Chapter 465
2006 -- H 7344 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/07/06
A N A C T
RELATING
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Introduced
By: Representatives Long, Ginaitt, Lewiss, Shanley, and Loughlin
Date
Introduced: February 15, 2006
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1.
Sections 42-17.1-2 and 42-17.1-2.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-17.1
entitled "Department of Environmental
Management" are hereby amended to read as follows:
42-17.1-2.
Powers and duties. -- The director of environmental management shall
have
the following powers and duties:
(a) To supervise
and control the protection, development, planning, and utilization of the
natural resources of the state, such resources, including
but not limited to, water, plants, trees,
soil, clay, sand, gravel, rocks and other
minerals, air, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
shellfish, and other forms of aquatic, insect,
and animal life;
(b) To exercise
all functions, powers, and duties heretofore vested in the department of
agriculture and conservation, and in each of the
divisions of the department, such as the
promotion of agriculture and animal husbandry in
their several branches, including the inspection
and suppression of contagious diseases among
animals, the regulation of the marketing of farm
products, the inspection of orchards and
nurseries, the protection of trees and shrubs from
injurious insects and diseases, protection from
forest fires, the inspection of apiaries and the
suppression of contagious diseases among bees,
prevention of the sale of adulterated or
misbranded agricultural seeds, promotion and
encouragement of the work of farm bureaus in
cooperation with the University of Rhode Island,
farmers' institutes and the various organizations
established for the purpose of developing an
interest in agriculture, together with such other
agencies and activities as the governor and the
general assembly may from time to time place
under the control of the department, and as
heretofore vested by such of the following chapters
and sections of the general laws as are
presently applicable to the department of environmental
management and which were previously applicable
to the department of natural resources and the
department of agriculture and conservation or to
any of its divisions: chapters 1 through 22,
inclusive, as amended, in title 2 entitled
"Agriculture and Forestry;" chapters 1 through 17,
inclusive, as amended, in title 4 entitled
"Animals and Animal Husbandry;" chapters 1 through
19, inclusive, as amended, in title 20 entitled
"Fish and Wildlife;" chapters 1 through 32,
inclusive, as amended, in title 21 entitled
"Food and Drugs;" chapter 7 of title 23 as amended,
entitled "Mosquito Abatement;" and by
any other general or public law relating to the department
of agriculture and conservation or to any of its
divisions or bureaus;
(c) To exercise
all the functions, powers, and duties heretofore vested in the division of
parks and recreation of the department of public
works by chapters 1, 2, and 5 in title 32 entitled
"Parks and Recreational Areas;" by
chapter 22.5 of title 23, as amended, entitled "Drowning
Prevention and Lifesaving;" and by any other
general or public law relating to the division of
parks and recreation;
(d) To exercise
all the functions, powers, and duties heretofore vested in the division of
harbors and rivers of the department of public
works, or in the department itself by such as were
previously applicable to the division or the
department, of chapters 1 through 22 and sections
thereof, as amended, in title 46 entitled
"Waters and Navigation"; and by any other general or
public law relating to the division of harbors
and rivers;
(e) To exercise
all the functions, powers and duties heretofore vested in the department
of health by chapters 25, 18.9, and 19.5 of
title 23, as amended, entitled "Health and Safety;" and
by chapters 12 and 16 of title 46, as amended,
entitled "Waters and Navigation"; by chapters 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 18, and 19 of title 4, as
amended, entitled "Animals and Animal Husbandry;"
and those functions, powers, and duties
specifically vested in the director of environmental
management by the provisions of section 21-2-22,
as amended, entitled "Inspection of Animals
and Milk;" together with other powers and
duties of the director of the department of health as are
incidental to or necessary for the performance
of the functions transferred by this section;
(f) To cooperate
with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation in its
planning and promotional functions, particularly
in regard to those resources relating to
agriculture, fisheries, and recreation;
(g) To cooperate
with, advise, and guide conservation commissions of cities and towns
created under chapter 35 of title 45 entitled
