EcoRI News Roundup

Conservation Law Foundation to Sue Providence Scrap Metal Facility

PROVIDENCE — The Conservation Law Foundation said it plans to sue Sims Metal, which has locations in Providence and Johnston, for Clean Water Act violations at eight scrap metal facilities on the East Coast. The company’s stormwater runoff regularly pollutes nearby rivers and other waterways with toxic metals such as lead, copper, and zinc, according to CLF. “The heavy metal pollution from these Sims Metal facilities poisons our rivers and nearby communities. It is illegal and it is harmful,” said Chelsea Kendall, staff attorney at CLF. The Sims Metal facilities identified in CLF’s lawsuit as releasing polluted stormwater, in addition to those in Rhode Island, are in New Haven and North Haven, CT; Long Island City, NY; and Baltimore and Rockville, MD. “Most of these facilities are located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color where residents are already burdened by pollution,” according to CLF. In RI, one of the Sims facilities is on Allens Avenue, in PVD’s Washington Park and South Providence neighborhoods. For residents there, the sights, sounds, and toxic smells of the industrial businesses on the avenue have plagued their lives for decades. “Every time it rains, toxic metals from the piles of uncovered broken and rusted metal at these sites flow into waterways and their tributaries,” according to CLF, including the Providence River, the West and the Quinnipiac rivers in Connecticut, the East River in New York, and the Back and Potomac rivers in Maryland.

State Offering Home Energy Rebates

PROVIDENCE — The US Department of Energy considers a household energy-cost burdened if it spends 6% or more of its income on energy needs. But in Rhode Island, some of the lowest income earners are spending about 18% of their income on energy. The state has launched a federal Home Energy Rebate program to help low- and middle-income residents pay for energy-efficient home improvements that will lower their energy bills and help reduce carbon emissions. The Ocean State received $32 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to start the program initially and will receive more funding to expand the rebates to higher income residents in 2025. Residents making 80% or less of the state median income can qualify for updated electric panels and wiring and some new energy-efficient appliances, including electric stove tops, ranges, ovens, and heat pump clothes dryers. The program offers rebates of up to $4,000 for an electrical panel; $2,500 for electrical wiring; and $840 for an electric stove, cooktop, range, oven, and/or heat pump clothes dryer. To take advantage of these programs, the first step is to reach out to the state Office of Energy Resources at 401-714-3484. Climate Funding Drops for State Projects PROVIDENCE — State agencies are getting less money for their climate projects this year. That’s the takeaway from the latest $1.6 million spending plan from the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4), the team of state agencies that is in charge of climate policy. The budget cut is a steep decline from last year, when state policymakers included $3 million for the council to distribute among its member agencies. “That was something the General Assembly had provided as seed money for the EC4,” said Terry Gray, council chair and director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management at the EC4’s quarterly meeting. “This year the budget is half that amount.” Under the plan approved by EC4 members, $1.66 million will be spread across 15 different programs proposed by state agencies and the University of Rhode Island. The council was originally budgeted $1.5 million under state law, taken from state proceeds received as part of its membership in the multistate compact, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Another $160,000 was rolled over from the previous fiscal year. Gray said the EC4 received a total of 19 complete proposals from its member agencies, totaling more than $2.3 million, far more than the council is allowed to spend.

Fewer Communities Reach RI’s Affordable Housing Minimum Requirements

PROVIDENCE — There are fewer municipalities this year in RI that achieved the 10% percent affordable housing minimum set by the state, compared to last year. According to HousingWorks RI’s latest report, only four communities reached the 10% threshold of low-and moderate-income housing (LMIH) mandated by RI law, compared to five communities in 2023. Low- and moderate-income housing, according to state law, is based on the median income of a community and adjusted for household size. Newport, Woonsocket, Providence, and Central Falls all maintained at least 10% LMHI in 2023, but Exeter saw its percentage drop from more than 10% to just over 7%. Exeter was among 12 towns or cities in the state that saw a decrease over the last year, although all the other communities decreased by less than a percentage point. • For more details on these stories, and to get more of the latest environmental news, visit www.ecoRI.org. Subscribe to ecoRI News’ free weekly e-newsletter at www.ecoRI.org/subscribe.