RI Department of Environmental Management

DEM and RIRRC's Green Zone to Boost Businesses Recycling

DEM and Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation are launching a new free program for businesses wanting to increase recycling and reduce waste. Called the Green Zone, this cooperative effort between the two agencies aims to help businesses better understand local recycling laws and regulations, increase recyclables collected in the workplace, and reduce waste destined for burial in the Central Landfill. Rhode Island businesses generate approximately 60 percent of the waste buried in the Central Landfill, or 660,000 tons per year. (More info)

DEM Plans Five Quahaug Transplants, Seeks Shellfishermen to Participate

Beginning on Tuesday, April 29, DEM will conduct five quahaug transplants to transfer an estimated 600,000 pounds of adult quahaugs from high shellfish density areas in Narragansett Bay to shellfish management areas, and the Potowomut Spawner Sanctuary. (More info)

DEM Announces Annual Reclassification of Shellfish Waters and Seasonal Shellfish Closures

DEM has announced that seasonal shellfish closures will take effect at sunrise Saturday, May 24. Consistent with US Food and Drug Agency requirements, DEM closes these areas to the harvesting of shellfish every year at this time due to potential water quality impacts associated with marinas and mooring fields. The seasonal closures will end at sunrise on Tuesday, October 14. (More info)

DEM, Health Gear Up for Mosquito Season; Personal Protection and Larviciding Key

As mosquito season approaches, and with West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) so firmly established throughout the state, DEM and the Department of Health remind Rhode Islanders that personal protection is the first line of defense against mosquito-borne diseases. (More info)

State 2008 Air Quality Alert Program Enters Busy Season

More stringent new federal ozone standards are expected to increase the number of Air Quality Alert days the DEM issues under a joint air quality program it manages with the RI Public Transit Authority, RI Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health. The year-round program provides free transportation on all regular RIPTA bus and trolley routes on days when air quality is expected to reach unhealthy levels due to elevated levels of ozone or fine particle pollutants in the air. The new ozone standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency could also result in Air Quality Alert days being designated earlier and later in the year than in previous years. (More info)