"Conservation Commissions", as enacted by chapter
203 of the Public Laws, 1960;
(h) To assign or
reassign, with the approval of the governor, any functions, duties, or
powers established by this chapter to any agency
within the department, except as hereinafter
limited;
(i) To cooperate
with the water resources board and to provide to the board facilities,
administrative support, staff services, and such
other services as the board shall reasonably
require for its operation and, in cooperation
with the board and the statewide planning program to
formulate and maintain a long range guide plan
and implementing program for development of
major water sources transmissions systems needed
to furnish water to regional and local
distribution systems;
(j) To cooperate
with the solid waste management corporation and to provide to the
corporation such facilities, administrative
support, staff services and such other services within
the department as the corporation shall
reasonably require for its operation;
(k) To provide
for the maintenance of waterways and boating facilities, consistent with
chapter 6.1 of title 46, by: (1) establishing
minimum standards for upland beneficial use and
disposal of dredged material; (2) promulgating
and enforcing rules for water quality, ground
water protection, and fish and wildlife
protection pursuant to section 42-17.1-24; (3) planning for
the upland beneficial use and/or disposal of
dredged material in areas not under the jurisdiction of
the council pursuant to section 46-23-6(2); and
(4) cooperating with the coastal resources
management council in the development and
implementation of comprehensive programs for
dredging as provided for in sections
46-23-6(1)(ii)(H) and 46-23-18.3; and (5) monitoring dredge
material management and disposal sites in
accordance with the protocols established pursuant to
section 46-6.1-5(3) and the comprehensive
program provided for in section 46-23-6(1)(ii)(H); no
powers or duties granted herein shall be
construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the
coastal resources management council under chapter
23 of title 46, as amended;
(l) To establish
minimum standards, subject to the approval of the environmental
standards board, relating to the location,
design, construction and maintenance of all sewage
disposal systems;
(m) To enforce,
by such means as provided by law, the standards for the quality of air,
and water, and the design, construction and
operation of all sewage disposal systems; any order or
notice issued by the director relating to the
location, design, construction or maintenance of a
sewage disposal system shall be eligible for
recordation under chapter 13 of title 34. The director
shall forward the order or notice to the city or
town wherein the subject property is located and
the order or notice shall be recorded in the
general index by the appropriate municipal official in
the land evidence records in the city or town
wherein the subject property is located. Any
subsequent transferee of that property shall be
responsible for complying with the requirements of
the order or notice. Upon satisfactory
completion of the requirements of the order or notice, the
director shall provide written notice of the
same, which notice shall be similarly eligible for
recordation. The original written notice shall be
forwarded to the city or town wherein the subject
property is located and the notice of
satisfactory completion shall be recorded in the general index
by the appropriate municipal official in the
land evidence records in the city or town wherein the
subject property is located. A copy of the
written notice shall be forwarded to the owner of the
subject property within five (5) days of a
request for it, and, in any event, shall be forwarded to
the owner of the subject property within thirty
(30) days after correction;
(n) To establish
minimum standards for the establishment and maintenance of salutary
environmental conditions;, including
standards and methods for the assessment and the
consideration of the cumulative effects on the
environment of regulatory actions and decisions,
which standards for consideration of cumulative
effects shall provide for: (1) evaluation of
potential cumulative effects that could
adversely effect public health and/or impair ecological
functioning; (2) analysis of such other matters
relative to cumulative effects as the department
may deem appropriate in fulfilling its duties,
functions and powers; which standards and methods
shall only be applicable to ISDS systems in the
town of Jamestown in areas that are dependent for
water supply on private and public wells, unless
broader use is approved by the general assembly.
The department shall report to the general
assembly not later than March 15, 2008 with regard to
the development and application of such standards
and methods in Jamestown.
