What do Providence – Rocky Point State Park, the rainforest exhibit at Roger Williams Park Zoo, and the food hub at Farm Fresh Rhode Island have in common?
All three developments have been made possible by funding from environmental bond issuances approved by Rhode Islanders over the last few decades.
Voters on Tuesday support green bonds that will fund open space conservation, climate resilience, brownfield cleanups, Narragansett Bay protection and other environmental initiatives in the Maritime State You will be prompted again.
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What did environmental bonds fund?
Question 3 on the ballot will raise a total of $50 million for these programs, but this funding will open millions more to matching funds from foundations, advocacy groups, and communities. said Terrence Gray, director of the State Environmental Management Agency.
“This is a catalyst for action by many other organizations,” he said. “This allows the state to help invest in these initiatives and be part of the capital mix that makes these deals possible.”
The Farm Fresh Rhode Island facility in Providence’s Valley area is a good example. 3.2 acres of former industrial land were cleared with the help of a $550,000 brownfield fund, and construction of a new building completed two years ago was funded by a $167,000 stormwater grant and a $370,000 climate protection grant. Supported.
Rocky Point’s fundraising was simpler. An open space bond passed in 2010 secured him $10 million to purchase his 120-acre coastal land in Warwick, which opened as a state park four years later.
So did the funding for Roger Williams Park Zoo’s “Faces of the Rainforest.” A 2014 bond secured him $15 million for the exhibition.
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What does the green bond in question 3 fund?
This time, another big funding is proposed for the zoo — $12 million to build a “state-of-the-art, carbon-neutral” educational center that will host school groups, lectures and arts Rhode Island There are no environmental education venues of the same scale in the world, Gray said.
This will be the largest portion of bond issuance devoted to a single project. The program with the most funding, totaling $16 million, is Municipal Resilience, which helps cities and towns protect vulnerable areas from the impacts of climate change.
Since its inception three years ago, the program has helped 27 communities across the state identify areas at risk, such as flooding from storm surges and heavy rains. Cities and towns are also coming up with potential solutions, some of which have already been funded. This includes moving to higher ground.
However, in many cases, projects are still waiting for funding before they can move forward.
“We have shown a demand for investment in this area,” Gray said of the program.
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The remaining money from the bond issuance will be split as follows:
- $5 million for a small business energy financing program that provides grants or loans at market or zero interest rates for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
- $5 million in open space. Funding is split between statewide programs for land conservation and grants coordinated by cities and towns for local conservation efforts.
- $4 million for brownfield restoration. According to DEM, his $14 million that the state has invested in 62 projects in 15 communities so far has leveraged more than $948 million in other investments to clean up 200 acres of contaminated land. Connected.
- $3 million to restore forest habitat. This is a new program created due to increased use of his 40,000-acre national forest in Rhode Island that began during the coronavirus pandemic, Gray said. “There are a lot of hikers and bikers in the woods these days,” he said. Drought and pests are also damaging. Funds will be used for trail maintenance, tree planting, and clearing of branches and dead trees that may pose a hazard to visitors.
- $3 million for continued restoration of Narragansett Bay and other watersheds. Funds will be used for habitat restoration, control of invasive species, and management of stormwater runoff that can contaminate water bodies with pollutants.
- $2 million for local recreation. Since the creation of the program to support community parks and green spaces in 1988, he has invested more than $80 million in 550 projects.
Do voters generally approve green bonds?
Bonds that pay for open space conservation, outdoor recreation, and other environmental initiatives have been on ballot in Rhode Island since 1952. They are generally accepted by a wide margin.
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Latest $74M bond issuance focused on upgrading state parks, beaches and campgrounds passes by 78% of votes in March 2021 after being delayed a year due to COVID pandemic it was done. His $47 million bond in front of voters in 2018 passed with the same level of support. In 2016, a $35 million bond won him 68% of the vote.
Gray points to the Westerly Education Center as another example of project financing through green bond issuance. The facility, which provides GED classes and employee training, was built in a former lumberyard that was cleaned up with a $712,000 brownfield grant. The state, the town of Westerly, the Royce Family Fund and many other funders funded the project.
“If you look at the track record, there are really some great projects that have been funded,” Gray said.
