Bill that would allow more regulation of mining and gravel operations passes House and Senate

We have just learned that Rhode Island House Bill 5680 Substitute A  passed the House and a companion Senate Bill passed in the Senate. The text of that bill is attached.

We thank Representative Blake Filippi for all his hard work on behalf of District 36 to get this bill through the legislature. The bill establishes specific measures required of quarry operators to prevent trespass of fugitive dust beyond the property line, and it gives authority to regulatory agencies to monitor and enforce compliance. This enabling legislation brings relief to residential abutters whose health has been threatened by exposure to toxic silica dust emanating from quarry rock crushers.

We’ll have more about this legislation in a subsequent post.