Rhode Island Environmental Rights Act

The act provides for the protection of the environment through the courts, authorizing suits in which a judge may determine the effect of particular conduct on the environment and grant declaratory and equitable relief, including temporary and permanent injunctions. It establishes the procedure for such actions — advance notice before suit, a burden-shifting structure in which a prima facie showing may be answered by rebuttal evidence or an affirmative defense, security as a condition of an injunction, and the award of counsel and expert witness fees — and permits a court to refer matters to administrative or other proceedings while retaining jurisdiction. The relief it authorizes is additional to, not a substitute for, remedies available under other law.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.