The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has award $2.5 million in grants to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. to help “protect children and families from the hazards of lead-based paint and from other home health and safety hazards,” HUD announced Friday. more

The former Walton & Lonsbury Inc. facility in Attleboro has been added to the National Properties List of Superfund sites by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. more

After claims that its Warren shipbuilding and ship repair facility had violated the federal Clean Air Act National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Facilities, Blount Boats Inc. has agreed to pay a $24,000 penalty and spend at least $230,000 on a clean air project. more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a “five-year review” for 16 New England Superfund Sites, including two in Rhode Island – the Central Landfill in Johnston and Picillo Farm in Coventry. more

Rhode Island is slated to receive nearly $4.5 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior to help repair historic properties and clean up wildlife refuges damaged by Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed announced Tuesday. more

First Wind, in an acquisition of Victus Solar developments in three Massachusetts towns, now holds the rights to just over 26 megawatts in solar-electric projects, reported the Boston Business Journal. more

Fulflex Inc., which is owned by The Moore Co., a Providence-based elastics and plastics company, will pay almost $200,000 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Air Act violations at its Brattleboro, Vt.-based facility. more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service of Rhode Island is currently accepting preproposals for applications for conservation-innovation grants, which are designed to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, the USDA announced Thursday. more

Portsmouth-based boatyard, New England Boatworks Inc. will pay a $31,500 penalty and take steps to reduce air emissions at its facility under a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA announced Wednesday. more

Water quality in Narragansett Bay and at beaches around Rhode Island is improving, but land development in coastal buffer zones and flood plains are “causes for concern,” according to an indicators report released by the Watershed Counts initiative. more