1650-RICR-20-00-1 2TITLE 650 ± COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 3CHAPTER 20 ± COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 4SUBCHAPTER 00 ± N/A 5PART 1 ± Red Book 6 7 Table of Contents 81.1 Authorities and Purpose, Definitions and Procedures 91.1.1 Authority and Purpose 101.1.2 Definitions 111.1.3 Requirements for Applicants 121.1.4 Alterations and Activities That Require an Assent from the Coastal Resources 13Management Council (formerly § 100) 141.1.5 Review Categories and Prohibited Activities in Tidal Waters and on Adjacent 15Shoreline Features 161.1.6 Applications for Category A and Category B Council Assents (formerly § 110) 171.1.7 Variances (formerly § 120) 181.1.8 Special Exceptions (formerly § 130) 191.1.9 Setbacks (formerly § 140) 201.1.10 Climate Change and Sea Level Rise (formerly § 145) 211.1.11 Coastal Buffer Zones (formerly § 150) 221.1.12 Fees (formerly § 160) 231.1.13 Violations and Enforcement Actions (formerly § 170) 241.1.14 Emergency Assents (formerly § 180) 1 11.2 Areas Under Council Jurisdiction 21.2.1 Tidal and Coastal Pond Waters (formerly § 200) 31.2.2 Shoreline Features (formerly § 210) 41.2.3 Areas of Historic and Archaeological Significance (formerly § 220) 51.3 Activities Under Council Jurisdiction 61.3.1 In Tidal and Coastal Pond Waters, on Shoreline Features and Their Contiguous 7Areas (formerly § 300) 81.3.2 Alterations to Freshwater Flows to Tidal Waters and Water Bodies and Coastal 9Ponds (formerly § 310) 101.3.3 Inland activities and alterations that are subject to Council permitting (formerly § 11320) 121.3.4 Activities located within critical coastal areas (formerly § 325) 131.3.5 Policies for the protection and enhancement of the scenic value of the coastal 14region (formerly § 330) 151.3.6 Protection and enhancement of public access to the shore (formerly § 335) 161.4 Federal Consistency (formerly § 400) 171.5 Public and Governmental Participation (formerly § 700) 181.6 Maps of Water Use Categories - Watch Hill to Little Compton and Block Island 191.7 Shoreline Change Maps - Watch Hill to Little Compton 201.8 Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) Maps 21 1 11.1 Authorities and Purpose, Definitions and Procedures 21.1.1 Authority and Purpose 3A. Pursuant to the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. §§ 4 1451 through 1466) and R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-23 the Coastal Resources 5 Management Council is authorized to develop and adopt policies and regulations 6 necessary to manage the coastal resources of the state and to provide for the 7 integration and coordination of the protection of natural resources, the promotion 8 of reasonable coastal-dependent economic growth, and the improved protection 9 of life and property from coastal hazards. Further, the Council is authorized to 10 collaborate with the state building commissioner and adopt freeboard 11 calculations (a factor of added safety above the anticipated flood level) in 12 accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-27.3 through 100.1.5.5. 13B. The regulations herein constitute the RICR regulatory component of the Coastal 14 Resources Management Program Red Book and must be read in conjunction 15 with the Red Book guidance document containing the findings and other non- 16 regulatory components for the full and proper context that forms the basis and 17 purpose of this Part. The Red Book guidance document should be employed in 18 interpreting R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-1, et seq. 191.1.2 Definitions 20A. Definitions for this Part are as follows: 21 1. ªActivities and alterations inland of shoreline features and their contiguous 22 areas within state boundaries that may require a Council Assentº means: 23 solid waste disposal; minerals extraction; chemical processing, transfer, 24 and storage; power generation (excluding facilities of less than aover forty 25 (40) megawatts capacity); chemical and petroleum processing, transfer, 26 and storage (excluding storage facilities of less than 2,400 barrel 27 capacity); and sewage treatment and disposal (excluding individual 28 sewage disposalonsite wastewater treatment systems) desalination 29 plants, and activities affecting freshwater wetlands in the vicinity of the 30 coast. (Note: changes here reflect jurisdiction as specified in RI Gen. Laws 31 § 46-23-6) 32 2. "Agency" means boards, commissions, departments, or offices thereof, 33 other than the legislature or the courts, authorized by law to make rules, 34 determine contested cases, or issue permits. 35 3. "Agricultural land" means: 1 1 2 1 a. tilled or tillable land upon which a crop is being or has recently been 2 produced; 3 b. actively managed orchards, nurseries and cranberry bogs, and 4 c. land used for livestock pasturing. 