For Release: August 18, 1997

Contact: Terrence Gray 277- 3872

Stephanie Powell 277-2771 ext. 4418

PROVIDENCE - The RI Department of Environmental Management's Office of Waste Management and the US Environmental Protection Agency/New England are inviting Rhode Islanders to a public meeting to discuss DEM's waste management programs and provide guidance on addressing waste issues in the coming year. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 20, at DEM headquarters, 235 Promenade Street, Providence.

Some of the topics that will be discussed are the voluntary cleanup program, commonly known as Brownfields, requirements to upgrade underground storage tanks, and leveraging resources to improve waste management licensing and permitting.

"Although many of our waste management programs are state and federally mandated, some portions of our plans for the coming year are innovative," said Frederick Vincent, Acting Director of DEM. "Rhode Islanders have many good ideas on the best ways to manage waste and we want to hear from them.

"We cannot decrease our efforts in required areas, but it is important for us to know which of the additional programs are most important to Rhode Islanders. With their help we can focus our discretionary resources on those projects and seek further support in the areas they value," Vincent added.

"This collaborative process, a Performance Partnership Agreement, is a new and exciting method we are using to get input from all interested parties to help set priorities and allocate resources," said Robert Mendoza, EPA's Rhode Island director. "A similar public meeting we held jointly with DEM's Division of Water Resources several weeks ago drew about 150 people who had many creative ideas."

After presentation of an overview of the waste management program's status and proposed plans for the coming year, the major portion of the public meeting will be dedicated to breakout sessions on critical issues for 1998. Discussions in these breakout sessions may lead to the formation of steering committees to continue dialogue throughout the year.

Anyone planning to attend is asked to call Angela Shulman at 277-2797 ext. 7133.