State Officials

In early September 2001, following the discovery of the water contamination, an interdepartmental committee was formed to lead the decision-making processes at the state level. The team included representatives from:

• The Office of the Governor
  
• Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH)
  
• Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
  
• Rhode Island Water Resources Board (WRB)

During the fall, major decisions (such as the move to install carbon filters in November) occurred at the committee level. In addition, some issues were resolved in Superior Court in hearings before Judge Stephen J. Fortunato. Meanwhile, the individual state agencies looked toward addressing issues such as health concerns and plans for site remediation. Eventually the Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Fund Review Board was called upon to assume much of the financial burden. Throughout the crisis, state senators and representatives advocated for relief for the Pascoag residents.

Office of the Governor (Lincoln Almond)
As the chief executive of the state, Governor Almond has authority over all agencies in the executive branch, including the DEM, HEALTH, and the WRB. The Governor also has the power to declare a state of emergency or a water emergency. Governor Almond has wide-ranging authority and discretion over the affairs of the state and its resources.

To address the Pascoag situation, the governor assembled an interdepartmental team of officials from the state agencies with jurisdiction over the various issues involved. He appointed Paul Sams, general manager of the WRB, to chair this committee and act as a facilitator. The governor did not declare a state of emergency; according to senior policy advisor Janis Loiselle, Governor Almond's position was that the declaration of a state of emergency would not help to access any funds or resources that were not currently being deployed to address the contamination. According to Loiselle, the governor himself did not visit Pascoag because he was confident that the agency officials with direct jurisdiction over the problem were working on it.

The Department of Health (HEALTH)
HEALTH (Director: Patricia Nolan, MD, MPH) sees as its general mission "to prevent disease and to promote the health and safety of the people of Rhode Island." (1) There are two units pertinent to the Pascoag water crisis, both under the Division of Environmental Health.

The first is the Office of Drinking Water Quality (Chief: June Swallow, PE), which "considers drinking water protection to be an essential and fundamental public health program." (2) This office is charged with ensuring the quality of the state's public drinking water supplies by making sure that the guidelines of the Safe Drinking Water Act are met. To do this, the office states that it "work[s] closely with local water suppliers, other state and federal programs, and various divisions within the Department of Health."

The office tries to identify and control sources of contamination by means of an extensive monitoring and surveying program, created through HEALTH regulations. These regulations cover many aspects of drinking water systems and protection, from the drilling of wells to the governance of public water supplies to rules for monitoring. If a water supplier is not in compliance with the regulations, HEALTH instructs them to come into compliance.

The other office under the Division of Environmental Health that pertains is the Office of Environmental Health Risk Assessment (Chief: Robert Vanderslice, Ph.D.) This office is charged with assessing health risks, helping to inform primary care providers in Rhode Island regarding these health risks, and working with the public, governmental officials, and the media for information exchange, risk management, risk assessment, and risk communication. This became extremely difficult in Pascoag due to the scientific uncertainty associated with MTBE (consult the section on MTBE for more information on this uncertainty).

Throughout the contamination, HEALTH officials would be present at committee meetings with other agency officials. HEALTH had authority over the use of the water buffaloes, the carbon filtration system, the interconnection with the Harrisville Fire District water system, and the water use restrictions issued to residents. HEALTH was also responsible for all water quality testing. Officials were present at several meetings with residents. They maintained information on their website and issued two mailings, one in November and one in December. To see the information given to residents in mailings and the water use restrictions, click here.

Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
The Rhode Island Department of Health, directed by Jan Rietsma, states as its goals "preserving the quality of Rhode Island's environment, maintaining the health and safety of its residents, and protecting the natural systems upon which life depends." The activities and responsibilities of the DEM are wide-ranging, including natural resource management, protection of clean air and clean water, and development of outdoor recreation areas.

DEM's policy in addressing contamination events of any kind typically begins with an effort to establish who is responsible for the problem. Once a potentially responsible party or parties have been identified, the DEM issues Compliance Orders instructing the parties to take steps which may include investigating the situation further, hiring a private contractor to remediate the problem, halting the source of the pollution, or other measures.

The Pascoag water contamination fell under the jurisdiction of the DEM Emergency Response Unit (Chief: Mike Mulhair) and the Office of Waste Management (Chief: Leo Hellested). When the contamination was discovered in early September 2001, the Emergency Response was dispatched to assess the situation and begin the process of identifying possibly responsible parties.

