MORE THAN $4 MILLION in grants has been allocated to environmentally friendly projects in Rhode Island from funds received in a settlement with Volkswagen over the sale and leasing of diesel vehicles with illegal and hidden emissions-control defeat device software. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/KRISZTIAN BOCSI
PROVIDENCE – R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced Wednesday $4.1 million in grants for environmentally friendly projects, funded with money awarded in a settlement with Volkswagen related to the company’s sale and leasing of diesel-fuel vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed emissions-control defeat device software in Rhode Island.
The grants were awarded to 16 local initiatives, with allocated amounts varying from $10,000 to $850,000.
“A silver lining of Volkswagen’s malfeasance is being turned into a benefit for Rhode Island,” stated Kilmartin. “It is through this settlement that we can have a real impact on the health and well-being of our citizens and support environmentally beneficial projects right here in Rhode Island. We chose grants based on the ability to most improve the quality of life for Rhode Island citizens, to further reduce harmful emissions from our environment, improve the health of our waterways, offset climate change hazards and create environmentally sound educational opportunities for students. I am especially excited about the Sabin Point Beach project, which will aid remediation efforts to finally reopen the Upper Bay beach to swimming after having been closed for decades and provide recreational opportunities for thousands who might not otherwise have access.”
The initiatives are as follows:
- City of East Providence Stormwater System Remediation Project to Re-Open Sabin Point Beach to Swimming ($850,000) – To support the East Providence effort to reopen Sabin Point Beach to swimming
- URI Environmental Mapping and Data Development Projects ($835,000) – For two projects, one to collect data and conduct analysis related to the conservation of salt marshes as sea level rises, and one to update aerial photography for mapping and planning statewide
- HousingWorks RI/Rhode Island Alliance for Healthy Housing ($500,000) – To support several projects: Through the Alliance, HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University will coordinate statewide efforts to promote healthy housing by working with regulatory agencies, public and nonprofit social service agencies, and businesses and academic institutions to expand a smartphone/tablet-based coordinated referral program; develop healthy homes training modules and materials for contractors, builders, code inspectors and home-visiting health professionals; and coordinate an outreach/educational campaign about the importance of healthy housing and resources that exist to help Rhode Islanders live in safe and healthy homes
- Green & Health Homes Initiative ($500,000) – To continue its housing intervention program to create safe, energy-efficient and stable housing for families in poverty
- R.I. Department of Transportation TRIP Mobility Challenge ($500,000) – To support a public-private partnership to test and research factors and new electric-vehicle technologies as they relate to the improvement of mobility for Rhode Islanders
- HEALTH Home Asthma Response Program ($300,000) – To provide HARP for up to 250 eligible children with severe asthma. The program helps families reduce children’s exposure to asthma triggers
- Salty Brine State Beach Solar Panel Installation Project ($200,000) – To fund a rooftop solar array to lower costs and energy consumption at the state beach
- HEALTH Lead Poisoning Prevention Program ($150,000) – To be used by the R.I. Department of Health to address childhood lead poisoning and asthma
- John (Jay) Cronan Fishing Access Project ($130,000) – To build a passage for migratory fish at the John (Jay) Cronan Fishing Access on the Pawcatuck River in Richmond
- URI Bird Laser Deterrent Research Project ($50,000) – To fund research and development on a prototype laser as a bird-deterrent system
- Farm Fresh Rhode Island ($25,000) – To support the Farm Fresh Harvest Kitchen project, a culinary training program for youth in the custody of the R.I. Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Rhode Island Schools Recycling Club Food Waste Reduction Program ($22,500) – To support a multiphased program with Rhode Island students designed to study and reduce food waste in Rhode Island schools
- Hospital Idle Project ($17,500) – To support technologies and practices that lower the amount of time engines idle on Rhode Island ambulances
- Farm Hazardous Waste Removal ($10,000) – To support the R.I. Department of Environmental Management’s efforts to help farmers self-identify and catalog their unusable pesticides, and work with a contractor to collect and dispose of them
- School Hazardous Waste Removal ($10,000) – To help Rhode Island schools conduct chemical audits to identify hazardous chemicals on premises and to hire local contractors to dispose of them
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