2018 -- S 2116

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LC003869

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS

DRILLING AND EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES CONTROL ACT

     

     Introduced By: Senators Euer, Calkin, Sosnowski, Miller, and DiPalma

     Date Introduced: January 23, 2018

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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SECTION 1. Title 46 of the General Laws entitled "WATERS AND NAVIGATION" is hereby

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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 5.2

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THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING AND EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES CONTROL

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ACT

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     46-5.2-1. Legislative findings.

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     The general assembly hereby makes the following findings:

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     (1) The federal government by and through the executive authority of the President has

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proposed a program to vastly expand offshore drilling, including off the east coast ocean waters

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of which expansion has the very real potential to significantly damage Rhode Island's coastline

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and negatively impact the state's coastal resources;

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     (2)The state of Rhode Island, nicknamed the Ocean State, wraps around Narragansett Bay

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and encompasses one of New England's deepwater ports;

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     (3) Rhode Island's waterways and coastline are critically linked to the health of its

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economy, and its communities, businesses, and industries are dependent upon the preservation

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and protection of its ocean and coast;

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     (4) Offshore oil and gas drilling and exploration places the state's coastal communities at

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economic and ecological risk from oil spills and the pollution brought by routine drilling

 

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operations and onshore industrialization, and threatens the quality of life and livelihoods of

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Rhode Island citizens and important industries, such as tourism and recreation, commercial and

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recreational fishing, and small businesses that rely on a clean and healthy ocean and beaches;

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     (5) Offshore drilling usually requires construction of significant onshore infrastructure,

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such as pipelines or refineries, which would harm the character of Rhode Island’s coastline and

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could exacerbate wetlands loss, storm surge and sea level rise impacts;

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     (6) The harmful impacts from offshore oil and gas drilling and exploration anywhere

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along the Atlantic ocean coastline may extend far beyond immediately surrounding areas and

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severely impact communities that rely on the robust economy of the marine industry, the

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commercial fishing and seafood industry with total sales of one hundred fifty million four

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hundred thousand dollars ($150,400,000), total income of one million six hundred forty thousand

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dollars ($1,640,000), and total employment of approximately five thousand (5,000), and the travel

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and tourism industry, resulting in a total economic impact of two billion three hundred seventy

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million dollars ($2,370,000,000) (five percent (5%) of RI gross state product), more than forty-

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two thousand (42,000) jobs (nine and three-tenths percent (9.3%) of total employment) and

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tourism generating nine hundred thirty million dollars ($930,000,000) in federal, state and local

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government taxes (making up eight and four-tenths percent (8.4%) of Rhode Island state

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revenue);

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     (7) Offshore drilling and exploration perpetuates ties to dirty carbon pollution and

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contributes to climate change, the resulting sea level rise and extreme weather;

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     (8) The federal government has expressed interest in opening the Atlantic Ocean to

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offshore oil and gas drilling and exploration, including the use of seismic airguns, which fire

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intense blasts of compressed air that rank just behind military explosives as the loudest source of

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noise in the ocean, every ten (10) to twelve (12) seconds, twenty-four (24) hours a day, for

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months on end;

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     (9) Seismic airgun blasting to explore for oil and gas deposits has been proven to disrupt

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and displace marine life, such as whales which rely on sound to find food and mate, and can

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impair the health of many fish and shellfish species, including those of commercial importance

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like squid, lobster, and scallops; and

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     (10) The general assembly of the state of Rhode Island hereby finds that offshore oil and

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gas drilling and exploration unnecessarily risks the state's economic and ecological health and

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hereby enacts legislation which controls within the waters of the state any impacts on the citizens

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of Rhode Island that may result from oil and gas development and exploration offshore.

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     46-5.2-2. Short title.

 

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     This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling and

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Exploration Activities Control Act."

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     46-5.2-3. Prohibition against construction of gas and oil storage facilities and

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transmission pipelines.