(o) To establish
and enforce minimum standards for permissible types of septage,
industrial waste disposal sites and waste oil
disposal sites;
(p) To establish
minimum standards subject to the approval of the environmental
standards board for permissible types of refuse
disposal facilities, the design, construction,
operation, and maintenance of disposal
facilities; and the location of various types of facilities;
(q) To exercise
all functions, powers, and duties necessary for the administration of
chapter 19.1 of title 23 entitled "Rhode
Island Hazardous Waste Management Act";
(r) To designate
in writing any person in any department of the state government or any
official of a district, county, city, town, or
other governmental unit, with that official's consent, to
enforce any rule, regulation, or order
promulgated and adopted by the director under any
provision of law, provided, however, that
enforcement of powers of the coastal resources
management council shall be assigned only to
employees of the department of environmental
management, except by mutual agreement or as
otherwise provided in chapter 23 of title 46.
(s) To issue and enforce
such rules, regulations, and orders as may be necessary to carry
out the duties assigned to the director and the
department by any provision of law; and to conduct
such investigations and hearings and to issue,
suspend, and revoke such licenses as may be
necessary to enforce those rules, regulations,
and orders;
(1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 42-35-9 to the contrary, no informal
disposition of a contested licensing matter
shall occur where resolution substantially deviates
from the original application unless all
interested parties shall be notified of said proposed
resolution and provided with opportunity to
comment upon said resolution pursuant to applicable
law and any rules and regulations established by
the director.
(t) To enter,
examine or survey at any reasonable time such places as the director deems
necessary to carry out his or her
responsibilities under any provision of law subject to the
following provisions:
(1) For criminal
investigations, the director shall, pursuant to chapter 5 of title 12, seek a
search warrant from an official of a court
authorized to issue warrants, unless a search without a
warrant is otherwise allowed or provided by law;
(2) (A) All
administrative inspections shall be conducted pursuant to administrative
guidelines promulgated by the department in
accordance with chapter 35 of title 42.
(B) A warrant
shall not be required for administrative inspections if conducted under the
following circumstances, in accordance with the
applicable constitutional standards:
(i) For closely
regulated industries;
(ii) In
situations involving open fields or conditions that are in plain view;
(iii) In
emergency situations;
(iv) In
situations presenting an imminent threat to the environment or public health,
safety or welfare;
(v) If the owner,
operator, or agent in charge of the facility, property, site or location
consents; or
(vi) In other
situations in which a warrant is not constitutionally required.
(C) Whenever it
shall be constitutionally or otherwise required by law, or whenever the
director in his or her discretion deems it
advisable, an administrative search warrant, or its
functional equivalent, may be obtained by the director
from a neutral magistrate for the purpose
of conducting an administrative inspection. The
warrant shall be issued in accordance with the
applicable constitutional standards for the
issuance of administrative search warrants. The
administrative standard of probable cause, not
the criminal standard of probable cause, shall
apply to applications for administrative search
warrants.
(i) The need for,
or reliance upon, an administrative warrant shall not be construed as
requiring the department to forfeit the element
of surprise in its inspection efforts.
(ii) An
administrative warrant issued pursuant to this subsection must be executed and
returned within ten (10) days of its issuance
date unless, upon a showing of need for additional
time, the court orders otherwise.
(iii) An
administrative warrant may authorize the review and copying of documents that
are relevant to the purpose of the inspection.
If documents must be seized for the purpose of
copying, and the warrant authorizes such
seizure, the person executing the warrant shall prepare
an inventory of the documents taken. The time,
place and manner regarding the making of the
inventory shall be set forth in the terms of the
warrant itself, as dictated by the court. A copy of
the inventory shall be delivered to the person
from whose possession or facility the documents
were taken. The seized documents shall be copied
as soon as feasible under circumstances
preserving their authenticity, then returned to
the person from whose possession or facility the
documents were taken.
(iv) An
administrative warrant may authorize the taking of samples of air, water or
soil
or of materials generated, stored or treated at
the facility, property, site or location. Upon request,
the department shall make split samples
available to the person whose facility, property, site or
location is being inspected.
(v) Service of an
administrative warrant may be required only to the extent provided for
in the terms of the warrant itself, by the
issuing court.
