Speaker Shekarchi announces support for commission to address RI’s biosolids disposal challenges

STATE HOUSE — House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi today announced his support for legislation establishing a special joint legislative commission to study Rhode Island’s growing biosolids disposal challenges, a move aimed at facilitating the development of a comprehensive, statewide solution to what has been described as a looming concern.

The commission would be created by passage of legislation (H-7532), introduced on February 6 by Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown), and would study and develop recommendations for strategies for managing biosolids and wastewater byproducts across the state. The panel would be tasked with delivering its findings and recommendations by January 5, 2027.

As part of this effort, Speaker Shekarchi also announced that stakeholders involved in a proposed sludge management and pyrolysis facility at Quonset Business Park have agreed to participate in a public review of the project as part of the commission process. The Quonset project has been proposed as a potential component of a broader solution to the state’s disposal needs.
Quonset, which hosts over 15,000 jobs at 262 companies and generates over $2 billion annually in household income for Rhode Island families, is a leading engine of economic development in the state. 

“We hope to find a solution that ensures municipalities have access to reliable and affordable disposal options,” said Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick).  “Quonset’s role in our economy is well known and we are optimistic that it can contribute to a result that addresses this problem in a constructive, environmentally sound way based on statewide public input.”

The commission would hold statewide public hearings in order to seek broad, in-depth input from citizens throughout Rhode Island.