[CPEO-BIF] Fwd: Rhode Island's new school siting law

Begin forwarded message:

From: Steve Fischbach <steve.fischbach@gmail.com>
Date: June 11, 2012 12:51:29 PM PDT

Subject: Rhode Island's new school siting law

Greetings everyone:

Apologies for cross-postings and duplications: but I wanted to share the good news with a large audience, especially since good news in this field is hard to come by.

On June 6th, Governor Lincoln Chafee signed into law the school siting legislation we have been working on for at least 3 years. This new law is probably the strongest law in the nation when it comes to addressing the problem of the siting of schools on contaminated sites. Our new law (which you can download at: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText12/SenateText12/S2277Aaa.pdf ):

1. Bans the construction of schools (including expanding an existing building and leasing of buildings for school purposes) on "any portion of a parcel of property for which, upon occupancy, there exists an ongoing potential for hazardous materials and/or petroleum to migrate as vapors or gases into the building from the subsurface of the parcel of property, including any potential failure of engineered remedies to address said vapors or gases."

2. Bans the construction of schools (as explained above) on any portion of a parcel of property formerly used for industrial, manufacturing or landfill purposes that is contaminated by hazardous materials (other than an vapor intrusion site) unless the sponsor of the school project prepares a report for public comment that a.) outlines the projected cost of acquiring and cleaning up and monitoring the site in accordance with RI's Contaminated Site Regulations, b.) projects the time required to clean up the site and c.) discusses the rationale for selecting a contaminated property for use as school purposes and an explains any alternatives to selecting said property considered by the project sponsor. This report must be put out for public comment, the project sponsor must respond to public comments, and the sponsor must consider the findings of the report when making a final selection of a site.

There are so many people to thank for this historic development, including the lead sponsors of the legislation: Senator Juan Pichardo (who way back in the day spoke out against using the Providence City Dump as a site for the schools that were the subject of the lawsuit I filed back in 1999) and Representative Tom Slater (whose district includes the school built on a vapor intrusion site); Nicole Poepping, our state environmental agency's (DEM) legislative liaison and former board member of the EJ League of RI; and the members of the EJ Stakeholder Group set up by DEM as a result of that lawsuit I filed, who worked to draft the bill.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have about the new law.

And while I have your attention, you can read about our successful New England Environmental Justice Summit held this past Saturday in Worcester. http://www.golocalworcester.com/news/hundreds-meet-to-discuss-pollution-and-poverty/

Here's to more good news!

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

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