RI COVID-19 wastewater surveillance

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the Rhode Island Department of Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19 surveillance in Rhode Island wastewater/sewersheds.

2) For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19 surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint of that information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout of the database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of any field names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database.

The Documenting COVID-19 project, housed at MuckRock, is a nonprofit organization working on behalf of news organizations, academics and other public bodies to provide clear, timely information for public dissemination. We have recently published our findings in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications.

This information is in the public interest as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than the required amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

If you have any questions about this request, you can reach me at 860-805-4995.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Betsy Ladyzhets

Hi Pamela,

I believe this records request should have gone to you instead of the email address to which I previously sent it. I've copied the full text of the request below for your reference; please let me know if you have any questions. You can reach me here or at 860-805-4995.

Pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the Rhode Island Department of Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19 surveillance in Rhode Island wastewater/sewersheds.

2) For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19 surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint of that information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout of the database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of any field names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database.

The Documenting COVID-19 project, housed at MuckRock, is a nonprofit organization working on behalf of news organizations, academics and other public bodies to provide clear, timely information for public dissemination. We have recently published our findings in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications.

This information is in the public interest as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than the required amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Betsy Ladyzhets

Hi Pamela,

Got it, thank you for the update! If there are any questions about the request, you can reach me here or at 860-805-4995.

Best,
Betsy

Hi Pamela,

Got it, thank you for the information! I'll reach out to him.

Best,
Betsy