Chapter 304
2010 -- S 2439 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 06/25/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HEALTH AND SAFETY -- CLIMATE RISK REDUCTION ACT
Introduced By: Senator Joshua Miller
Date Introduced: February 11, 2010
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled
"HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
84
THE
23-84-1.
Short title. – This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as “The Rhode
23-84-2.
Legislative findings. -- It is hereby found and
declared by the general assembly
as follows:
(1) Climate change
impacts have already arrived in
in the state have increased by one point five degrees
Fahrenheit (1.5?F) since 1970 and mean
winter temperatures in the state are up by four degrees
Fahrenheit (4?F). The annual mean surface
temperature of
the 1960s. Droughts are becoming longer and more
frequent, storms cause worse flooding, and
the sea level is measurably rising over eight inches
(8") since 1930 at an accelerated rate. Gases
released by the consumption of fossil fuels explain most of
these trends very well; since these
gases stay in the atmosphere and trap heat for decades, the
residents of
locked into serious disruptions in their way of life.
(2) If emissions
continue at the current high rate, the annual number of days over ninety
degrees Fahrenheit (90?F) is expected to grow sharply from
about five (5) per year today to about
fifty (50) to sixty (60) per year at the end of the
century.
roughly twenty-five (25) days over one hundred degrees
Fahrenheit (100?F) every summer if we
continue on a high emissions pathway. Under these scenarios,
in 2100 will resemble
rise three (3) to five (5) feet by 2100. Increased
flooding and droughts are widely recognized in
climate models to dominate
intense storms increases.
(3)
of increasing risks: (i)
Rising temperatures (which put stress on human health and ecosystems);
(ii) More extreme weather (bringing more frequent
heavy thunderstorms and flooding, heat waves
and more intense coastal storms and hurricanes); and
(iii) Flooding and damage to homes,
businesses, public infrastructure and coastal habitats along the
state’s over four hundred (400)
miles of coastline by storm surges and rising sea levels.
(4) While
policy and draft guidelines, identifying climate issues
within the state's coastal program and its
special area management plans and compiling existing research
on various trends associated with
climate change, there is no comprehensive state-wide
assessment of projected impacts of climate
change to human health and safety, economic and natural
resources of the state. Many states in
the region have begun to develop commission and statewide
strategies for climate change.
(5) Communities
around the
increased risks by adjusting their building codes, improving
and updating their emergency plans,
identifying their greatest vulnerabilities and prioritizing
actions to address them and incorporating
climate change projections in planning for long-term
infrastructure investments.
learn from and build upon these efforts. Some communities
are even discovering opportunities in
this crisis to address longstanding vulnerabilities, and
the potential to develop new industries to
supply adaptation technology and advice to communities.
(6) Natural
ecosystems and habitats, both coastal and upland, provide critical ecosystem
services including, fisheries habitat, drinking water, and
flood protection. These resources play
an important role in minimizing risks and hazard
exposure to climate change impacts such as
coastal and riverline flooding.
Forested watersheds provide increased protection from the impacts
of both flooding and droughts, absorbing water during
storm events, and releasing it slowly over
time.
(7) Tree canopy cover
is a cost-effective adaptation to climate change, particularly in the
urban environment. In particular, increasing urban tree
canopy cover has been found to reduce
summer high temperatures, reduce energy consumption, have a
positive impact on stormwater
management and air quality, and improve groundwater quality.
Increasing tree canopy cover will
also help the state achieve its goal of mitigating carbon
dioxide emissions by enhancing biotic
sequestration and reducing energy consumption.
(8) An October 2008
study by the National Research Council found that some of the
benefits of green infrastructure include a reduction of stormwater runoff, surface water discharge,
stormwater pollution and stormwater
flows.
(9) While
increasing the urban tree canopy is critical to reducing the urban heat island
effect, strategies incorporating other forms of green
infrastructure, including green roofs and
walls, hold significant cooling potential; a 2007 study in
Bioscience revealed that if the city of
drop by two degrees Fahrenheit (2?F), and because there is
more wall space than roof space, green
facades and living walls are ideal supplements.
(10) Existing federal
programs and potential federal climate change legislation may
provide significant funding and other resources to help
states and localities begin planning and
taking adaptation actions. To receive these funds, state
governments may be required to complete
climate change response plans; this chapter seeks to assist
the state in beginning the process of
preparing such a plan.
(11) This chapter
seeks to protect the historic culture, heritage, economy,
public
infrastructure, natural resources and the current and future
well-being of the population of the
State of
impacts by identifying some of the most critical issues that
will have to be addressed, and by
investigating and implementing cost-effective solutions and/or
adaptation strategies for the state
and its municipalities.
