Environment
Rep. Cortvriend is Committed to Clean Water and Healthy Communities
Rhode Island's environment is one of its greatest assets and one of its most pressing responsibilities. Representative Terri Cortvriend has spent years fighting to protect the Ocean State's water, land, and communities from the toxic threats that too often go unnoticed until real harm is done.
At the center of her environmental work is a sustained, years-long campaign to eliminate PFAS or "forever chemicals" linked to cancer, developmental delays in children, and other health problems. Her efforts resulted in the 2022 passage of legislation prohibiting PFAS in food packaging, a 2024 law phasing out PFAS in most consumer products beginning in 2027, and a ban on PFAS in firefighting foam. In 2025, she sponsored legislation requiring anyone applying for a permit to spread biosolids on land to first test the material for PFAS contamination, an important step in closing a loophole that had allowed forever chemicals to enter Rhode Island's soil and food supply through fertilizer.
She also sponsored legislation to create, and now chairs, a special joint legislative commission to study Rhode Island's growing biosolids or "sludge" disposal challenges, ensuring the state develops a comprehensive strategy for managing these risks before they escalate.
Her leadership on the environment has earned widespread recognition:
2025 Clean Water Legislator of the Year, Rhode Island Clean Water Association
Environmental Champion, Clean Water Action
Member, House Environment and Natural Resources Committee
Chair, House Finance Environment/Transportation Subcommittee
Representative Cortvriend's environmental vision goes beyond any single bill, it's about ensuring every Rhode Islander has access to clean water and healthy land for generations to come.