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Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is Rhode Island’s central hub for financing infrastructure improvements for municipalities, businesses, and homeowners. We efficiently leverage limited capital and offer below-market, innovative financing for an array of infrastructure-based projects including water and wastewater, transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and brownfield remediation. These quality of life projects improve the State’s infrastructure, create jobs, promote economic development and enhance the environment.
Established by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1989, the Bank’s mandate was significantly expanded in 2015 by adding energy and brownfield remediation initiatives to its existing water and transportation programs. The Bank’s expanded mandate has significantly enhanced its ability to provide competitive financing to a broader variety of infrastructure-based projects.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Today, Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (Infrastructure Bank) released the Resilient Rhody 3 Year Impact Report detailing progress that has been made by state agency and municipal partners in turning the original 2018 Resilient Rhody report’s recommendations into concrete actions including infrastructure upgrades, coordinated planning, and financing of resilience projects.
Resilient Rhody 3 Year Impact Report highlights:
“Three years ago, a broad coalition of more than 50 stakeholders from state agencies, to municipalities, to non-profits came together to research and release Resilient Rhody. This was Rhode Island’s first comprehensive strategy on the impacts of climate change and actionable strategies to increase resilience in the face of threats to our infrastructure, environment, and public health,” said Jeffrey Diehl, CEO of the Infrastructure Bank. “Given the serious impacts identified in Resilient Rhody, allowing the report to gather dust on a shelf was simply not an option. Rather, as detailed in the Resilient Rhody 3 Year Impact Report, state agency and municipal partners have made real progress increasing resilience. For example, the Infrastructure Bank’s Municipal Resilience Program has worked with 20 municipalities who have participated in workshops led by The Nature Conservancy and the Bank to identify key projects. Through $2.5 million in action grants, we have helped municipal partners bring 22 projects to reality and mobilized an additional $6 million in funding for other resiliency projects like reducing stormwater runoff into Almy Pond in Newport, and constructing a bio-retention stormwater system to reduce flooding and minimize bacterial pollution in Warwick’s Greenwich Bay.”
“From sea level rise to increased flooding events, there is no question that Rhode Island is already feeling the impacts of climate change and that these impacts will only get worse if we fail to take action” said Terrence Gray, Acting Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM). “That is why RIDEM has been deeply engaged in resilience work since the release of the original Resilient Rhody report in 2018. For example, Resilient Rhody noted the vulnerability of many of our state’s wastewater treatment plants to flooding events that could overwhelm these systems and lead to sewage overflows into our streams, rivers, and Narragansett Bay. To address this, RIDEM led vulnerability assessments of all major treatment plants, and through our $5-million Wastewater Treatment Facility Resilience Fund we invested in hardening improvements at plants in East Greenwich and Woonsocket. This is just one of many actions taken by state agency partners that are detailed in the Resilient Rhody 3 Year Impact Report. While we collectively have much work left to do, we are making progress in ways both big and small towards building a more resilient Rhody.”
Click here for a PDF copy of the full Resilient Rhody 3 Year Impact Report.
About the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is Rhode Island’s central hub for financing infrastructure improvements for municipalities, businesses, and homeowners. We leverage capital in a revolving fund to offer innovative financing for an array of infrastructure-based projects including water and wastewater, road and bridge, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and brownfield remediation. These quality-of-life projects improve the State’s infrastructure, create jobs, promote economic development, and enhance the environment. www.riib.org – Facebook: @RIinfrastructure – Twitter: @RI_InfraBank
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (Infrastructure Bank) today announced the creation of a new pilot “Regional Resilience Coordinator” position to provide dedicated technical assistance to Aquidneck Island’s municipalities to implement climate resiliency investments. The hiring of this two-year pilot position has been made possible thanks to the support of the van Beuren Charitable Foundation.
“Through our Municipal Resilience Program work with Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth, each community has identified limited staff capacity and technical expertise as barriers to advancing climate resilience projects,” said Jeffrey R. Diehl, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. “Thanks to generous grant funding provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, the Infrastructure Bank will be hiring an Aquidneck Island Regional Resilience Coordinator to better facilitate strategic infrastructure investments to increase the island’s resilience to the impacts of climate change including sea level rise, storm water runoff, and flooding events. We are excited to offer this new resource and believe it will serve as a statewide model for regional collaboration.”
For those interested in the two-year pilot Aquidneck Island Regional Resilience Coordinator position, a detailed job description and how to apply instructions can be found here.
About the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is Rhode Island’s central hub for financing infrastructure improvements for municipalities, businesses, and homeowners. We leverage capital in a revolving fund to offer innovative financing for an array of infrastructure-based projects including water and wastewater, road and bridge, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and brownfield remediation. These quality-of-life projects improve the State’s infrastructure, create jobs, promote economic development, and enhance the environment. www.riib.org – Facebook: @RIinfrastructure – Twitter: @RI_InfraBank
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (Infrastructure Bank) today announced $205,000 in bridge financing and an $83,000 Stormwater Project Accelerator grant to enable Groundwork Rhode Island to complete a new community composting facility and vegetation garden at 34 Fuller Street and 37 Westfield Street in Providence. Funds will be used to install a comprehensive below-grade stormwater management system and corresponding site remediation efforts on the two abutting properties.
“Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is pleased to be providing Groundwork Rhode Island with the financing and grant resources they need to expand their successful community composting program,” said Infrastructure Bank CEO Jeffrey R. Diehl. “Groundwork had identified a promising site for an expanded composting facility, but soil contamination and the lack of stormwater management systems to control potentially polluted stormwater runoff was holding the project back. With this $288,000 package of bridge financing and a Stormwater Project Accelerator Grant, Groundwork will now be able to complete site remediation and stormwater management work to make their new community composting facility and vegetation garden a reality.”
“Groundwork Rhode Island deeply appreciates the financing and grant resources the Infrastructure Bank is providing so that we can complete construction of our new community composting facility and vegetation garden,” said Amelia Rose, Executive Director. “The Infrastructure Bank has been an incredible partner, helping us work through site preparation, technical, engineering, and financing issues to make this project a reality. A project that when completed will allow more Providence residences, restaurants, and institutions to take advantage of composting by recycling organic materials that would otherwise end up in the landfill.”
About Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank:
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is Rhode Island’s central hub for financing infrastructure improvements for municipalities, businesses, and homeowners. We leverage capital in a revolving fund to offer innovative financing for an array of infrastructure-based projects including water and wastewater, road and bridge, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and brownfield remediation. These quality of life projects improve the State’s infrastructure, create jobs, promote economic development and enhance the environment. For more information, please visit www.riib.org
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