Residents living near the Port of Providence are among those speaking out against the cumulative impacts of polluting infrastructure in their neighborhoods. Photo: Shutterstock
In 2010, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management investigated a metal scrapyard on Allens Avenue in Providence operated by Rhode Island Recycled Metals. The investigation revealed unpermitted discharges of stormwater flowing from the recycling center into the Providence River. And thus began an ongoing odyssey involving residents living near the scrapyard, the City of Providence, the Department of Environmental Management, and the Rhode Island Attorney General.
It is now July 2025. We have witnessed 15 years of city and state hearings, ongoing litigation in Providence Superior Court, and countless hours spent by residents of South Providence and Washington Park loudly demanding relief. We’ve also seen four horrendous, out-of-control scrapyard fires. And yet, Rhode Island Recycled Metals continues to operate.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
And the travesty happening in Providence is a good example. South Providence residents living near the Greater Port of Providence are plagued with some of the worst air quality in the country. It is directly caused by the cumulative effects of the constant spewing of noxious emissions and particulate matter generated by continuous truck and vehicle traffic on Interstate 95 combined with the highest concentration of the worst polluting industrial and fossil fuel supply and distribution businesses in Rhode Island.
These ongoing cumulative impacts lead to, among other issues, unacceptable incidences of asthma and chronic respiratory illness among area residents, particularly among children, seniors, and immunocompromised individuals. But this situation is not unique. Vulnerable communities in Pawtucket, Central Falls, and other heavily industrialized neighborhoods in Rhode Island also bear an unjust health and environmental burden.
And the thing is, it doesn’t have to be this way.
An Environmental Justice Law is a Solution
What stands in the way of cleaner air, safer drinking water, unpolluted ports, and better health for Rhode Islanders is what we are sorely missing: an environmental justice law that takes a holistic perspective. To truly serve a community, any law must evaluate pollution not just from one individual source but also consider the cumulative effects of multiple polluting sources. That includes scrapyards, highways, asphalt plants, oil and gas terminals –all of it. We cannot enhance public health and equity, nor empower local communities, without it. An environmental justice law is also what it will take to help us lower carbon emissions and slow climate change, a goal set out in the Rhode Island Act on Climate.
The Trump administration is doing everything possible to keep the country dependent on fossil fuels, as evidenced by the signing of the “Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4th. Despite this new law, our country and state will inevitably move to a more sustainable, clean energy future – because it must. The Port of Providence is an economic engine that can propel Rhode Island into a green and blue economy if we only let it. There is a vision of the future in Rhode Island in which all parties act in good faith, where communities, especially communities of color, are not harmed, ignored, marginalized, or disrespected for the sake of convenience and profit. In this vision, all Rhode Island residents, no matter where they work, play, and live, enjoy the benefits of a healthy environment – free from the persistent assault of environmental degradation. But there has to be more legislative action to support this vision.
Obstacles on the Path Forward
It’s not that there aren’t existing local zoning ordinances, state laws, and regulations that address environmental harm. There are. But based on CLF’s review, they do not address the problems that an environmental justice law could. They do not effectively limit the accumulation of concentrated sources of pollution generated by monied and highly influential special interests.
To be clear, there are dedicated, hard-working, and talented individuals working at the state and city levels who are doing their best to ensure environmental compliance with existing local ordinances, laws, and regulations. However, our experience has shown us that these individuals are often constrained by the same ordinances, laws, and regulations, and are typically underfinanced and outgunned compared to organized groups with more resources.
An alternative approach could be an environmental justice law, which would give communities a greater voice in determining what is built in their own backyards. Industrial enterprises don’t have an inalienable right to keep on polluting as usual. Rhode Islanders have the right to live, work, and play in a healthy environment, where they can breathe fresh air. No person or group of people deserves to make others suffer in a dirty, unhealthy environment just because they have less money in their wallets or a different skin color.
A Healthier Future for Us All
All people who live in and those who work in environmental justice areas share a vested interest in a healthy and abundant future. Together, we can lift each other up. Organization and collaboration are key. Local residents, environmental justice organizations, and organized labor are best suited to collectively hammer out an environmental justice law designed to build a healthy living environment and a just transition to clean, secure jobs that pay living wages. For our part, CLF has been applying its expertise and resources in every possible way to participate in and facilitate a collaborative process. We will continue to do so.
At this moment, we have an opportunity. Rhode Island can be a shining example of how well-thought-out policy, crafted with insight and input from the people, can enhance communities through a good-faith collaborative process. An environmental justice law would provide the guardrails we so desperately need to keep us heading collectively in the right direction. It would prevent industry and other special interests from dragging us off course.
Once a model environmental justice law is agreed to, Rhode Island’s elected officials must do their jobs to pass it, making the safety and well-being of the residents they represent their top priority.
For all these reasons and more, it is clear what the next best step is for Rhode Island. There can be no environmental justice in the state without an environmental justice law.
Darrèll Brown is CLF’s vice president for Rhode Island.
