“Lawmakers set study panel in motion after North Kingstown sludge processing plant causes a stir“
By: Nancy Lavin-April 17, 2026
The first topic of study authorized by the Rhode Island General Assembly this year: sludge.
The House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution Thursday setting up the 20-member legislative panel to review and recommend state sewage treatment solutions. Sponsored by Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, the measure aims to fill the shortage of wastewater treatment options expected to intensify after the regional plant in Woonsocket — one of two sewage incinerators in the state — closes.
The once-niche problem of where to process and dispose of thousands of tons of solid sewage byproducts gained wider attention when North Kingstown officials and residents discovered a sludge processing plant was already underway in Quonset Business Park. Outrage over what opponents say is a lack of public input in the state review process — overseen by the quasi-public Quonset Development Corporation — converged with health and safety concerns over the emerging technology behind the plant.
Woonsocket’s traditional incineration sewage plant remains operational with no firm date for closure. But QSS Biosolids’ pyrolysis facility in Quonset relies on a closed-loop system without an open flame, avoiding the pollution and smell associated with conventional treatment options, the company says. But there are only two sludge pyrolysis plants operating nationwide, and both have had to close periodically due to operational and maintenance problems.
That is hardly reassuring to nearby residents and town officials, whose public outcry reached Smith Hill. Facing pressure from lawmakers, the developer and Quonset’s board to pause the project until the legislative study commission concludes its review in January.
The resolution approved Thursday does not mention Quonset nor QSS Biosolids’ project, although it names pyrolysis as one technology that commission members will consider.
Cortvriend, who submitted the resolution before Quonset’s project became a point of public contention, said she wants the panel’s work to be comprehensive and broad, rather than project-specific.
“I want the study commission to look at this in a broader way,” Cortvriend said in an interview Thursday. “With Woonsocket’s facility closing, we need to find a solution.”
But, she added, “I don’t want to be the one pronouncing judgment on the proposal at Quonset.”
The panel also does not include a designated role for anyone from North Kingstown nor from Quonset’s board. Instead, the panel features six lawmakers, a host of state administrators and industry experts; and two representatives from municipalities that are home to incinerators: either Cranston or Woonsocket. There is also a designated position for a University of Rhode Island professor who is “conversant in sludge processing;” an end-user of the fertilizer produced from sewage treatment, like a turf farm or golf course; and someone from a private company involved in biosolids management.
The Quonset Point Development Corporation will hold two public information sessions about a proposed battery storage facility at the North Kingstown business park after local residents questioned its approval process for a pyrolysis sludge processing facility. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
Cortvriend said she did not have specific appointees in mind, noting that the joint legislative panel’s members are appointed by the House speaker and Senate president. She had not discussed whether Green Development, the parent company of QSS Biosolids, might serve on the panel as the designated biosludge operator.
Patti Doyle, a spokesperson for the company, indicated the company would be interested if asked.
“Green Development, the parent company for QSS Biosolids, Green Development welcomes any opportunity to be additive to the conversation about the state’s growing need for wastewater solutions, and the environmental benefits of pyrolysis technology vs. incineration,” Doyle said in an email.
North Kingstown Town Manager Ralph Mollis was undeterred by the lack of town representation on the panel.
“I’m sure it would have been beneficial to have a member on the commission but it doesn’t mean we won’t be actively participating,” Mollis said in an interview Thursday.
Cortvriend said there would be opportunity for public input during the panel’s review. Recommendations are due back to the legislature no later than Jan. 5, 2027, with the commission expiring by March 5.
A companion resolution in the Senate is expected to be introduced by Sen. Alana DiMario, a North Kingstown Democrat, said Greg Pare, a spokesperson for Senate President Valarie Lawson.
Gov. Dan McKee has signaled his support for North Kingstown residents in their demand for public transparency on the Quonset project.
“The residents of North Kingstown deserve clear, accessible information and meaningful engagement in this process,” McKee wrote in a letter to Mollis on Thursday. “As a former mayor, I know that this type of project demands early, open, and ongoing public participation.”
McKee pledged to stand “shoulder to shoulder with the community” if it continues to oppose the project.
The Town Council has already approved a resolution asking Quonset’s board to rescind the lease with QSS Biosolids, and hired outside legal counsel to pursue “various environmental matters” of concern within the industrial park. A separate asphalt plant in Quonset has been an ongoing source of odor complaints. There is also concern about a proposed battery storage facility by Green Development.
The company is scheduled to hold a public information session on the battery storage facility, still pending review by Quonset’s technical review board, at the Quonset “O” Club on April 22. There will also be a virtual session on May 12.
The public information sessions are required by the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board as part of its review of large-scale energy projects. The siting board does not have authority over pyrolysis or wastewater treatment plants under existing law.