Rhode Island Resources
RI Brownfield Programs
Redeveloping Your Brownfield | RI Department of Environmental Management
State funding program: the state periodically releases Request for Proposals for the Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund. There is currently no open solicitation for the program.
Liability relief program: the Industrial Remediation and Reuse Act provides a framework to establish remediation agreements and covenants not to sue for prospective purchasers, as well as liability protections for innocent landowners and tenants. The forms are available on the RIDEM website.
Partners in Network
State contact information
The program encourages and supports the redevelopment and reuse of contaminated properties throughout RI. Work conducted through the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) is managed under RI’s Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management’s (the Office of LRSMM) Site Remediation & Brownfields Program.
| Organization | Name | Contact |
| State of Rhode Island, Department of Environmental Management | Kelly Owens | kelly.owens@dem.ri.gov |
Where can I find environmental standards and contaminated site information?
Rhode Island Site Remediation & Brownfields Inventory
Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM)
Provides inventories of sites and files maintained by RIDEM's Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management. The Site Remediation and Brownfields section includes CERCLIS and state sites, including Brownfields, as well as sites with Environmental Land Use Restrictions (ELURs). Useful for identifying known Brownfields and contaminated properties and researching environmental regulatory status. RIDEM cautions that the lists change over time and that inclusion or absence from a list does not by itself establish the current condition or regulatory status of a property.
🔗 Click to seeRIDEM Site Remediation Program
Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM)
Provides information on Rhode Island's Site Remediation Program, including site files, public notices, Environmental Justice resources, remediation regulations, and Brownfields funding opportunities such as Targeted Brownfields Assessments and the Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund. Useful for understanding the state remediation process and available Brownfields assistance.
🔗 Click to seeRIDEM Rules & Regulations – Site Remediation & Brownfields
Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM)
Provides current Rhode Island rules and regulations governing investigation and remediation of hazardous-material releases, as well as regulations for the Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund. Also includes related remediation policies and guidance. Useful for understanding the regulatory framework and requirements applicable to Brownfields projects.
🔗 Click to seeBrownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund Regulations
Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM)
Establishes the rules governing Rhode Island's Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund, including eligible project categories, application requirements, eligible costs, review and selection, and grant awards. Particularly useful for understanding Rhode Island's own Brownfields funding program in addition to federal EPA Brownfields opportunities.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find land-use plans and planning resources?
Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning & Land Use Regulation Act
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Explains the statutory framework requiring Rhode Island municipalities to prepare and maintain comprehensive plans. The Act establishes minimum planning requirements, requires plans to be consistent with state goals and policies, and establishes comprehensive plans as the foundation for local zoning. Useful for connecting a Brownfields project to municipal planning and redevelopment priorities.
🔗 Click to seeRhode Island Comprehensive Plans & State Approval Status
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Provides a statewide listing of municipal comprehensive plans and amendments, including municipal and state approval dates, expiration dates, approval status, and links to available plan documents. This is a particularly useful resource for EPA Brownfields applications because applicants can use it to identify adopted community priorities and demonstrate consistency with local planning goals.
🔗 Click to seeRhode Island Comprehensive Plans Currently Under Review
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Lists municipal comprehensive plans and amendments currently undergoing state review and provides links to the plans available for public comment. Useful for identifying current or emerging municipal planning priorities that may be relevant to Brownfields redevelopment proposals.
🔗 Click to seeFive-Year Comprehensive Plan Implementation Reports
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Provides five-year implementation reports submitted by Rhode Island municipalities, along with instructions, templates, and best-practice guidance. These reports document progress toward comprehensive-plan goals and implementation actions and can help Brownfields applicants identify specific redevelopment priorities and demonstrate consistency with community plans.
🔗 Click to seeRhode Island State Guide Plan
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Rhode Island's centralized long-range planning framework, consisting of multiple adopted planning elements covering economic development, land use, environmental concerns, human services, and other topics. The State Guide Plan provides statewide policy direction and establishes a framework for consistency with local comprehensive plans. Useful for demonstrating how Brownfields redevelopment supports broader state planning priorities.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find general public health and socioeconomic data?
