A partnership of The City of Providence, the State of RI, and the Providence Plan is working to address the community's Brownfields. This partnership is addressing the Woonasquatucket River watershed area, with a focus on developing the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project. To develop national models demonstrating the positive results of public and private collaboration addressing Brownfields challenges. Redeveloping Brownfields Brownfields are identified by the City or State. People can help local City and State officials by helping to identify Brownfields sites.
Environmental assessments are a costly, time consuming step in the redevelopment process.
Based upon results from an assessment, a plan for cleaning the site is formed and presented to the public. Once a funding source has been identified, the site is eventually redeveloped. RI DEM evaluates and prioritizes Brownfields to ensure that sites are properly cleaned to protect human health and the environment. Many Brownfields have USTs that were once used to store chemicals or fuel for industrial work. If a UST is leaking, RI DEM performs tests to determine the extent of contamination.