Title 46, Title 46 and Navigation

The council shall be authorized to engage its own expert and outside consultants, and the council shall be empowered to use that testimony in making its decisions.

The council is authorized to accept any federal grants. It is further given the power to administer land and water use regulations as necessary to fulfill their responsibilities under the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1451 et seq., and to acquire fee simple and…

Coastal municipalities which share a common boundary along their public waters may enter into a binding memorandum of agreement allowing for harbormasters and other officials charged with enforcement of harbor management plan harbor ordinances from one coastal municipality to enf…

The council is authorized to grant permits, licenses, and easements for any term of years or in perpetuity. Permits, licenses, or easements which are issued by the council for the filling of the submerged or submersible lands of the state of Rhode Island remain subject to the pub…

(a) No person, either as principal, agent or servant nor any firm, corporation, or any other entity shall, without a permit issued by the coastal resources management council, construct a marina within two thousand feet (2000′) of a shellfish management area as defined by rules a…

(a) Any person, either as principal, agent, or servant, or any firm, corporation or any other entity desiring to conduct any activity or activities specified in § 46-23-18 shall file an application for a permit with the coastal resources management council upon forms furnished by…

The council, upon recommendation by the coastal resources advisory committee, shall issue reasonable rules and regulations governing the dredging, transporting and disposal of all dredge materials in accordance with this chapter.

(a) The council, upon recommendation of the coastal resources advisory committee, on or before the first day of January, 1999 and periodically thereafter as necessary, shall consistent with the comprehensive programs required in § 46-23-6(1)(ii)(H) identify and establish one or m…

The provisions of §§ 46-23-18 through 46-23-18.3 shall be enforced by the coastal resources management council. Nothing herein shall be deemed to abrogate the department of environmental management’s authority to enforce its water quality standards adopted pursuant to § 46-12-3(7…

The council is authorized to impose a fee of not less than thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per cubic yard for the disposal of dredge materials at the sites established by the council pursuant to § 46-23-18.3. The amount of the fee established by the council pursuant to the section s…

There is hereby created a separate fund to be held by the coastal resources management council to be known as the dredge fund. All amounts pursuant to § 46-23-18.5 must be deposited into the fund and shall not be deposited into the general fund of the state, and shall be kept by …

(a) There is hereby created the coastal resources management council. The coastal resources management council shall consist of ten (10) members. Nine (9) members shall be appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the senate, and one member shall serve ex officio. All…

(a)(1) Subject to the provisions of § 46-23-2, all members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. (2) Term limits on the coastal resources management council shall be determined by the governor as follows: Two (2) appointees shall serve an initial term of…

All contested cases, all contested enforcement proceedings, and all contested administrative fines shall be heard by the administrative hearing officers, or by subcommittees as provided in § 46-23-20.1, pursuant to the regulations promulgated by the council; provided, however, th…

(a) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint two (2) hearing officers who shall be attorneys-at-law, who, prior to their appointment, shall have practiced law for a period of not less than five (5) years for a term of five (5) years; provided, howeve…

The commissioner of coastal resources or his or her designee shall serve as clerk to the hearing officers. The clerk shall have general charge of the office, keep a full record of proceedings, file and preserve all documents and papers, prepare such papers and notices as may be r…

(a) Prior to the commencement of any hearing, the hearing officer may in his or her discretion direct the parties or their attorneys to appear before him or her for such conferences as shall be necessary. At the conferences, the hearing officer may order any party to file, prior …

(a) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, every hearing for the adjudication of a violation or for a contested matter shall be held before a hearing officer or a subcommittee. The chief hearing officer shall assign a hearing officer to each matter not assigned to a subcommit…

Council members shall have no communication directly or indirectly, with a hearing officer relating to any issue of fact or of law on any matter then pending before the hearing officer.

The hearing officers are hereby severally authorized and empowered to administer oaths, and the hearing officers, in all cases of every nature pending before them, are hereby authorized and empowered to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production and examination of …

A notice of permit shall be eligible for recordation under chapter 13 of title 34 as determined by the executive director, and shall be recorded at the expense of the applicant in the land evidence records of the city or town where the property subject to permit is located, and a…

The chairperson of the coastal resources management council and the commissioner of the environmental protection branch of the department of environmental management shall coordinate concurrent hearings on solid waste disposal license applications; provided, however, that the cha…

The coastal resources management council shall conform to the requirements of the Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act, § 45-22.2.