As part of the Office of Waste Management, the Underground Storage Tank (UST) program sets standards for proper management and monitoring of USTs to prevent leaks of fuel and other hazardous materials. In October, 2001, the DEM assumed responsibility for the investigation and remediation of the contamination. DEM also arranged for delivery of bottled water to Pascoag residents, paid for by pre-existing grants totalling $400,000 from the EPA Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust fund and then reimbursed by the UST Review Board (for more information on money sources, consult the UST Review Board section). DEM is continuing with the ongoing remediation of the site, using a $1 million grant from the EPA to fund this project. Mr. Hellested estimates that the cleanup will take from 2 to 5 years to complete.

Rhode Island Water Resources Board (WRB)
The Rhode Island Water Resource Board is the state agency charged with protecting the quantity and quality of Rhode Island's surface and ground water. Water suppliers are required to submit management plans, including emergency management plans, to the WRB every 5 years. Governor Almond appointed Paul Sams, the general manager of the WRB, to facilitate the interdepartmental committee handling the Pascoag situation.

UST Review Board (USTFRFRB)
The Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Fund Review Board (executive director: Michaela Brockman) was formed as a state agency in 1994 to administer a fund that underground storage tank owners can access in the event of a leak at their facilities. The fund represents the accrual of a 1-cent per gallon tax on gasoline sold in Rhode Island. The USTFRFRB, which became a quasi-public agency in 2002, authorizes up to $1 million in clean-up costs and $1 million in third-party damages per spill. It is intended mainly as a reimbursement fund for the tank owners. Third-party damages are costs incurred by those other than the tank owner in dealing with the effects of the contamination.

In Pascoag, clean-up monies were disbursed directly to DEM because DEM assumed responsibility for the site once the Main St. Mobil station was placed into court receivership (consult the section on Judge Stephen J. Fortunato). Third-party damage reimbursements were paid out to residents who incurred costs through drilling wells and installing filter systems. UST Fund monies also paid for the costs of expediting the Eccelston Field wells in Harrisville to create the interconnection between Harrisville and Pascoag (for more information the interconnection, consult the section on problem areas).

Judge Stephen J. Fortunato
Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato played an important role in the outcome of the Pascoag water situation. DEM first came before the Judge in late September, asking the court to enforce the Immediate Compliance Order that had been issued to Main Street Mobil station operators Potter Oil, Inc. and Medea LLC and owners Robert and Mary Ellen Lavardiere. Though initially satisfied that the responsible parties were making sufficient efforts to investigate the site, a week later Judge Fortunato sided with the DEM and ordered Robert S. Potter and the Lavardieres to drill further wells. Later in October, with the news that Potter was not paying his hired environmental consultants, Fortunato placed the Main Street Mobil station into receivership. (Medea LLC and Potter Oil, Inc. filed for federal bankruptcy soon after.)

Judge Fortunato also presided over a series of lawsuits filed by Pascoag residents. On January 11, he ruled in favor of a group of Pascoag residents and business owners, ordering that the PUD wells be turned off and that the neighboring village of Harrisville immediately begin supplying clean water to Pascoag. [To read the ruling converting the January 11 restraining order to a permanent injunction, click here.]

General Assembly
State Representative Scott Rabideau (R-Burrillville), a Pascoag resident, became very involved in the water situation on a local level. Convinced that a Pascoag-Harrisville merger was the only viable solution, Rep. Rabideau ran for and was elected to the Pascoag Utility District Board of Commissioners in October, 2001. Despite his efforts, the proposed merger was voted down by Pascoag ratepayers in January, days after Judge Fortunato's ruling mandated that the Pascoag wells be shut off and that the Harrisville Fire Department begin supplying clean water to its neighboring village.

Senator Paul Fogarty (D-Burrillville, Glocester), also expressed concern for the residents of Pascoag. In October the Senator called on Governor Almond to step up the state involvement and assistance. Later, Fogarty was vocally critical of the state response to the contamination event, and identified several areas where the response was insufficient, among which he cited an "unresponsive" governor. Senator Fogarty sponsored a bill in the state senate on January 8, 2002, that would call for the elimination of MTBE as a gasoline additive in Rhode Island. The Senate passed a resolution to be sent to the United State Congress, while the bill specific to a Rhode Island ban on the chemical is still under study by the General Assembly.

1. http://www.Healthri.org/about.htm, Accessed September, 2002

2. http://www.Healthri.org/environment/dwq/home.htm Accessed September, 2002