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     (a) No individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation (including a quasi-

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government corporation), municipality, municipal or state agency, nonprofit agency or country

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shall construct any pipelines, piers, wharves or other infrastructure passing through state waters

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for the purpose of transporting any oil or gas generated by any offshore drilling program into this

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state.

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     (b) Similarly, none of the entities set forth in subsection (a) of this section, shall construct

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onshore oil or gas terminals, pipelines and other oil or gas equipment in this state relating to any

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offshore drilling program.

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     46-5.2-4. Prohibition against offshore oil and gas drilling.

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     None of the entities set forth in § 46-5.2-3(a) shall engage in any drilling or exploration

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activities relating to discovery of oil and gas within the waters of the state up to three (3) miles

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distance from the shores of the state or any of its islands.

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     46-5.2-5. Powers and duties of the director.

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     (a) In addition to the other powers granted the director of the department of

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environmental management, the director shall have and may exercise these powers and duties:

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     (1) To exercise general supervision of the administration and enforcement of this chapter

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and all rules and regulations and orders promulgated hereunder;

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     (2) To promulgate rules and regulations for the assessment of penalties and recovery of

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costs and of damages as set forth in this chapter; and for any other procedures necessary for the

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implementation of this chapter; and

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     (3) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

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     (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the powers and duties of the

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director over water pollution, including the discharge of oil, as established in this title, or in

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chapter 17.1 of title 42, or in title 23.

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     46-5.2-6. Damages.

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     (a) In addition to penalties established in this chapter, any person who violates or causes

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or permits to be violated a provision of this chapter or rule, regulation, or order pursuant thereto,

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shall be strictly liable to the state for these costs and expenses:

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     (1) Compensation for any adverse environmental effects caused by the violation, which

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the court shall determine according to the toxicity, degradability, and dispersal characteristics of

 

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the substance discharged, the nature and sensitivity of the receiving environment, and the degree

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to which the discharge degrades existing environmental quality;

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     (2) Costs that the state has incurred in detection, investigation, and correction of the

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violation; and

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     (3) The economic advantage that the person realized in not complying with the

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requirements and provisions of this chapter.

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     (b) Liability for damages under subsection (a) of this section includes an amount equal to

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the sum of money required to restock injured land or waters, to replenish a damaged or degraded

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resource, or to otherwise restore the environment of the state to its condition before the injury.

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     (c) Nothing in this section shall preclude the state or any private party from seeking

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additional damages and/or penalties in a civil action brought pursuant to any other provision of

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the general laws or pursuant to common law, or to limit the damages which can be awarded in

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such an action.

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     46-5.2-7. Proceedings for enforcement.

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     The superior court shall have the jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this chapter and

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any rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto. Proceedings for enforcement may be

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instituted by the attorney general or the director, and in any proceedings in which the attorney

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general or the director seeks injunctive relief, it shall not be necessary to show that without the

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relief, the injury that will result will be irreparable or that the remedy at law is inadequate.

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Proceedings provided in this section shall be in addition to other administrative or judicial

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proceedings authorized by this chapter or pursuant to any other provision of the general laws or

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common law.

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     46-5.2-8. Criminal penalties.

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     (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a person who willfully or with

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criminal negligence violates a provision of this chapter, or of a rule or regulation promulgated

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under this chapter or order of the director issued under this chapter shall be punished by a fine of

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not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by imprisonment for not more than five

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(5) years, or by both such a fine and imprisonment; and every person shall be deemed guilty of a

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separate and distinct offense for each day during which the violations shall be repeated or

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continued.

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     (b) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification

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in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained

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under this chapter or by any permit, rule, regulation, or order issued under this chapter or who

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falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method

 

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required to be maintained under this chapter, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not

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more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each instance of violation, or by

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imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

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     46-5.2-9. Emergency powers.

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     The director shall have all emergency powers and procedures set forth in § 46-12-10.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS

DRILLING AND EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES CONTROL ACT

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     This act would regulate activities related to any offshore oil and gas drilling, including

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exploration in federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to minimize any adverse effects

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resulting therefrom within the territorial waters and coastline of the state.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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