Creating a Special Joint Legislative Commission to Study Sludge Management in Rhode Island

WHEREAS, "Sludge" is defined as any solid, semisolid or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effects; and

WHEREAS, Effective sludge management is essential to reduce the massive volumes of waste generated by wastewater treatment, mitigate severe environmental contamination (groundwater and soil), and eliminate pathogens in order to protect public health; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That a special joint legislative commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of twenty-one (21) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the House of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; three (3) of whom shall be members of the Senate, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be a member of the Rhode Island Clean Water Association (RICWA), to be appointed by the Chair of the Board of Directors for the RICWA; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC), or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island State Director of Clean Water Action, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Administration Division of Planning, or designee; one of whom shall be a representative of a treatment facility, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; two (2) of whom shall be representatives of Rhode Island communities that have incinerators, one of whom to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, and one of whom to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the North East Biosolids & Residuals Association (NEBRA), or designee; one of whom shall be a professor from the University of Rhode Island conversant in sludge processing, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Coastal Resource Management Council, or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Conservation Law Foundation, or designee; and one of whom shall be a representative of a private company involved in biosolids management, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House. In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator. The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and review of the current state of sludge management in Rhode Island. The commission will study the cost to ratepayers and environmental and climate impacts, and to also identify potential state-wide solutions and future opportunities, such as the use of pyrolysis and other technologies and processes for biosolid disposal, to make sludge management more sustainable in Rhode Island. Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and organize and shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, one of whom shall be a member of the House and one of whom shall be a member of the Senate. Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than April 1, 2027, and said commission shall expire on June 1, 2027. EXPLANATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF JOINTRESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY SLUDGE MANAGEMENT IN RHODE ISLAND *** This resolution would create a twenty-one (21) member special joint legislative commission whose purpose it would be to study and provide recommendations for effective sludge management, and who would report back to the General Assembly on or before April 1, 2027, and whose life would expire on June 1, 2027. ======== LC006351/SUB A ========