Title 46, Title 46 and Navigation

The general assembly shall annually appropriate such sum as it may deem necessary for the payment of the salaries of the director and his or her assistants, and for all other expenses of the department; the sum to be paid upon vouchers approved by the director of environmental ma…

The director of the department of environmental management shall make an annual report to the general assembly at its January session of the doings of the department during the preceding year, and shall recommend such further legislation as he or she may deem proper for the prese…

The director of the department of environmental management may apply to Congress, whenever he or she deems it necessary, for appropriations for protecting and improving any harbor in the state.

The town council of any town and the city council of any city are authorized to give assurances that the respective town or city will hold and save the United States harmless from claims and damages resulting from the improvement or protection project and to enter into agreement …

Where an appropriation has been made by any city or town council for that purpose, and where an appropriation has also been made by the general assembly for that purpose, the director of the department of environmental management, with the approval of the governor, is authorized …

Whenever the council of any city, or the electors of any town qualified to vote upon any proposition for the imposition of taxes or for the expenditure of money, shall have voted at a meeting duly called for that purpose to cooperate with the state and the federal government in a…

Whenever any property or estate or rights of property shall be taken under the provisions of § 46-2-12, the owner thereof, including all persons having property rights therein, shall be paid therefor according to their respective interests, by the city or town taking the same.

The city or town, taking any property, estate, or right of property under the provisions of §§ 46-2-12 — 46-2-26, shall first cause a plat with a description thereof to be made, which, with a certificate of the taking of the same, shall contain a list of the owners thereof and of…

At the time mentioned in the notice given under the authority of § 46-2-14, or at such adjournment from that time as the court shall order, the court shall appoint three (3) suitable persons to be commissioners to appraise the damages sustained by any person whose property, estat…

The clerk of the superior court shall open the report of the commissioners, and the report may be examined by any person interested therein; and any person or party aggrieved by any award of damages by the commissioners may claim a jury trial upon any item of damages thereby awar…

Any proceeding in taking any property or estate or rights of property, or in claiming damages therefor, or other proceeding under the provisions of §§ 46-2-12 — 46-2-26, may at any stage of the proceeding, with the leave of the court, be amended upon such terms and conditions as …

Whenever the report of the commissioners shall be received by the court and no right of trial by jury shall be claimed thereon, the court shall enter judgment in favor of the several claimants for the damages awarded to them respectively; and so shall enter judgment upon the verd…

If any land covered by tidewater is taken under §§ 46-2-12 — 46-2-26, then damages to the rights of every riparian owner and of every lessee of the land, if any, shall be awarded under the provisions hereof the same as for any other right of property.

The director of the department of environmental management is authorized to negotiate, cooperate, and enter into agreements in behalf of this state with the United States in order to satisfy the conditions imposed by the United States authorizing any project for the improvement o…

Any city or town may acquire by gift or purchase any lands or interests therein in any other city or town which are necessary for the construction and/or maintenance of the project and may appropriate such sum or sums as may be necessary therefor.

(a) The city or town shall have full power and authority to cooperate with and assist the federal government in all matters relating to the planning, constructing, equipping, maintenance, and operation of the projects in the event that the federal government shall make any federa…

The flood control project or projects shall be carried out and executed in all respects subject to the provisions of the appropriate federal law providing for the project, and the rules and regulations made pursuant thereto, and to such terms, conditions, rules, and regulations, …

After the completion of the project, the city or town shall maintain and operate the flood control works.

Each city or town shall prescribe regulations designed to prevent encroachments on the improved channels, and shall enforce the regulations, and shall take such means as may be necessary to prevent any encroachments upon the flood channel and conduit capacities to be provided by …

The total cost incurred under § 46-2-12 shall be borne by the city and town which shall have voted to cooperate with the state and the federal government in the flood control project; provided, however, that the state may share in the cost at a rate not to exceed fifty percent (5…

Sections 46-2-12 — 46-2-26 shall be construed to be in addition to and an enlargement of the provisions of §§ 46-2-7 — 46-2-11.