RI State Data Center
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Provides demographic resources based on U.S. Census Bureau and other data, including Census and American Community Survey tables, population projections, and Census data bulletins. Useful for documenting population characteristics, demographics, socioeconomic conditions, and projected growth in EPA Brownfields Grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeOther Rhode Island Data Sources
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Provides links to additional economic, education, health, housing, and other data sources maintained by state agencies and other organizations. Useful for finding supporting socioeconomic and community-condition data when preparing Brownfields grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeState and National Health & Socioeconomic Grant Data
Source: University of Connecticut Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) Program
Provides state and national socioeconomic and health data that can be used to establish community conditions and comparison benchmarks for EPA Brownfields Grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find GIS, geographic, and regional data?
Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS)
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning / RIGIS
Rhode Island's statewide GIS resource and consortium providing access to geographically referenced datasets and mapping resources. Useful for mapping Brownfields properties and analyzing parcels, transportation, infrastructure, environmental conditions, land use, demographics, and other geographic factors relevant to Brownfields planning.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find environmental justice and social equity data?
Rhode Island Social Equity Data Platform
Source: Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning
Interactive platform combining more than 37 spatial indicators covering public health, environmental justice, socioeconomic conditions, and transportation. Data are available by census tract and can help applicants identify vulnerable populations, environmental-justice concerns, and socioeconomic conditions relevant to EPA Brownfields Grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find environmental public health data?
Rhode Island Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Provides environmental and public health data that connect environmental conditions with health outcomes. The portal includes data on topics such as cancer, asthma, lead, environmental hazards, and other indicators, with data available at different geographic levels. Useful for documenting community health conditions and vulnerable populations in Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeRI Environmental Public Health Data Portal
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Interactive portal for exploring Rhode Island environmental and public health data. Users can select content areas, indicators, geographic measures, and statistics such as rates, counts, and percentages. Many indicators use nationally consistent measures, allowing comparison with other states and the CDC Tracking Network.
🔗 Click to seeCDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Provides nationally comparable environmental and health data that can be explored geographically. Useful for providing broader context and comparison data when documenting community health conditions and environmental-health concerns in EPA Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeCDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Data Explorer
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Interactive mapping and data-analysis tool for exploring selected environmental and health indicators by geographic area. Some cancer indicators available through the Tracking Network are modeled estimates rather than actual cancer incidence rates, so applicants should review the methodology for individual indicators before using them in an application.
🔗 Click to seeNeed help with cancer data and statistics?
U.S. Cancer Statistics
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Provides official federal cancer incidence and mortality statistics from qualifying cancer registries and federal mortality records. Data include counts, rates, trends, survival, prevalence, and geographic information at the state and county levels. Useful for providing actual cancer-rate comparisons in Brownfields community-health narratives.
🔗 Click to seeRI Environmental Public Health Tracking – Cancer
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Provides cancer-related environmental public health data through the Rhode Island Tracking Network. The portal allows users to examine cancer indicators and geographic measures that can help establish broader community health conditions for Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeLooking for specific disease or health condition tracking?
RI Environmental Public Health Tracking – Asthma
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Provides asthma prevalence and health-care utilization information through the Rhode Island Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. Data can help document respiratory health conditions and vulnerable populations in Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeRhode Island Childhood Lead Poisoning Data
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Provides data on childhood blood-lead levels and tracks the elimination of childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island. Data cover 2000 to the present and include incidence and prevalence information using both Rhode Island's state intervention level and the CDC reference level. Useful for documenting environmental-health burdens and vulnerable populations in Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeRhode Island Healthy Homes & Lead Data
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Provides maps, dashboards, and reports related to healthy housing and childhood lead exposure. Resources include maps showing childhood lead exposure, asthma, income, housing age, and other factors. Particularly useful for Brownfields applications addressing environmental justice, vulnerable populations, older housing, and cumulative health burdens.
🔗 Click to see