Environment (Hazardous Materials)

HB 7620 prohibits the construction and operation of new plastic waste conversion facilities in Rhode Island. The bill bans permits for facilities that use "regulated technologies" (including gasification, pyrolysis, and chemical processes) to convert plastic waste into fuels, chemical feedstocks, or other products. It directly affects developers seeking to build such facilities and aims to prevent environmental and health risks linked to toxic emissions and hazardous waste. The law defines these facilities broadly to include "advanced recycling" or "molecular recycling" operations, regardless of how they are marketed.

HB 7004 establishes the Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026, requiring fossil fuel producers responsible for over one billion tons of emissions during 2000-2025 to reimburse the state and municipalities for climate adaptation costs. It directly affects major fossil fuel companies (coal, oil, gas producers) determined to have caused significant climate-related damages. The bill creates a fund to cover "climate change response work," including coastal protection, infrastructure upgrades, and heat mitigation projects, using scientifically verified emission attribution methods aligned with IPCC standards. Funds will offset taxpayer costs for climate resilience efforts already underway, following the "polluter pays" principle.

SB 2024, the Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026, creates a fund to recover costs for climate adaptation projects from fossil fuel companies responsible for significant emissions. It targets companies that extracted or refined fossil fuels and caused over 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 2000-2025, using a scientific method to calculate their proportional share. The law requires these companies to pay for "climate change response work" like coastal protection, flood infrastructure, heat mitigation, and ecosystem restoration projects already funded by taxpayers. The Department of Environmental Management will manage the fund and identify eligible projects, shifting costs from public budgets to polluters under a "polluter pays" principle.