The director of the department of environmental management with the approval of the governor, is authorized to give assurances that the state will hold and save the United States harmless from claims and damages resulting from any improvement or protection project and to enter in…

Whenever it shall be necessary to obtain cooperation, assistance, or funds from the United States of America in the form of loans, advances, grants, subsidies, and otherwise, directly or indirectly, for any of the purposes enumerated in § 46-2-2, the director of the department of…

Where an appropriation has been made by the general assembly for that purpose, the director of the department of environmental management, with the approval of the governor, is authorized to provide for the payment by the state of the cash contribution required by the United Stat…

The powers granted in §§ 46-2-2 — 46-2-5 shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in derogation of all the powers previously vested in the director of the department of environmental management.

Any city or town is authorized to negotiate, cooperate, and enter into agreements with the United States and the state in order to satisfy the conditions imposed by the United States in authorizing any project for the improvement of navigation of any harbor or river and for the p…

Where any improvement or protection project is located within two (2) or more cities or towns, the cities or towns are authorized to undertake jointly any action as is authorized in § 46-2-7.

In order to carry out the intent of §§ 46-2-7 — 46-2-11 any city or town is authorized to acquire by condemnation any land, easements, or rights-of-way required for the improvement or protection project, and any city or town is authorized to make appropriations and to expend fund…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Shore Development Act of 1956”.

Whenever it is impossible to reach agreement upon the price to be paid for the purchase of any land or interest therein needed to carry out the purposes of this chapter, or whenever the owner is legally incapacitated or is absent or is unable to convey valid title or is unknown, …

For the purpose of financing the municipality’s share of the cost of acquiring any land or interest therein needed and for defraying the cost of the construction or installation of any structures or facilities approved for the control of beach erosion, the legislative body is aut…

For the purpose of securing repayment for the construction cost borne by the municipality for any erosion control system installed or for the cost of any land or interest purchased or taken pursuant to this chapter, the legislative body is authorized and empowered to assess any p…

The legislative body may apportion and assess the part upon the lands and buildings in the municipality which, in its judgment, are especially benefited thereby, whether they abut on the erosion control system or not, and upon the owners of the lands and buildings, subject to the…

Whenever any assessment is made as herein provided, the amount to be raised thereby shall be apportioned among the properties benefited according to such rule as the legislative body may adopt; provided that no benefits shall be assessed against any property in excess of the spec…

The proceeds of the assessments, whether or not pledged for the payment of securities, shall be segregated from other funds of the municipality, and shall be used only to pay for the construction of the erosion control system or particular portion thereof in respect to which the …

The department of environmental management is authorized to furnish at the request and expense of the legislative body such technical advice consisting of plans, specifications, surveys, appraisals, cost estimates, engineering, and inspection services as the legislative body may …

(a) Whenever any land is purchased or otherwise acquired pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, title to the land shall be taken in the name of the state of Rhode Island and payment therefor shall be made in the first instance by the state from the appropriation provided. At…

(a) Title to any land or interest therein purchased or acquired for carrying out the purposes of this chapter shall vest in the municipality for which it is acquired upon transfer of title from the state as the acquiring authority hereunder. (b) The transfer of title by the state…

In the event that the federal government shall make available any funds for all or part of the construction of protective works, as defined in § 46-3-7, the remaining portion of the cost therefor not fully covered by the federal funds may be borne by the city or town and the stat…

Consistent with the legislative determination and declaration of state policy to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the people as heretofore set forth in this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intention of the state, by cooperative means providing for t…

(a) The director of the department of environmental management shall have full and complete authority to act as the public agency of the state, to cooperate with and assist the federal government in all matters relating to the construction of protective works in the event that th…

The word “municipality” as used in this chapter means a city or town, as the case may be.

The department of environmental management is hereby designated the shore erosion authority of the state for the purpose of cooperating with the beach erosion board of the department of defense, as provided for in 33 U.S.C. § 426. The department of environmental management shall …

Open beach areas, including spits, dunes, and barrier beaches that are subject to loss of material through high waves, strong currents, or scouring wave action, or beach areas vulnerable to storm damage because of geographical location, are classed as exposed beach areas within t…

To carry out the purposes of this chapter, the state, acting through the department of environmental management, shall provide the payment for two-thirds (⅔) of the cost of acquisition by a municipality of exposed beach areas as defined in § 46-3-5; provided, however, that the mu…

For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, and general welfare, the city council of any city and the town council of any town, hereinafter referred to as the “legislative body,” shall have power in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, to designate the expo…