2020 -- S 2194 | |
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LC004090 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- THE OCEAN STATE CLIMATE | |
ADAPTATION FUND | |
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Introduced By: Senators Lynch Prata, Pearson, Euer, Valverde, and Coyne | |
Date Introduced: February 04, 2020 | |
Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 46 of the General Laws entitled "WATERS AND NAVIGATION" is |
2 | hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 23.3 |
4 | THE OCEAN STATE CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE FUND |
5 | 46-23.3-1. Legislative findings and purpose. |
6 | The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: |
7 | (1) The production, transport and use of fossil fuels have significant impacts on the |
8 | environment. |
9 | (2) The impacts of climate change upon Rhode Island's built and natural environments |
10 | are wide-ranging, discernible and documented, and, in many cases growing in severity and |
11 | include sea level rise, coastal erosion, increased precipitation, flooding and storm surge. |
12 | (3) As of 2016, the range in sea level rise change is projected by the National Oceanic |
13 | and Atmospheric Administration to be a maximum of approximately one foot (1') in 2035, two |
14 | feet (2') in 2050 and up to nine feet (9') by 2100. |
15 | (4) Annual precipitation has increased by two inches (2") since 1950 and more intense |
16 | rainfall is flooding low-lying areas and threatening public infrastructure. |
17 | (5) Climate change has and will continue to pose significant risks for state and municipal |
18 | infrastructure and our environment, public health, welfare, and economic well-being. |
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1 | (6) Providing areas for coastal and estuarine habitats to migrate is essential to preserving |
2 | coastal and marine wildlife resources. |
3 | (7) Ecosystem services that natural environments provide, such as dampening of wave |
4 | energy and flood storage are at risk due to climate change, and protecting natural systems is vital |
5 | to protecting built infrastructure and is cost effective. |
6 | (8) Rhode Island infrastructure is at risk and the state must begin to plan and implement |
7 | projects to adapt to changing conditions. |
8 | (9) Reducing the vulnerability of our infrastructure is vital to the economic prosperity and |
9 | quality of life of the citizens of the state. |
10 | (10) The state, cities, and towns, need a dedicated, long-term source of funding to assist |
11 | in implementing projects to address the impacts of climate change. |
12 | (11) The purpose of this chapter is to create the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and |
13 | Resilience (OSCAR) fund as a dedicated long-term source of grant funds to enable cities and |
14 | towns to implement projects that restore and improve the climate resilience of vulnerable coastal |
15 | habitats, as well as river and stream floodplains with priority to projects that improve community |
16 | resilience and public safety. |
17 | 46-23.3-2. Definitions. |
18 | For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the |
19 | following meanings: |
20 | (1) "Adaptation and resilience projects" means those projects on public land that protect |
21 | or enhance coastal or riverine habitats, and are proposed in response to climate change impacts. |
22 | Adaption and resilience projects include those projects that reduce the vulnerability of low-lying |
23 | infrastructure on public land through measures that include removal and relocation of |
24 | infrastructure, restoration of river and stream floodplains, including regrading of banks, |
25 | revegetation, acquisition of that area of land necessary to maintain and preserve public access, |
26 | and redesigning, resizing and replacing culverts and bridge spans at existing wetland crossings. |
27 | (2) "Climate change impacts" in Rhode Island means and includes, but are not limited to, |
28 | flooding, erosion, sea level rise, and storm surge. |
29 | (3) "Council" means the coastal resources management council. |
30 | (4) "Department" means the department of environmental management. |
31 | (5) "Director" means the director of the department of environmental management. |
32 | (6) "Infrastructure" means and includes roads, parking lots and other paved surfaces, |
33 | shoreline protection structures, buildings, water control structures, culverts, other structures and |
34 | remnants of development. |
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1 | (7) "Public land(s)" means property owned by state or municipal governments, public and |
2 | private lands dedicated to public use, including lands that provide access to shorelines and |
3 | riverbanks. Public lands include properties where the state or municipality holds an easement for |
4 | public purposes. |
5 | (8) "Shoreline protection structures" means and includes revetments, bulkheads, seawalls |
6 | and floodwalls, breakwaters, jetties, and other structures, the purpose or effect of which is to |
