In June, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund for the purpose of providing technical, administrative and financial assistance to local governmental units for resiliency and stormwater abatement projects.
The landmark legislation establishes a dedicated revolving fund within the RIIB to support local climate resiliency projects. The fund will provide long-term financing for projects such as stormwater mitigation, coastal erosion control, floodproofing and urban greening. It builds on the success of the Municipal Resilience Program and positions Rhode Island as a national leader in climate infrastructure readiness, according to a statement from the Rhode Island General Treasurer.
The fund was introduced at the request of the Rhode Island Treasury and the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (RIIB) by Frank Ciccone, Rhode Island Senate majority leader, and representative Terri Cortvriend.