23-84-3. Creation
of The
hereby created an independent commission known as "The
Commission" consisting of twenty-eight (28)
members as follows: three (3) of whom shall be
members of the senate, to be appointed by the senate
president, not more than two (2) from the
same political party; three (3) of whom shall be
members of the house of representatives, to be
appointed by the speaker of the house not more than two (2)
from the same political party; one
of whom shall be the director of the department of
environmental management, or his or her
designee; one of whom shall be the executive director of the
coastal resources management
council, or his or her designee; one of whom shall be
the director of the department of
transportation, or his or her designee; one of whom shall be the
chair of the
rivers, and watersheds coordination team; one of whom
shall be the director of the
department of health, or his or her designee; one of whom shall
be the chief of staff of the water
resources board, or his or her designee; one of whom shall
be the director of the division of
planning, or his or her designee; one of whom shall be the
state building commissioner, or his or
her designee; one of whom shall be the director of
the
agency, or his or her designee; two (2) of whom shall
represent municipal governments of coastal
municipalities one appointed by the senate president and one
appointed by the speaker of the
house; two (2) of whom shall be representatives of
environmental non-profit organizations,
appointed by the environment council of
of business, one designated by the greater
by the
higher education institutions, one appointed by the board of
governors for higher education and
one appointed by the association of independent colleges
and universities of
whom shall be a representative of a utility distribution
company having greater than one hundred
thousand (100,000) customers to be appointed by the senate
president; one of whom shall be the
executive director of the
shall be the executive director of the
one of whom shall be the executive director of the American
institute of architects of Rhode
Island, or his or her designee; and one of whom shall
represent the medical profession, including,
but not limited to, a doctor or nurse, to be appointed by
the speaker of the house.
(b) The purposes
of the commission shall be to study the projected impacts of climate
change on
impacts in order to reduce likely harm and increase economic
and ecosystem sustainability, and
to identify potential mechanisms to mainstream climate
adaptation into existing state and
municipal programs including, but not limited to, policies
plans, infrastructure development and
maintenance.
(c) The commission
shall support its purposes by undertaking the following duties
including but not limited to:
(1) Recommending how
to mainstream climate change, using a climate “lens”, into
existing state and local programs, policies and standards, and
identify potential options to
incorporate adaptation strategies.
(2) Compiling
existing studies, research and programs relevant to climate change trends
and potential impacts in
(3) Conducting a
comprehensive overview of the risks
of rising air and water temperatures and sea level,
increased storminess, and more intense
droughts and rainfall events.
(4) Investigating the
vulnerability of critical roads, bridges, protection infrastructure such
as hurricane barriers, dams, and revetments, and public
facilities such as hospitals, schools,
sewage treatment plants, parks and beaches and other
critical utilities to sea level rise, increased
flooding and extended extreme summer heat.
(5) Exploring
potential changes to floodplains and ways to notify homeowners, renters
and commercial property owners of not only a property’s
flooding history but also its expected
risk under projected levels of climate change and sea
level rise.
(6) Assessing
ecosystem impacts such as salt marshes, forests, and urban tree canopy and
researching tree and plant species that will be most resilient to
climate change expected in Rhode
Island, as well as ways to secure additional funding
to support the expansion of urban tree canopy
to thirty percent (30%).
(7) Identifying
potential ecosystem based adaptation options where conservation or
restoration of natural ecosystems can provide key ecosystems
services by minimizing risks and
hazards from flooding and drought cycles.
(8) Identifying ways
to increase Rhode Islanders’ access to critical community health
services that are expected to become more important as a
result of projected climate impacts.
(9) Investigating potential
impacts from non-point source pollution due to hydrological
changes including stormwater runoff
options for the Phase 2
Combined Sewer Overflow project, and implementing
small-scale projects such as increasing the
percentage of pervious surfaces in residential areas such as
yards and gardens.
(10) Exploring
possibilities to make funds or low interest loans available for
governmental entities, non-profit entities and businesses to implement
adaptation strategies,
including green infrastructure projects on their properties,
including green roofs, walls, and
bioretention areas.
(11) Investigating
possibilities to expand energy efficiency and weatherization programs
as an adaptation option.
(12) Reviewing, among
other things, existing local ordinances, provisions adopted by
associations, deed restrictions, covenants, declarations or
similar binding agreements, which
prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation of
solar collectors, clotheslines,
weatherization improvements, gardens or other energy devices based
on renewable resources and
proposing alternatives that would eliminate said prohibitions
and authorize these types of uses as
climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for local
implementation.
(13) Reviewing
possibilities to amend regulations to allow street parking to reduce
impervious surfaces in urban areas and runoff.
(14) Investigating
how to support local agriculture including urban community gardens,
and encouraging municipalities to foster neighborhood
gardens in empty lots and parks.
(15) Developing a
plan to expand access to cooling and relief centers by extending hours
at libraries, community centers and opening pools to the
public.
(16) Identifying
examples and options for outreach and communication on climate
change and adaptation options and recommending opportunities
for coordinated outreach
programs within
(d) One senator and
one representative appointed to the commission shall serve as co-
chairs and shall call the first meeting of the commission.
Vacancies shall be filled in like manner
as the original appointment. The membership of the
commission shall receive no compensation
for their services. All departments and agencies of the
state shall furnish such advice and
information, documentary and otherwise, to the commission and its
agents as is deemed
necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the
purposes of this chapter. The joint
committee on legislative services is hereby authorized and
directed to provide suitable quarters
for the commission.
(e) The commission
shall provide a report of its findings and recommendations to the
governor and the general assembly no later than March 1, 2011,
and every March 1 thereafter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01816/SUB A
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