Jedele says Rhode Island needs ‘coordinated’ effort

We are  seeing more significant and more frequent rain events.
We are seeing more significant and more frequent rain events.

Tricia Jedele is the vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Rhode Island office. Before serving at CLF, Jedele was a special assistant attorney general and an environmental advocate for the state for more than 10 years and represented the Ocean State on several major environmental cases. At CLF, Jedele is currently working on Clean Air Act litigation involving the state landfill and Clean Water Act litigation involving stormwater pollution. She holds a B.A. in political science from Providence College and a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law.
PBN: What do you think are the most pressing environmental issues that need to be addressed locally?
JEDELE: I have lived here all my life. I grew up in West Warwick, which was devastated by the March 2010 floods. The floods were the result of only a few days worth of heavy rain after a spring thaw. But, we are seeing more significant and more frequent rain events. Just a few inches of rain can result in serious flooding, shut down transportation routes, pollute our waterways, paralyze our communities and it can wear on already fragile infrastructure. Major coastal storms are eating away at our coastlines and jeopardizing coastal communities and public access to the shoreline in unprecedented ways. Tackling climate resiliency may be the most important lynchpin task to establishing a healthy Rhode Island economy, but the state needs to be deliberate and coordinated in its efforts.

PBN: Could you explain more about the Clean Water Act litigation against the state landfill? Why should Rhode Islanders be aware of this and what goals do you have regarding the outcomes of the dispute?
JEDELE: CLF filed a Clean Air Act lawsuit in the federal district court for Rhode Island. This lawsuit is about protecting people by finding comprehensive and long-lasting solutions – the right to breathe clean air, to enjoy your property and your neighborhood should not be deprived because companies that own and operate landfills don’t comply with the law. The companies responsible for managing the landfill and its gas-collection system have ignored federal law by not obtaining a key permit that should have been in place 17 years ago. The companies are not adequately capturing all of the gas that is being generated by decomposing garbage. This lawsuit isn’t about odors, it is about air pollution (which sometimes smells and sometimes does not). Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds like benzene, toluene and methane are dangerous air pollutants.

PBN: What are some of the ways to combat stormwater runoff?
JEDELE: Stormwater pollution is a complicated problem and therefore the solution is not simple. I know that there are many bright and talented people at the federal, state, local and community levels that have been working together to find lasting solutions to this problem for some time. CLF has always looked to the rules that govern water pollution to identify opportunities to use the law as a complementary approach to efforts already underway. •

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