROVIDENCE —
The sunken barge polluting the Providence River since 2017 will soon be gone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to remove the 114-foot, crane-topped barge from the river, where it sank during a nor’easter in October 2017. US Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo helped secure the funding, according to a joint press release issued Thursday. DEM and the Providence harbormaster had been negotiating with the crane’s owner, Mark J. Ginalski of East Providence, to remove the crane and barge it sits on since 2018. In a July 2018 letter to Ginalski, DEM threatened to impose a $25,000 daily fine. Ginalski died in September 2020. David Chopy, DEM’s chief of compliance and inspection, and harbormaster Sgt. Kenneth Vinacco had repeatedly sent warning letters to Ginalski since the vessel sank. “The barge is an obstacle to the proper use of the waters for commercial and recreational purposes by the city and its residents,” Vinacco wrote in one letter. The barge, identified as MG Marine Barge, sits in about 15 feet of water next to Conley Wharf, with the crane jutting from the water at a 45-degree angle.
R.I. BEACH CLOSURES DIP SHARPLY IN 2024 PROVIDENCE —
Rhode Island beaches were much healthier this summer, at least when compared to last year’s data. The number of beach closure days imposed by state health officials sharply declined this year. According to data from the Rhode Island Department of Health, beaches around the state were closed 71 times between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the traditional summer season. Last year, closures reached an all-time high, with DOH officials closing beaches 284 times, the highest number since 2006. DOH orders a beach closed when it tests positive for elevated levels of enterococci, a kind of gut bacteria that is used by federal and state health officials as an indicator for fecal waste contamination in bodies of water. Any beach with water testing higher than the standard of 60 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters is automatically closed by DOH until the tests produce a passing result again. Overall, the bacteria represents a small health risk for swimmers and bathers. Swimming in contaminated water can cause gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that can cause symptoms such as vomiting, headaches, and fever. It can also result in ear, eye, and throat infections and more serious cases of salmonella.
RI, MASS. OFFICIALS CHOOSE SOUTHCOAST WIND FOR NEW OFFSHORE PROJECT
In the first cooperative agreement of its kind, RI and Massachusetts officials announced they will procure 2,878 megawatts of offshore wind energy from three projects by three developers. The procurement was a result of coordinated requests for proposals (RFPs) issued last fall by RI, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. RI selected 200 megawatts (MW) from the SouthCoast Wind project by developer Ocean Winds, a 50-50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE. Construction on the project is expected to start in 2025 and deliver power by 2030. Massachusetts selected 2,678 MW of power from three projects. They will include 1,087 MW from SouthCoast Wind, 791 MW from New England Wind 1 (formerly called Park City Wind), built by the developer Avangrid, and 800 MW from Vineyard Wind 2, built by the developer Vineyard Offshore. For comparison, the 65 turbines of Revolution Wind, now under construction off RI’s coast, will produce 704 MW to be shared by RI and Connecticut, enough to power 350,000 homes. Through the new procurement, offshore wind will power more than 125,000 Rhode Island homes and 1.4 million Massachusetts homes, according to state officials. •
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