New Landfill Commission To Meet At JHS on Dec. 16

The state General Assembly press office announced today that Rep. Stephen R. Ucci (D-Johnston, Cranston) is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Special House Commission on next week at .

In a statement, Ucci said the newly-formed commission's goal is to avoid odor problems at the state's largest landfill, like .

“I’m sure other landfills deal with similar problems, and we ought to make sure ours is using whatever means are available to prevent odor from ruining the quality of life for people miles around. We should see what works at other landfills and insist that RIRRC take the steps necessary to fix this problem and avoid similar situations from now on,” said Ucci. “We’re also going to provide a public forum for the discussion of this situation, so the tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who are affected by it find out what’s being done.”

The first session of the commission, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 16, is expected to include presentations by representatives of Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the company that manages the landfill.

Also named to the commission were Rep. Deborah A. Fellela (D-Johnston), who will be vice chairwoman; Rep. Thomas Winfield (D-Smithfield, Glocester), Rep. Michael W. Chippendale (R-Foster, Glocester, Coventry) and Rep. Michael J. Marcello (D-Scituate, Cranston).