(D) Penalties. -
Any willful and unjustified refusal of right of entry and inspection to
department personnel pursuant to an
administrative warrant shall constitute a contempt of court
and shall subject the refusing party to
sanctions, which in the courts discretion may result in up to
six (6) months imprisonment and/or a monetary
fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per
refusal.
(u) To give notice
of an alleged violation of law to the person responsible therefor
whenever the director determines that there are
reasonable grounds to believe that there is a
violation of any provision of law within his or
her jurisdiction or of any rule or regulation adopted
pursuant to authority granted to him or her,
unless other notice and hearing procedure is
specifically provided by that law. Nothing in
this chapter shall limit the authority of the attorney
general to prosecute offenders as required by law.
(1) The notice
shall provide for a time within which the alleged violation shall be
remedied, and shall inform the person to whom it
is directed that a written request for a hearing
on the alleged violation may be filed with the
director within ten (10) days after service of the
notice. The notice will be deemed properly
served upon a person if a copy thereof is served him
or her personally, or sent by registered or
certified mail to his or her last known address, or if he
or she is served with notice by any other method
of service now or hereafter authorized in a civil
action under the laws of this state. If no
written request for a hearing is made to the director
within ten (10) days of the service of notice,
the notice shall automatically become a compliance
order.
(2) (A) Whenever
the director determines that there exists a violation of any law, rule, or
regulation within his or her jurisdiction which
requires immediate action to protect the
environment, he or she may, without prior notice
of violation or hearing, issue an immediate
compliance order stating the existence of the
violation and the action he or she deems necessary.
The compliance order shall become effective
immediately upon service or within such time as is
specified by the director in such order. No
request for a hearing on an immediate compliance
order may be made.
(B) Any immediate
compliance order issued under this section without notice and prior
hearing shall be effective for no longer than
forty-five (45) days, provided, however, that for good
cause shown the order may be extended one
additional period not exceeding forty-five (45) days.
(3) If a person
upon whom a notice of violation has been served under the provisions of
this section or if a person aggrieved by any
such notice of violation requests a hearing before the
director within ten (10) days of the service of
notice of violation, the director shall set a time and
place for the hearing, and shall give the person
requesting that hearing at least five (5) days
written notice thereof. After the hearing, the
director may make findings of fact and shall sustain,
modify, or withdraw the notice of violation. If
the director sustains or modifies the notice, that
decision shall be deemed a compliance order and
shall be served upon the person responsible in
any manner provided for the service of the
notice in this section.
(4) The
compliance order shall state a time within which the violation shall be
remedied,
and the original time specified in the notice of
violation shall be extended to the time set in the
order.
(5) Whenever a
compliance order has become effective, whether automatically where no
hearing has been requested, where an immediate
compliance order has been issued, or upon
decision following a hearing, the director may
institute injunction proceedings in the superior
court of the state for enforcement of the
compliance order and for appropriate temporary relief,
and in that proceeding the correctness of a
compliance order shall be presumed and the person
attacking the order shall bear the burden of
proving error in the compliance order, except that the
director shall bear the burden of proving in the
proceeding the correctness of an immediate
compliance order. The remedy provided for in
this section shall be cumulative and not exclusive
and shall be in addition to remedies relating to
the removal or abatement of nuisances or any
other remedies provided by law.
(6) Any party
aggrieved by a final judgment of the superior court may, within thirty (30)
days from the date of entry of such judgment,
petition the supreme court for a writ of certiorari to
review any questions of law. The petition shall
set forth the errors claimed. Upon the filing of the
petition with the clerk of the supreme court,
the supreme court may, if it sees fit, issue its writ of
certiorari;
(v) To impose
administrative penalties in accordance with the provisions of chapter 17.6
of this title and to direct that such penalties
be paid into the account established by subsection (z)
of this section; and
(w) The following
definitions shall apply in the interpretation of the provisions of this
chapter:
(1) Director: The
term director shall mean the director of environmental management of
the state of Rhode Island or his or her duly
authorized agent.
