650 R.I. Code R. § 650-RICR-20-00-1.1 Authorities and Purpose, Definitions and Procedures

• Library: Rhode Island Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through December 28, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 650 R.I. Code R. § 650-RICR-20-00-1.1

1.1.1 Authority and Purpose

A. Pursuant to the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. §§ 16Congressional findings1451 through 16Appeals relating to offshore mineral development1466) and R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-23 the Coastal Resources Management Council is authorized to develop and adopt policies and regulations necessary to manage the coastal resources of the state and to provide for the integration and coordination of the protection of natural resources, the promotion of reasonable coastal-dependent economic growth, and the improved protection of life and property from coastal hazards. Further, the Council is authorized to collaborate with the state building commissioner and adopt freeboard calculations (a factor of added safety above the anticipated flood level) in accordance with R.I. Gen Laws § 23Hurricane, storm, and flood standards23-27.3-100.1.5.5.

B. The regulations herein constitute the RICR regulatory component of the Coastal Resources Management Program Red Book and must be read in conjunction with the Red Book guidance document containing the findings and other non-regulatory components for the full and proper context that forms the basis and purpose of this Part. The Red Book guidance document should be employed in interpreting R.I. Gen. Laws § 46Legislative findings46-23-1, et seq.

1.1.2 Definitions

A. Definitions for this Part are as follows:1. "Activities and alterations inland of shoreline features and their contiguous areas within state boundaries that may require a Council Assent" means: solid waste disposal minerals extraction; power generation over forty (40) megawatts; chemical and petroleum processing, transfer, and storage (excluding storage facilities of less than 2,400 barrel capacity); and sewage treatment and disposal (excluding onsite wastewater treatment systems) desalination plans, and activities affecting freshwater wetlands in the vicinity of the coast. 2. "Agency" means boards, commissions departments, or offices thereof, other than the legislature or the courts authorized by law to make rules, determine contested cases, or issue permits. 3. "Agricultural" means any activity as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 2"Agricultural operations" defined2-23-4. 4. "Alteration of a marina" means any activity that result in changes to the existing or previously approved recreational boating facility design. Such activities include, but are not limited to, the removal, addition, or relocation of piles, floating docks or fixed piers and changes to the marina perimeter limit. 5. "Alterations to coastal wetlands" means any alterations to the functions and values of wetlands including, but not limited to: filling, removing or grading; dredging and dredged materials disposal; and any significant cutting or removal of vegetation; and excavation, draining damming and/or diverting of hydrological flows in a coastal wetland. Any activity, including the aforementioned, taking place in an area adjacent to a coastal wetland which impacts the coastal wetland, shall be considered an alteration to coastal wetlands. 6. "Alterations to the circulation of tidal waters" means all structures and fill material that alter the behavior of waters within tidal water bodies, including the removal of tidal waters for industrial cooling or other purposes and the installation of structures in embayments and salt ponds that alter the volumes and/or timing of exchange with outlying tidal waters. 7. "Alterations to the flows of tributaries" means the installation of dams or other devices or fill material that alter flows of tributaries to tidal waters and that significantly change the timing and/or volumes of fresh water to coastal waters. 8. "Approved harbor management plan" or "HMP" means a plan that has been prepared by a municipality in accordance with the CRMC municipal harbor regulations and CRMC Guidelines for the Development of Municipal Harbor Management Plans, adopted by a city or town council, and approved by the Coastal Resources Management Council. 9. "Approved waters" means marine waters of the state classified by RIDEM as approved areas fit for the taking of shellfish for human consumption on a regular basis according to criteria established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. 10. "Aquaculture" (refer to definitions of "marine aquaculture" and "freshwater aquaculture" in § 1.1.2 of this Part herein.) 11. "Areas of historic and archaeological significance" means those resources as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 45Definitions45-22.2-4(12). 12. "Associated residential structures" means but is not limited to, decks, porches, walls, boardwalks, swimming pools, roads, driveways, and shall include other structures integral to or ancillary to a residential building including minor grading, filling or excavation typically 10 cubic yards or less. 13. "Barrier" means an island or spit comprised of sand and/or gravel, extending parallel to the coast and separated from the mainland by a coastal pond, tidal water body, or coastal wetland. In addition to a beach, barriers have, in most cases, a frontal foredune zone and often, back barrier dune fields. The lateral limits of barriers are defined by the area where unconsolidated sand or gravel of the barrier abuts bedrock or glacial sediment. This definition of a barrier system is commonly associated with many geomorphic descriptors. These descriptors include, but are not limited to, barrier islands, bay barriers, and spits. Spits are further described as tombolo, shingle, cuspate, and flying spits. The terms "bar" and "ridge" were once used to describe a barrier system, but have since been replaced with the term "barrier". The barriers or portions thereof designated by the federal government as undeveloped pursuant to their criteria, under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 ( Public Law 97-348) are noted in Table 5 in §1.2.2(C) of this Part. In these federally designated areas, flood insurance for most forms of construction is not available. Many of the state's barriers have been mapped and assigned by the Coastal Resources Management Council into three categories as follows: a. "Undeveloped barrier" means those essentially free of commercial/industrial buildings, (excluding public utility lines) houses, surfaced roads, and structural shoreline protection facilities. b. "Moderately developed barrier" means those that are essentially free of houses, commercial/ industrial buildings and/or facilities (excluding utility lines) that contain surfaced roads, recreational structures, and/or structural shoreline protection facilities. c. "Developed barriers" mean those that contain houses and/or commercial/industrial structures; they may also contain surfaced roads and structural shoreline protection facilities. 14. "Beach grass" means the dominant vegetative cover of sand dunes (Ammophila spp.). 15. "Beach pavilion" means a recreational structure constructed for recreational purposes on a shoreline feature, its contiguous area, or in tidal waters that serves members of the public, owned by a municipal, state, or federal program. 16. "Boat" means any vessel or watercraft as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 46Definitions46-12-1(1). 17. "Boat and float lift systems" means accessory structures to residential boating facilities that raise either a boat or float out of the water. Generally, a cradle or strap supports the vessel or float while it is being lifted by a pulley-type lift system. Overhead arms or crane-like systems may also be used to lift vessels out of the water. 18. "Boat or vessel count" means any space where a vessel may be docked or stored by wet slip, float, mooring or other device. Dry stack vessels will receive a separate boat count. Dinghies, canoes, kayaks and other small tenders (12' or less) to vessels shall not be included in the boat count. 19. "Breachway" means a connecting channel, usually between a coastal pond and the ocean, which permits water exchange between the two. 20. "Breakwater" means either an exposed or submerged structure that protect a shore, harbor, anchorage, or basin by intercepting waves. Sometimes breakwaters are placed parallel to the open shoreline to retard the force of incoming waves to headland and barrier beaches. 21. "Buffer zone" means a land area on or contiguous to a shoreline feature that is retained in its natural undisturbed condition. 22. "Bulkhead" means a wood, steel, or concrete structure built to retain or prevent mass wasting and collapse of a bluff into the sea; it provides limited protection from damage by waves. 23. "Certified verification agent" or "CVA" means an individual or organization, experienced in the design, fabrication, and installation of an energy related facility or structure, who will conduct specified third-party reviews, inspections, and verifications in accordance with this Part. 24. "Climate" means the long-term weather average observed within a geographic region, and...