Re: [CPEO-BIF] Rhode Island School Siting Legislation

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

I've said most of this before:

At some proposed school locations,  it's easy to avoid building above  
a plume by moving the construction project elsewhere. But in many  
urban areas, there are disadvantages to locating on greenfields away  
from the school population. If there is no desirable alternative to  
building a school, daycare center, or housing above a volatile plume,  
then it can be done safely by:

1) Fully delineating the plume before construction.
2) Initiating site remediation, which may take decades.
3) Designing vapor mitigation into building construction.
4) Long-term site management, including indoor air and other  
monitoring, operation and maintenance of mitigation systems,  
contingency plans, public notice, and a system of long-term  
accountability.

Lenny

On Mar 3, 2011, at 2:58 PM, Peter Strauss wrote:

> Steve:
>
> I have  a few general questions concerning the legislation  
> (introduced):
>
> (b)(1)  refers to a property or parcel "in close proximity  
> thereto".  Does RI law define "close proximity"?  What does that mean?
>
> (c) there seems to be no room allowed for using mitigation measures  
> such as a sub-slab depressurization system.  Am I correct in my  
> reading of the legislation?  Was that the intent of the drafters?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter Strauss
>
>
> On Mar 3, 2011, at 12:12 PM, Lenny Siegel wrote:
>
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Steve Fischbach <steve.fischbach@gmail.com>
> > >
> > > Here is a link to legislation recently introduced in Rhode Island  
> > > which bans the construction of schools on sites where there is a  
> > > potential for vapor intrusion to enter into a building; and  
> > > requiring a more through review and public process for school  
> > > projects proposed on sites formerly used for industrial or  
> > > landfill purposes.  This legislation was developed by a  
> > > stakeholder group established by a court order as part of the  
> > > lawsuit I brought many years ago challenging the siting of two  
> > > schools on the former Providence City Dump.
> > >
> > > http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/billtext11/housetext11/h5630.pdf
> > >
> > >
> > > Steven Fischbach
> > > Community Lawyer
> > > Rhode Island Legal Services
> > > 56 Pine Street--Suite 400
> > > Providence, RI  02903
> > >
> > > 401-274-2652 X-182
> > > 401-453-0310 (fax)
> > > steve.fischbach@gmail.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Brownfields mailing list
> > Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
> > http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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