(2) Person: The
term person shall include any individual, group of individuals, firm,
corporation, association, partnership or private
or public entity, including a district, county, city,
town, or other governmental unit or agent
thereof, and in the case of a corporation, any individual
having active and general supervision of the
properties of such corporation.
(3) Service: (a)
Service upon a corporation under this section shall be deemed to include
service upon both the corporation and upon the
person having active and general supervision of
the properties of such corporation.
(b) For purposes
of calculating the time within which a claim for a hearing is made
pursuant to subdivision (u)(1) of this section
heretofore, service shall be deemed to be the date of
receipt of such notice or three (3) days from
the date of mailing of said notice, whichever shall
first occur.
(x) (1) To
conduct surveys of the present private and public camping and other
recreational areas available and to determine
the need for and location of such other camping and
recreational areas as may be deemed necessary
and in the public interest of the state of Rhode
Island and to report back its findings on an
annual basis to the general assembly on or before
March 1 of every year;
(2) Additionally,
the director of the department of environmental management shall take
such additional steps, including but not limited
to, matters related to funding as may be necessary
to establish such other additional recreational
facilities and areas as are deemed to be in the public
interest.
(y) (1) To apply
for and accept grants and bequests of funds with the approval of the
director of administration from other states,
interstate agencies and independent authorities, and
private firms, individuals and foundations, for
the purpose of carrying out his or her lawful
responsibilities. The funds shall be deposited
with the general treasurer in a restricted receipt
account created in the Natural Resources Program
for funds made available for that program's
purposes or in a restricted receipt account
created in the Environmental Protection Program for
funds made available for that program's
purposes. All expenditures from the accounts shall be
subject to appropriation by the general
assembly, and shall be expended in accordance with the
provisions of the grant or bequest. In the event
that a donation or bequest is unspecified or in the
event that the trust account balance shows a
surplus after the project as provided for in the grant
or bequest has been completed, the director may
utilize said appropriated unspecified or
appropriated surplus funds for enhanced
management of the department's forest and outdoor
public recreation areas, or other projects or
programs that promote the accessibility of recreational
opportunities for Rhode Island residents and
visitors.
(2) The director
shall submit to the House Fiscal Advisor and the Senate Fiscal Advisor,
by October 1 of each year, a detailed report on
the amount of funds received and the uses made of
such funds.
(z) To establish
fee schedules by regulation with the approval of the governor for the
processing of applications and the performing of
related activities in connection with the
department's responsibilities pursuant to
subdivision (1) of this section, chapter 19.1 of title 23 as
it relates to inspections performed by the
department to determine compliance with chapter 19.1
and rules and regulations promulgated in
accordance therewith, chapter 18.9 of title 23 as it
relates to inspections performed by the
department to determine compliance with chapter 18.9
and the rules and regulations promulgated in
accordance therewith, chapters 19.5 and 23 of title
23; chapter 12 of title 46 insofar as it relates
to water quality certifications and related reviews
performed pursuant to provisions of the federal
Clean Water Act, the regulation and
administration of underground storage tanks and
all other programs administered under chapter
12 of title 46 and section 2-1-18 et seq., and
chapter 13.1 of title 46 and chapter 13.2 of title 46
insofar as they relate to any reviews and
related activities performed under the provisions of the
Groundwater Protection Act, chapter 23-24.9 as
it relates to the regulation and administration of
mercury-added products, and chapter 17.7 of this
title insofar as it relates to administrative
appeals of all enforcement, permitting and
licensing matters to the administrative adjudication
division for environmental matters. Two fee
ranges shall be required: for "Appeal of enforcement
actions", a range of fifty dollars ($50) to
one hundred dollars ($100), and for "Appeal of
application decisions", a range of five
hundred dollars ($500) to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
The monies from the administrative adjudication
fees will be deposited as general revenues and
the amounts appropriated shall be used for the
costs associated with operating the administrative
adjudication division.