7 | control the erosion of coastal or river features, and includes any sheet pile walls, concrete or stone |
8 | walls. |
9 | 46-23.3-3. Technical advisory committee. |
10 | There is hereby established a technical advisory committee consisting of seven (7) |
11 | members as follows: one member shall be the director of Save the Bay, or designee; one member |
12 | shall be the director of the University of Rhode Island School of Oceanography, or designee; one |
13 | member shall be the director of the Ocean Project, or designee; one member shall be the director |
14 | of the department of environmental management, or designee; one member shall be the director |
15 | of the coastal resources management council, or designee; one member shall be the director of the |
16 | state planning council within the department of administration, or designee; and one member |
17 | shall be the director of the Rhode Island emergency management authority, or designee. The |
18 | technical advisory committee shall serve as an advisory board to the department, council and the |
19 | program staff throughout this process. |
20 | 46-23.3-4. Establishment - The ocean state climate adaptation and resilience fund. |
21 | (a) Establishment. There is established within the coastal resources management council, |
22 | the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience fund (the "OSCAR fund"). |
23 | (b) Financing. The fund shall consist of the following sources: |
24 | (1) Sums the general assembly may appropriate; |
25 | (2) Monies received from Federal, state, or other sources, including bond funds, for the |
26 | purpose of climate adaptation; |
27 | (3) Monies received from any private donor for the OSCAR fund; |
28 | (4) The fees required pursuant to § 46-23.3-7; and |
29 | (5) Any interest earned on the monies in the fund. |
30 | (c) Allocation of OSCAR funds. OSCAR funds shall be used to carry out the purposes of |
31 | this chapter as follows: |
32 | (1) The administrative expenses required to carry out the activities of the program as |
33 | described in this chapter not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per agency. The |
34 | department and the council shall be responsible for submitting annual budget requests for its |
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1 | administrative and implementation costs of the program; |
2 | (2) The planning and design, engineering, construction, and monitoring of adaptation |
3 | projects as described in this chapter; and |
4 | (3) The OSCAR projects approved by the department and the council upon |
5 | recommendation of the technical advisory committee. Only grants approved through the process |
6 | established by the agencies shall be eligible for funding under this program. |
7 | (d) OSCAR fund grants. Factors to be taken into consideration by the technical advisory |
8 | committee for the purposes of granting monies to municipalities and the state for OSCAR grants, |
9 | determining the eligibility of projects for financial assistance, and in prioritizing the selection of |
10 | projects by the technical committee shall include, but need not be limited to: |
11 | (1) Consistency with the following where applicable: the council's most recent |
12 | projections for sea level rise, the coastal habitat restoration strategy, the state nonpoint pollution |
13 | control plan and other applicable state and federal laws. |
14 | (2) The ability and authority of the applicant to carry out and properly maintain the |
15 | adaptation project; |
16 | (3) Whether the project will enhance public access; |
17 | (4) The severity to, or the risk and/or extent of, infrastructure degradation on public land; |
18 | (5) The extent of the use by the public of the land; |
19 | (6) The proposed milestones to ensure that the project is completed as designed and |
20 | approved; |
21 | (7) Whether the adaptation project can also be shown to create or replace habitat losses |
22 | that benefit fish and wildlife resources; |
23 | (8) Potential water quality improvements; |
24 | (9) Potential improvements to fish and wildlife habitats for species which are identified |
25 | as rare or endangered by the Rhode Island natural history survey or the Federal Endangered |
26 | Species Act [16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.]; |
27 | (10) The level and extent of collaboration by partners (e.g., municipality, nongovernment |
28 | organization, watershed council, federal agency, etc.); and |
29 | (11) Overall potential benefits to the public and estimated length of time frame of benefit. |
30 | 46-23.3-5. Eligible and ineligible projects. |
31 | (a) Funds in the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience (OSCAR) fund shall be |
32 | used solely for adaptation projects as defined in § 46-23.3-2(1). |
33 | (b) The OSCAR fund shall not be used for: |
34 | (1) Mitigating any current, planned or future projects that degrade, fill, or otherwise |
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1 | destroy coastal, estuarine, or riverine habitats; |
