BOSTON – The Mass. Department of Environmental Protection is seeking public comment for proposed amendments to agency regulations that deal with wetlands, waterways and water-quality certifications, as well as wastewater-related changes to state-issued permits and operation standards for sewer-treatment works. more

BOSTON – The West Broadway Neighborhood Association and WaterFire Providence are the two Rhode Island recipients of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield grants aimed at protecting health and cleaning up communities. more

Contestants in the 2013 Miss Rhode Island pageant join other volunteers on May 18 to help clean up the Seekonk River. The project was hosted by the Miss RI Scholarship Program and the Narragansett Bay Commission, which contributed a $500 grant toward the cleanup. The project, which included the planting of cordgrass along the banks of the river, took place at the commission’s Bucklin Point wastewater-treatment facility in East Providence. The Miss Rhode Island competition will be held June 1. more

Bristol’s Mount Hope Farm has 127 acres of fields, woods, streams and ponds for walking, hiking and exploring. It has a year-round farmers market. Executive Director Jennifer Bristol, pictured above, came onboard a year ago, tasked with developing a five-year plan for the nonprofit farm. “I’ve talked to hundreds of people and they all have in their mind this picture of what the farm is to them,” Bristol said. “Marrying the visions of all those people to allow them to maintain the experience and support the future and health of [the farm] is what has to happen on our end.” more

AUSTIN, Texas – Fitch Ratings this month assigned a AAA rating to $49 million in Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency’s water-pollution-control, revolving-fund revenue bonds. The rating outlook is stable. more

BOSTON – The Mass. Department of Environmental Protection penalized New Bedford-based waste hauler ABC Disposal Inc., $1,500 for solid-waste violations related to the dumping of excessive amounts of construction and demolition wood at a landfill in December 2012. more

BOSTON – Massachusetts, taking a cue from the World Bank, is selling $100 million in debt called Green Bonds, saying it’s the first U.S. state to issue such securities to fund environmental projects, Bloomberg News report said. more

PROVIDENCE – The Senate has passed legislation that would make Rhode Island the 40th member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, an agreement between states that promotes uniform wildlife law enforcement across state boundaries. more