At the end of this year Providence will begin distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to sustainability projects in South Providence neighborhoods afflicted by the contamination by industrial facilities in the Port of Providence. Community groups are hopeful the funds will support their fight against the environmental injustice caused by the pollution.
The funding comes from a 30-year tax exemption agreement between the city and ProvPort, the industrial business park managed by Waterson Terminals on the southern end of the port. Many of these businesses operate large machinery and transport hazardous materials, one of which caused a biofuel explosion last year.
Nearby neighborhoods of South Providence, Washington Park and the West End, which are largely comprised of low-income people of color, face disproportionately high risks of asthma, cancer and other ailments caused by environmental conditions.
“We’re smelling tons of heavy metals in the area,” said Washington Park resident and landlord Jose Comi, who receives complaints from tenants about local air quality. “They close the windows because they don’t want to get headaches. That’s not something that you would normally get if you had clean air.”
In the last 10 years, residents successfully prevented the building of a new garbage transfer station but were unable to block a new liquid natural gas facility. When the city negotiated renewing ProvPort’s lease in 2022, advocates from the environmental justice coalition the People’s Port Authority successfully blocked a fast-tracked agreement and won community input moving forward. Executive director Monica Huertas, who was crucial in voicing dissent against the original agreement, calls the port a constant source of environmental problems.
“It’s just a never ending thing,” said Huertas, who is now participating in ProvPort’s master plan process to speak for her neighbors. “ProvPort wants to meet with us and they want guidance on what to do. They want it because they were forced to by the city, because we forced them to.”
The tax agreement directs ProvPort to create a city-approved master plan for facilities and operations, pay 7% of its annual revenue to the city and place additional payments into one fund for community benefit projects and another fund for sustainability projects. Each fund receives 1% of ProvPort’s annual revenue with a minimum yearly payment of $120,000.
Since the agreement was ratified in the beginning of 2023, the sustainability fund has amassed over $360,000.
“In the scale of city budgets, it’s not even couch change, but it could go a long way to actually doing something having an impact if it was used thoughtfully,” said Cassie Tharinger, executive director of the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program. Tharinger says local environmental nonprofits are discussing how the sustainability fund could be used for environmental infrastructure maintenance and workforce development.
The fund’s distribution will be overseen by the Sustainability Commission, a group of volunteer Providence residents who help guide environmental projects with the city’s Office of Sustainability. On Monday, October 20, the commission refined their proposal criteria with a plan to publicize a request for proposals early next year. The draft RFP lists air quality monitoring, depaving and youth education as just a few examples of projects that would be considered for the awards. The plan also allows for some upfront funding to accommodate small grassroots groups that might not have the ability to wait for reimbursements.
“We’re trying to figure out what would have the most impact, and we don’t know yet. And we figured that the smart thing to do is ask the community,” said Greg Gerritt, an activist who chairs the Sustainability Commission subcommittee which oversees the ProvPort sustainability fund. Gerritt said the commission plans to distribute approximately $200,000 dollars to around three projects over the course of three years. “You’re looking at an environmental justice neighborhood. It’s both low income and marginalized and toxic in various ways. We want to make sure that any money that gets spent deals with that constellation.”
Office of Sustainability Director Kevin Proft says he is working closely with the commission to administer the funds, which he hopes can ease some of the pain of federal funding cuts on climate work in the city.
“There’s definitely less money to do the kind of work this fund is aimed at under the Trump administration compared to the Biden administration,” said Proft, who noted this won’t come close to solving climate problems even within Wards 10 and 11. “We’re enthusiastic about the fact that we have this money available, but it’s not like a silver bullet solution either.”
The city ordinance designates more ProvPort money for public spending in the community benefits account, though it is unclear if that money is being distributed and who is administering it. The ordinance charges the Ward 10 city councilor with distributing $25,000 for “community benefits” each year and requires the Board of Park Commissioners to administer the rest to projects in Wards 10 and 11. Ward 10 Councilman Pedro Espinal proposed putting almost all of the community benefits money into a scholarship fund, but that plan received a large public backlash. The Sustainability Commission raised concerns the idea would provide marginal benefits to a few students rather than supporting the larger neighborhood. Councilman Espinal did not respond to requests for an interview by the time of publication.
While the sustainability fund makes its final preparations to support local climate justice work, advocates are remaining vigilant and involved in planning the port’s future.
On Tuesday October 21, ProvPort and consultant GZA held the fourth of five master plan community meetings at the MET school’s Black Box Theater. Representatives from ProvPort, the Sustainability Commission, Waterson Terminals, City Council and local residents exchanged tense words over the plan’s perceived lack of details. GZA vice president Kevin Williams was interrupted multiple times by attendees asking ProvPort to share specific financial details about the master plan that would honor the community’s priorities.
“Our charge in the plan is to take these ideas and to start matching ideas and indicating how long they will take so we can manage the expectations of this group,” said Williams to the group before promising a “road map” for future funding. “There is no master plan in the world that identifies and allocates funds to such plans and specifically when they will be spent.”
ProvPort is required to work closely with the city because it operates on municipal land. If the city decided against renewing their leasing agreement, the land would revert back to the city for $1, according to Waterson Terminals CEO and President Christopher Waterson. Port tenants farther north on Allens Avenue such as Sims Metals and Rhode Island Recycled Metals have escaped similar agreements, but advocates hope this sustainability fund and the framework established by the master plan can be stepping stones for climate justice in the larger port area over the next 30 years.
ProvPort spokesman Bill Fischer explained in an email that they are working with Ward 10 Councilor Espinal to ensure that the Master Plan meets city criteria and schedule a hearing for its final approval. For the neighborhoods downwind of the port, the level of skepticism remains high. The plan is more than words on paper and a step towards a tax deal—it’s their lives.
“This is the second to last meeting and there are still some huge gaps in terms of how they’re going to do this, where’s the money going to come from,” said Huertas, who sees this process with ProvPort as just one step in the fight for environmental justice along the bay. “At least ProvPort is at the table. We want to continue that relationship and hopefully build to the rest of the port.”
This story was created in partnership with Journalism New England. The writers are all Providence Eye Community News Fellows and their bios are listed here.
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