There is hereby
established an account within the general fund to be called the water and
air protection program. The account shall
consist of sums appropriated for water and air pollution
control and waste monitoring programs and the
state controller is hereby authorized and directed
to draw his or her orders upon the general
treasurer for the payment of such sums or such portions
thereof as may be required from time to time
upon receipt by him or her of properly authenticated
vouchers. All amounts collected under the
authority of this subdivision for the sewage disposal
system program and fresh waters wetlands program
will be deposited as general revenues and the
amounts appropriated shall be used for the
purposes of administering and operating the programs.
The director shall submit to the house fiscal
advisor and the senate fiscal advisor by January 15 of
each year a detailed report on the amount of
funds obtained from fines and fees and the uses made
of such funds.
(aa) To establish
and maintain a list or inventory of areas within the state worthy of
special designation as "scenic" to
include but not be limited to certain state roads or highways,
scenic vistas and scenic areas, and to make the
list available to the public.
(bb) To establish
and maintain an inventory of all interests in land held by public and
private land trust and to exercise all powers
vested herein to insure the preservation of all
identified lands.
(1) The director
may promulgate and enforce rules and regulations to provide for the
orderly and consistent protection, management,
continuity of ownership and purpose, and
centralized records-keeping for lands, water,
and open spaces owned in fee or controlled in full or
in part through other interests, rights, or
devices such as conservation easements or restrictions,
by private and public land trusts in Rhode
Island. The director may charge a reasonable fee for
filing of each document submitted by a land
trust.
(2) The term
"public land trust" means any public instrumentality created by a
Rhode
Island municipality for the purposes stated
herein and financed by means of public funds
collected and appropriated by the municipality.
The term "private land trust" means any group of
five (5) or more private citizens of Rhode
Island who shall incorporate under the laws of Rhode
Island as a nonbusiness corporation for the
purposes stated herein, or a national organization such
as the nature conservancy. The main purpose of
either a public or a private land trust shall be the
protection, acquisition, or control of land,
water, wildlife, wildlife habitat, plants, and/or other
natural features, areas, or open space for the
purpose of managing or maintaining, or causing to
be managed or maintained by others, the land,
water, and other natural amenities in any
undeveloped and relatively natural state in
perpetuity. A private land trust must be granted
exemption from federal income tax under Internal
Revenue Code 501c(3) [26 U.S.C. section
501(c)(3)]within two (2) years of its
incorporation in Rhode Island or it may not continue to
function as a land trust in Rhode Island. A
private land trust may not be incorporated for the
exclusive purpose of acquiring or accepting
property or rights in property from a single
individual, family, corporation, business,
partnership, or other entity. Membership in any private
land trust must be open to any individual
subscribing to the purposes of the land trust and
agreeing to abide by its rules and regulations
including payment of reasonable dues.
(3) (A) Private
land trusts will, in their articles of association or their by-laws, as
appropriate, provide for the transfer to an
organization created for the same or similar purposes
the assets, lands and land rights and interests
held by the land trust in the event of termination or
dissolution of the land trust.
(B) All land
trusts, public and private, will record in the public records of the
appropriate
towns and cities in Rhode Island all deeds,
conservation easements or restrictions or other
interests and rights acquired in land and will
also file copies of all such documents and current
copies of their articles of association, their
by-laws, and annual reports with the secretary of state,
and with the director of the Rhode Island
department of environmental management. The director
is hereby directed to establish and maintain
permanently a system for keeping records of all
private and public land trust land holdings in
Rhode Island.
(cc) The director
will contact in writing, not less often than once every two (2) years,
each public or private land trust to ascertain:
that all lands held by the land trust are recorded with
the director; the current status and condition
of each land holding; that any funds or other assets
of the land trust held as endowment for specific
lands have been properly audited at least once
within the two (2) year period; the name of the
successor organization named in the public or
private land trust's by-laws or articles of
association; and any other information the director
deems essential to the proper and continuous
protection and management of land and interests or
rights in land held by the land trust.