The executive director may record the notice of fee or final order of fine as a lien on the subject property in the land evidence records of the town or city in which said property is located. Recordation of said fee or final order of fine shall be the only manner by which said l…

(a) The coastal resources management council may issue beach vehicle registration permits in accordance with § 31-8-1.1 of the general laws and adopt regulations that the council deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The council may appoint responsible citi…

(a) The public’s rights and privileges of the shore are established by Article I, Sections 16 and 17 of the Rhode Island Constitution. (b) For purposes of this chapter, the “recognizable high tide line” means a line or mark left upon tidal flats, beaches, or along shore objects t…

(a) Any city, town, municipal agency, private entity, or other organization seeking to reduce, or restrict parking near designated CRMC rights-of-way shall: (1) Submit a comprehensive parking plan which shall provide a detailed plan outlining the proposed changes, including: (i) …

Any entity found to have reduced, or restricted, parking near CRMC rights-of-way without complying with the provisions of this section and § 46-23-27 shall be subject to: (1) A cease-and-desist order issued by CRMC or DEM; (2) A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) per …

(a) Within thirty (30) business days of the date of passage of this section, the council shall post for notice and comment revisions of its coastal resources management program (referred to as “red book”) and management procedures in order to implement the changes to the council.…

Each appointed member of the council, before entering upon his or her duties, shall take an oath to administer the duties of his or her office faithfully and impartially, and the oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

(a) On or before October 1, 2026, the coastal resources management council shall adopt and implement an electronic permitting platform pursuant to § 23-27.3-108.2 to utilize for all applications filed under this chapter. For purposes of this section, “electronic permitting” means…

The governor shall select from the appointed members a chairperson and vice chairperson. The coastal resources management council shall thereupon select a secretary from among its membership or staff. The council may engage staff, including legal counsel, as it deems necessary. A…

The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, an executive director of coastal resources management who shall be an employee of the council and who shall not be a member of the council. The executive director shall coordinate and liaison with the director…

(a) The members of the council and the chairperson shall not be compensated for their service on the board, but the members and chairperson shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. (b) [Deleted by P.L. 2005, ch. 117, a…

In order to properly manage coastal resources the council has the following powers and duties: (1) Planning and management. (i) The primary responsibility of the council shall be the continuing planning for and management of the resources of the state’s coastal region. The counci…

The council is hereby directed to carry out any and all legal studies which it shall deem necessary in order to designate the Newport “cliff walk”, so called, as a public right-of-way pursuant to § 46-23-6(5).

No city or town shall abandon a right-of-way designated as such by the council unless the council approved the abandonment.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision set forth in this chapter, all periods pertaining to the expiration of any approval or permit issued pursuant to any state statute or any regulation promulgated thereto pertaining to the development of property shall be tolled until June 30…

(a)(1) In any instances wherein there is a violation of the coastal resources management program, or a violation of regulations or decisions of the council, the commissioner of coastal resources management shall have the power to order any person to cease and desist or to remedy …

Any person who violates, or refuses or fails to obey, any notice or order issued pursuant to § 46-23-7(a); or any assent, order, or decision of the council, may be assessed an administrative penalty by the chairperson or executive director in accordance with the following: (1) Th…

The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the coastal resource management program, or any rule, regulation, assent, or order issued pursuant thereto. Proceedings under this section may follow the course of equity, and shall be institute…

Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this chapter, the coastal resources management program, or any rule, regulation, assent, or order shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imp…

Any person who shall post or block any tidal water, public right-of-way, as designated by the council, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment for not more than three (3) months or both; and each day the posting or blocking conti…

The chairperson and anyone designated by the chairperson, without being required to enter into any recognizance or to give surety for cost, may institute proceedings in the name of the state. It shall be the duty of the attorney general and/or the solicitor of the city or town in…

The council is authorized to receive any gifts, grants, or donations made for any of the purposes of its program, which shall be deposited as general revenues, and to disburse and administer the gifts, grants, or donations amounts appropriated in accordance with the terms thereof…

The council is hereby authorized and empowered to summon witnesses and issue subpoenas in substantially the following form: Sc. To _______________________________________ of _______________________________________ greeting: You are hereby required, in the name of the state of Rho…