In her Feb. 14 column, "Longer runway leads to R.I. prosperity," Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo states, "Investing in our infrastructure is critical to making Rhode Island an attractive place to do business, and to creating jobs."

I could not agree more. This is precisely why the Rhode Island Airport Corporation should immediately commence construction of a de-icing treatment facility designed to capture substantially all of the poisonous gylcol that it uses to de-ice airplanes, and that currently flows into Warwick Pond, Buckeye Brook and Narragansett Bay.

For the reasons explained by Ms. Raimondo, this project is of crucial importance to Rhode Island: It will create good-paying engineering and construction jobs, and it will preserve Rhode Island's environment, one of the primary advantages of the Ocean State for businesses and workers resident here.

George W. Shuster Jr.
Warwick