Issue Position: Environment

Issue Position

Senator Reed understands that a clean environment is important to our state's health, economy, and quality of life. His conservation efforts have earned him high marks from leading environmental groups and helped clean up and preserve Rhode Island's open spaces, beaches, and Narragansett Bay.

Reed Chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, which has jurisdiction over several key agencies, including the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He has fought efforts to gut the Clean Air Act, defeating legislation that would have overturned the EPA's scientific finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants that impact public health and welfare.

Save the Bay honored Senator Reed for his long-standing commitment to preserving the environment and address the problem of climate change, which affects our environment, economy, and security, noting: "Senator Reed has been a staunch advocate for protecting Rhode Island's coastal environment and preserving Narragansett Bay. Senator Reed has secured millions of dollars to help restore the Bay and its ecosystems, educate the public about marine conservation, protect coastal property, and reduce pollution into the Bay from combined sewer overflows."

Reed has also been at the forefront of a national movement to reconnect kids with nature and strengthen environmental education in America's classrooms. He is the author of the proposed No Child Left Inside Act, which would support outdoor learning activities.

Key Priorities & Accomplishments

Reed has helped provide millions of dollars in federal Brownfields funding to support environmental cleanups and revitalize former industrial and commercial sites throughout the state, transforming them from abandoned and blighted properties into community assets.
Reed secured over $27 million in federal funding for conservation projects to help preserve Rhode Island's fish and wildlife populations, cultural heritage, and protect open spaces. Major projects included the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges, and Rocky Point.
In an effort to help protect the health of Narragansett Bay, Senator Reed has worked with the U.S. Navy and non-profit groups like Clean The Bay to remove hazardous submarine floats from the Bay and marine debris that was littering the shoreline.
To ensure the safety and security of Rhode Islanders, he helped successfully block a controversial proposal to locate a liquefied natural gas plant in a densely populated, environmentally sensitive area that posed enormous risks to the vibrancy of Narragansett Bay and the safety of surrounding communities.

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