In the event that
the director determines that a public or private land trust holding land or
interest in land appears to have become
inactive, he or she shall initiate proceedings to effect the
termination of the land trust and the transfer
of its lands, assets, land rights, and land interests to
the successor organization named in the
defaulting trust's by-laws or articles of association or to
another organization created for the same or
similar purposes. Should such a transfer not be
possible, then the land trust, assets, and
interest and rights in land will be held in trust by the state
of Rhode Island and managed by the director for
the purposes stated at the time of original
acquisition by the trust. Any trust assets or
interests other than land or rights in land accruing to
the state under such circumstances will be held
and managed as a separate fund for the benefit of
the designated trust lands.
(dd) Consistent
with federal standards, issue and enforce such rules, regulations and
orders as may be necessary to establish
requirements for maintaining evidence of financial
responsibility for taking corrective action and
compensating third parties for bodily injury and
property damage caused by sudden and non-sudden
accidental releases arising from operating
underground storage tanks.
(ee) To enforce,
by such means as provided by law, the standards for the quality of air,
and water, and the location, design,
construction and operation of all underground storage
facilities used for storing petroleum products
or hazardous materials; any order or notice issued
by the director relating to the location, design
construction, operation or maintenance of an
underground storage facility used for storing
petroleum products or hazardous materials shall be
eligible for recordation under chapter 13 of
title 34. The director shall forward the order or notice
to the city or town wherein the subject facility
is located, and the order or notice shall be recorded
in the general index by the appropriate
municipal officer in the land evidence records in the city
or town wherein the subject facility is located.
Any subsequent transferee of that facility shall be
responsible for complying with the requirements
of the order or notice. Upon satisfactory
completion of the requirements of the order or
notice, the director shall provide written notice of
the same, which notice shall be eligible for
recordation. The original written notice shall be
forwarded to the city or town wherein the
subject facility is located, and the notice of satisfactory
completion shall be recorded in the general
index by the appropriate municipal official in the land
evidence records in the city or town wherein the
subject facility is located. A copy of the written
notice shall be forwarded to the owner of the
subject facility within five (5) days of a request for
it, and, in any event, shall be forwarded to the
owner of the subject facility within thirty (30) days
after correction.
(ff) To
support, facilitate and assist the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, as
appropriate and/or as necessary, in order to
accomplish the important public purposes of the
survey in gathering and maintaining data on
Rhode Island natural history, making public
presentations and reports on natural history
topics, ranking species and natural communities,
monitoring rare species and communities,
consulting on open space acquisitions and management
plans, reviewing proposed federal and state
actions and regulations with regard to their potential
impact on natural communities, and seeking
outside funding for wildlife management, land
management and research.
42-17.1-2.3.
Watershed-based management. – (a) In order to accomplish the
duties and
responsibilities for the protection,
development, planning, and utilization of the natural resources
of the state, the director is authorized: (1) to
plan, coordinate, integrate, manage, exercise and/or
implement the powers set forth in this chapter
on a watershed basis for the purposes of preserving
and/or improving ecosystem functionality,
protecting public health, safety and welfare, and
providing for the use of natural resources,
including for recreational and agricultural purposes; (2)
to work in conjunction with the Rhode Island
Rivers Council and in cooperation with federal,
interstate, state, local and private agencies
and community organizations and watershed groups
and associations and persons to effectuate
watershed-based management, as appropriate and
desirable; (3) to cooperate with the coastal
resources management council in the preparation and
adoption of a marine resources development plan
as provided for in section 46-23-6(1)(v)(A); and
(4) to coordinate and administer the activities
of the department to achieve the purposes of
systems level planning by the state; and within
areas subject to the jurisdiction of the coastal
resources management council, to administer its
programs and exercise its powers and duties
consistent with the marine resources development
plan and in those areas which are not subject to
the jurisdiction of the coastal resources management
council to administer its programs and
exercise its powers and duties in a manner that
contributes to meeting the purposes and goals of
the marine resources development plan.
(b) Cumulative
effects and potential cumulative effects of regulatory actions, including,
but not limited to, the issuance of permits and
approvals, on a geographic basis, shall be
incorporated, subject to the limitations set
forth in subsection 42-17.1-2(n), to the extent
practicable and reasonable by the department
into watershed-based management and planning.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02290/3
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