| R 425 |
| 2026 -- H 7532 SUBSTITUTE B AS AMENDED Enacted 06/22/2026 |
| J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY SLUDGE MANAGEMENT IN RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Noret, and Phillips |
| Date Introduced: February 06, 2026 |
| WHEREAS, "Sludge" is defined as any solid, semisolid or liquid waste generated from a |
| municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or |
| air pollution control facility or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effects; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, Effective sludge management is essential to reduce the massive volumes of |
| waste generated by wastewater treatment, mitigate severe environmental contamination |
| (groundwater and soil), and eliminate pathogens in order to protect public health; now, therefore |
| be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special joint legislative commission be and the same is hereby |
| created consisting of twenty-one (21) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the House |
| of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the |
| Speaker of the House; three (3) of whom shall be members of the Senate, not more than two (2) |
| from the same political party, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall |
| be a member of the Rhode Island Clean Water Association (RICWA), to be appointed by the |
| Chair of the Board of Directors for the RICWA; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of |
| the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC), or designee; one of whom shall be the Executive |
| Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, or designee; one of |
| whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island State Director of Clean Water Action, or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Administration |
| Division of Planning, or designee; one of whom shall be a representative of a treatment facility, to |
| be appointed by the Speaker of the House; two (2) of whom shall be representatives of Rhode |
| Island communities that have incinerators, one of whom to be appointed by the Speaker of the |
| House, and one of whom to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the |
| Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, or designee; one of whom |
| shall be the Executive Director of the North East Biosolids & Residuals Association (NEBRA), |
| or designee; one of whom shall be a professor from the University of Rhode Island conversant in |
| sludge processing, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the |
| Executive Director of the Coastal Resource Management Council, or designee; one of whom shall |
| be the Executive Director of the Conservation Law Foundation, or designee; and one of whom |
| shall be a representative of a private company involved in biosolids management, to be appointed |
| by the Speaker of the House. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory |
| commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly |
| resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu |
| of a legislator. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and review of |
| the current state of sludge management in Rhode Island. The commission will study the cost to |
| ratepayers and environmental and climate impacts, and to also identify potential state-wide |
| solutions and future opportunities, such as the use of pyrolysis and other technologies and |
| processes for biosolid disposal, to make sludge management more sustainable in Rhode Island. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and organize and shall select a |
| Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, one of whom shall be a member of the House and one of |
| whom shall be a member of the Senate. |
| Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide |
| suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| General Assembly no later than April 1, 2027, and said commission shall expire on June 1, 2027. |
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| LC004425/SUB B |
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