R 417 |
2019 -- S 1020 Enacted 06/27/2019 |
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
CELEBRATING RHODE ISLAND'S NO.1 RANKING FOR THE BEST NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN 2019 |
Introduced By: Senator V. Susan Sosnowski |
Date Introduced: June 26, 2019 |
WHEREAS, According to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 annual rankings, |
released in May, Rhode Island ranked first in the nation for air and water quality, and is the top |
state for natural environment; and |
WHEREAS, In order to determine the best and worst states, various rankings based on 80 |
metrics, including economy, infrastructure, public safety, fiscal stability, and opportunities for |
residents, are measured and determined. The rankings also factor in healthcare, education, crime |
and corrections, and the natural environment; and |
WHEREAS, Among the measures used to evaluate states' natural environments were |
drinking water quality, urban air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square mile; and |
WHEREAS, Rhode Island's policymakers have enacted legislation and implemented |
numerous regulations over the past decade to ensure a safe relationship between the people of the |
State and the State's environment; and |
WHEREAS, These laws and regulations have not only helped preserve the state's natural |
resources, but have also protected the public from harmful toxins and resulting health concerns; |
and |
WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) |
serves as the chief steward of the state’s natural resources and has diligently worked with myriad |
partners including the Coastal Resources Management Council, the Audubon Society of Rhode |
Island, and the Narragansett Bay Commission, to restore the state's lands and waters, to conserve |
wildlife and marine resources, and to monitor environmental quality in order to build healthy, |
more resilient communities; and |
WHEREAS, Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation has been tireless in their advocacy |
for key programs in support of air, land and water conservation including, working to safeguard |
the Land and Water Conservation Fund, bringing tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for |
Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, spearheading efforts to pass the |
American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act, a federal law that would impose fees on carbon and |
greenhouse gas emissions, and creating the Blackstone Valley National Historic Park, to name |
but a few; and |
WHEREAS, For the past four decades the Rhode Island General Assembly has passed |
and Governors have signed countless bills designed to protect the Ocean State’s natural resources |
and have supported and approved legislation for open space and clean water bonds. In addition, |
Rhode Island was one of the 18 states that supported the Clean Power Plan that would implement |
an EPA-approved plan to reduce air pollutants from industrial facilities such as chemical plants |
and utilities, and has passed legislation earning Rhode Island the distinction of being a national |
leader in both renewable energy and energy efficiency; and |
WHEREAS, Rhode Island's joint efforts to safeguard the state's natural environment have |
brought about accountability, meaningful action, and laudatory results; now, therefore be it |
RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation |
hereby celebrates Rhode Island's No.1 ranking for the best natural environment in 2019 by the |
U.S. News & World Report; and be it further |
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Director of the Rhode Island Department of |
Environmental Management, the Coastal Resources Management Council, the Audubon Society |
of Rhode Island, the Narragansett Bay Commission, and the Rhode Island Congressional |
Delegation. |
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LC002805 |
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