2 | (2) Fulfilling any liability for restoration required by any local, state or federal agency |
3 | pursuant to an environmental or public health enforcement action; |
4 | (3) With the exception of culverts as specifically described in § 46-23.3-2(1), elevating, |
5 | repairing or replacing infrastructure, or constructing new infrastructure, in its existing location |
6 | that is experiencing climate change impacts as defined in § 46-23.3-2(2); |
7 | (4) Constructing new, or repairing existing shoreline protection structures; provided, |
8 | however, that existing shoreline protection structures on public parks may be repaired; and/or |
9 | (5) Constructing roads or bridges. |
10 | 46-23.3-6. Disbursement process and reporting. |
11 | (a) The department and the council shall establish and execute an annual process for the |
12 | solicitation, evaluation and award of grants for projects that meet the requirements set forth in in |
13 | this chapter. |
14 | (b) The department and the council shall submit a report to the speaker of the house of |
15 | representatives and the president of the senate not later than the tenth day following the |
16 | convening of each regular session of the general assembly. The report shall include the following: |
17 | (1) The amount of money awarded from the OSCAR fund during the preceding fiscal |
18 | year; |
19 | (2) A brief summary of the projects that received funding and a timeline of |
20 | implementation; and |
21 | (3) Any other information requested by the general assembly. |
22 | (c) Nothing contained in this chapter is intended to abrogate or affect the existing powers |
23 | of the department of environmental management or the coastal resources management council. |
24 | 46-23.3-7. Uniform climate change adaptation fee. |
25 | (a) A uniform climate change adaptation fee in an amount not exceeding five cents ($.05) |
26 | for each barrel of petroleum products, as set by the director pursuant to subsection (d) of this |
27 | section, shall be imposed upon every person owning petroleum products at the time the petroleum |
28 | products are received at a marine terminal within this state by means of a vessel from a point of |
29 | origin outside this state. The fee shall be remitted to the division of taxation on the thirtieth day of |
30 | each month based upon the number of barrels of petroleum products received during the |
31 | preceding month. |
32 | (b) Every owner of petroleum products shall be liable for the fee until it has been paid to |
33 | the state, except that payment to a marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is |
34 | sufficient to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee; provided, however, that the fee for |
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1 | asphalt products and asphalt derivatives shall be one cent ($.01) per barrel of asphalt products or |
2 | derivatives. |
3 | (c) Whenever the director, in consultation with the department and the division of |
4 | taxation, estimates that the amount in either fund will reach the amount specified in subsection (e) |
5 | of this section, and the money in the fund is not required for the purposes specified in § 46-23.3- |
6 | 1, the director shall instruct the division of taxation to cease collecting the fee. |
7 | (d) The division of taxation, except for the fee set out in subsection (b) of this section, |
8 | shall not set the amount of the fee at less than five cents ($0.05) for each barrel of petroleum |
9 | products or crude oil, unless the director finds that the assessment of a lesser fee will cause the |
10 | fund to reach the designated amount within six (6) months. |
11 | (e) For the purposes of this chapter, "designated amount" means an amount equal to ten |
12 | million dollars ($10,000,000), adjusted for inflation after January l, 2021, according to an index |
13 | which the director may reasonably choose. |
14 | (f) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Rhode Island |
15 | Climate Change and Adaptation fund, and shall be disbursed according to the purposes expressed |
16 | in §46-23.3-1. |
17 | 46-23.3-8. Regulations. |
18 | The council and the director shall adopt all rules and regulations necessary for the |
19 | administration and enforcement of this chapter. |
20 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2021. |
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LC004090 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- THE OCEAN STATE CLIMATE | |
ADAPTATION FUND | |
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1 | This act would establish the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience Fund. |
2 | The fund would enable cities, towns and the state to apply for grants to fund projects that |
3 | restore and improve the climate resilience of vulnerable coastal habitats, as well as river and |
4 | stream floodplains with priority to projects that improve community resilience and public |
5 | safety. |
6 | This act would take effect on July 1, 2021. |
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LC004090 | |
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