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Changes in wastewater billing are overdue in RI | Opinion

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Changes in wastewater billing are overdue in RI | Opinion


Richard Burroughs teaches in the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. He has served as a member of the board of Save The Bay and as a commissioner for the Narragansett Bay Commission. 

The Providence Journal very correctly points out how the health of Narragansett Bay relates to the well-being of the residents around it through its March articles on the quahog.  And Rhode Islanders can best benefit from changing the Bay, if they can pay for it. By federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, not all can.

Cleanup requires systems of pipes and tunnels to collect wastewaters and then elaborate machinery to clean and disinfect it prior to discharge to the Bay.  A mandated 50% of nitrogen is removed along the way.  As the Providence Journal articles explain, if too much nitrogen has been taken out, then there is an associated question of food for the quahogs. Using food-supply logic, less fertilizer and fewer phytoplankton results in a diminishing supply of quahogs — and the livelihoods related to them. 

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More: What’s a quahog? A quick guide to Rhode Island’s iconic clam.

Cleanup costs also include construction of tunnels, electricity for pumps, maintenance of tanks, additives to assist the process, as well as other expenses. 

More importantly, the high costs of wastewater treatment are borne by all households and businesses. Since the fees for the Narragansett Bay Commission customers are for connection and water used, residences with varied incomes will see very different annual bills when measured as a percentage of household income.  Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls have areas where the bill reaches as high as 7% of median household income.  Other, wealthier, areas in Providence are at 1% or less of household income.  

The Environmental Protection Agency has seen this as a weakness for many, many years and has developed and revised national guidance, most recently last month. The EPA indicates bills that are 2% or more of household income are high. 

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Unfair billing is a serious weakness, but it is not without solutions. The EPA suggests, and many communities in other areas have adopted, customer assistance programs. Among them are lifeline rates, where basic water needs are covered and any excess usage is billed at the standard rate.  When this approach was applied in Philadelphia, collections increased as more households could readily pay. These kinds of billing changes are overdue in Rhode Island.

If implemented, costs for continued improvements to Narragansett Bay would not disproportionately fall on those with less ability to pay. 

The message about billing is clear. For some, the bills are too high according to EPA guidance. Important future steps to improve the Bay need to be considered not only in terms of water quality but also in terms of billing impacts on people. Now is the time to move forward and set wastewater bills on an equitable level.



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Rhode Island

Bellingham cop arrested in Rhode Island, charged with drunken crash while armed

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Bellingham cop arrested in Rhode Island, charged with drunken crash while armed


A Bellingham Police sergeant is on paid leave and under internal investigation after being arrested for allegedly getting drunk while strapped with a gun — and crashing into a parked car.

Sgt. Kevin Heenan was arrested Thursday morning by police in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on charges of operating under the influence and carrying a firearm while intoxicated after police there say he crashed into a parked, unoccupied vehicle.

“A comprehensive internal affairs investigation is underway, and the actions we are investigating will have consequences,” a Bellingham Police Department spokesperson wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We remain fully committed to upholding the public’s trust and applying the law equally, without favor and without exception.”

The department placed Heenan on paid administrative leave pending arraignment on the charges, according to a memo issued by Chief of Police Kenneth Fitzgerald. Being on leave strips him of police powers and access to police property, systems or equipment. The department will reassess his status following that arraignment.

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The internal review, Fitzgerald wrote, will be independent of the criminal process in Rhode Island.

“These allegations are deeply concerning and do not reflect the standards or values of this department,” Fitzgerald wrote. “The Bellingham Police Department is committed to transparency, integrity, and professionalism, and takes all allegations of criminal conduct — on or off duty — very seriously. We are fully cooperating with the Woonsocket Police Department and Rhode Island Judicial authorities as this matter progresses.”

Fitzgerald said the department will not make further comments as the investigation is underway. Heenan was promoted to sergeant on April 1 of last year, according to a department Facebook post from that day.



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Rhode Island

M. Night Shyamalan moves filming of ‘Remain’ to downtown Newport. Here’s where.

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M. Night Shyamalan moves filming of ‘Remain’ to downtown Newport. Here’s where.


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  • M. Night Shyamalan filmed scenes for his new movie “Remain” in Newport, Rhode Island, on June 25.
  • Filming took place in Washington Square and Eisenhower Park, involving numerous extras and music.
  • Newport is one of several East Bay communities hosting the film production, which is expected to continue through August.
  • Filming has also occurred in Warren, Little Compton, Bristol, and the Prudence Island Ferry.

NEWPORT – Less than 24 hours after the hottest June day ever in Rhode Island, M. Night Shyamalan and film crews took over Washington Square and Eisenhower Park for a day of filming for “Remain” on Wednesday, June 25.

In the early afternoon, action centered on dozens of extras for a crowd scene that included at least simulated live music.

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At times, vehicular traffic around the square was halted and pedestrians were asked to either wait a moment or find an alternate route.

Newport is at least the fourth East Bay community to host filming, joining Warren, Little Compton and Bristol, the latter at least serving as the launching point for a Prudence Island Ferry cruise that included filming on Narragansett Bay and an Instagram post by Shyamalan celebrating the first day of shooting. Filming is expected to last into August at locations around the state, as well as on a soundstage set up in the Cranston Street Armory, in Providence.

Temperatures on June 25 in Newport rose into the low 90s, sweltering enough, but not as oppressive as June 24, when the high flirted with triple digits.





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Rhode Island

Providence temperature reached record 100 Tuesday; expect 95 Wednesday

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Providence temperature reached record 100 Tuesday; expect 95 Wednesday



The heat wave started Sunday and peaked Tuesday, according to the weather service.

  • The heat is expected to continue Wednesday with a high of 95 and a heat index of 100.
  • A cold front is forecast to arrive Wednesday afternoon, bringing thunderstorms and breaking the heat wave on Thursday.
  • An air quality alert has been issued for Washington and Newport counties.

PROVIDENCE – After the Providence area hit a record 100 degrees on Tuesday, June 24, the excessive heat will stick around another day, with a high of 95 degrees expected on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service has issued a heat advisory, saying humidity will drive heat index values of up to 100.

“Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses,” the weather service said. “Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.”

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The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is warning that air quality will reach unhealthy levels of ozone at ground level in Washington and Newport counties. The advisory is for this afternoon into the evening.

When will the heat break?

The heat wave should break after today. A cold front will move down from the north, possibly bringing widely scattered thunderstorms this afternoon, the weather service says in its forecast discussion. Thursday’s high should reach just 73 degrees.

The heat wave started Sunday, when the temperature reached 94 degrees. It hit 91 Monday and 100 Tuesday. The weather service defines a heat wave as three or more consecutive days with the temperature reaching or exceeding 90 degrees.

Tuesday’s temperature was the hottest June day on record for the Providence area. It was 4 degrees lower than the all-time record high of 104.

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The record high for today’s date is 98 degrees, set in 1943.



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