State Sen. Dawn Euer, D-Newport, the bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate, reminded the crowd that Bowen’s Wharf was under water in 2012 in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, to illustrate what’s at stake for coastal communities. The average sea level of Narragansett Bay has risen six inches in the last 30 years and is expected to accelerate, speakers said.
For more than a decade, versions of this bill have been introduced into the General Assembly, she said. In 2014, former State Sen. William J. Conley Jr., D-East Providence, successfully sponsored the Resilience RI bill “that set the framework that led to today’s victory,” she said.
“That history is important to understand and recognize that while the change we want to see does not happen overnight, progress continues to happen day by day and year by year,” Euer said. “It happens when we come together and work for a cause.”