5 4. ªAlteration of a marinaº means any activity that result in changes to the 6 existing or previously approved recreational boating facility design. Such 7 activities include, but are not limited to, the removal, addition, or relocation 8 of piles, floating docks or fixed piers and changes to the marina perimeter 9 limit. 10 5. ªAlterations to coastal wetlandsº means, but shall not be limited to: filling, 11 removing or grading; dredging and dredged materials disposal; and any 12 significant cutting or removal of vegetation; and excavation, draining, 13 damming and/or diverting of hydrological flows in a coastal wetland. Any 14 activity, including the aforementioned, taking place in an area adjacent to 15 a coastal wetland which impacts the coastal wetland, shall be considered 16 an alteration to coastal wetlands. 17 6. ªAlterations to the circulation of tidal watersº means all structures and fill 18 material that alter the behavior of waters within tidal water bodies, 19 including the removal of tidal waters for industrial cooling or other 20 purposes and the installation of structures in embayments and salt ponds 21 that alter the volumes and/or timing of exchange with outlying tidal waters. 22 7. ªAlterations to the flows of tributariesº means the installation of dams or 23 other devices or fill material that alter flows of tributaries to tidal waters 24 and that significantly change the timing and/or volumes of fresh water to 25 coastal waters. Such alterations have a reasonable probability to conflict 26 with a Council plan or program for resources management or may 27 significantly affect the environment of the coastal region. 28 8. "Anadromous fish" means oceanic or estuarine species that spawn in 29 fresh water. 30 9. ªApproved harbor management planº or ªHMPº means a plan that has 31 been prepared by a municipality in accordance with the CRMC municipal 32 harbor regulations and CRMC Guidelines for the Development of 33 Municipal Harbor Management Plans, adopted by a city or town council, 34 and approved by the Coastal Resources Management Council. 35 10. ªApproved watersº means marine waters of the state classified by RIDEM 36 as approved areas fit for the taking of shellfish for human consumption on 1 2 2 1 a regular basis according to criteria established by the National Shellfish 2 Sanitation Program. 3 911. "Aquaculture" (refer to definitions of "marine aquaculture" and "freshwater 4 aquaculture" in § 1.1.2 of this Part herein.) 5 1012. "Areas of historic and archaeological significance" means historic and 6 archaeologicalthose resources include districts, sites, buildings, 7 structures, objects, and landscapes included in or eligible for inclusion in 8 the state and national registers of historic places, or areas designated as 9 historically or archaeologically sensitive according to the predictive model 10 developed by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commissionas 11 defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-22.2-4(12). 12 1113. ªAssociated residential structuresº means, but is not limited to, decks, 13 porches, walls, boardwalks, swimming pools, roads, driveways, and shall 14 include other structures integral to or ancillary to a residential building 15 including minor grading, filling or excavation typically 10 cubic yards or 16 less. 17 1214. ªBarrierº means and island or spit comprised of sand and/or gravel, 18 extending parallel to the coast and separated from the mainland by a 19 coastal pond, tidal water body, or coastal wetland. In addition to a beach, 20 barriers have, in most cases, a frontal foredune zone and often, back 21 barrier dune fields. The lateral limits of barriers are defined by the area 22 where unconsolidated sand or gravel of the barrier abuts bedrock or 23 glacial sediment. This definition of a barrier system is commonly 24 associated with many geomorphic descriptors. These descriptors include, 25 but are not limited to, barrier islands, bay barriers, and spits. Spits are 26 further described as tombolo, shingle, cuspate, and flying spits. The terms 27 ªbarº and ªridgeº were once used to describe a barrier system, but have 28 since been replaced with the term ªbarrierº. The barriers or portions 29 thereof designated by the federal government as undeveloped pursuant to 30 their criteria, under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (Public Law 31 97-348) are noted in Table 5 in § 1.2.2(C) of this Part. In these federally 32 designated areas, flood insurance for most forms of construction is not 33 available. Many of the state's barriers have been mapped and assigned by 34 the Coastal Resources Management Council into three categories as 35 follows: 36 a. ªUndeveloped barrierº means those essentially free of 37 commercial/industrial buildings, (excluding public utility lines) 38 houses, surfaced roads, and structural shoreline protection 39 facilities. 1 3 2 1 b. ªModerately developed barrierº means those that are essentially 2 free of houses, commercial/ industrial buildings and/or facilities 3 (excluding utility lines) that contain surfaced roads, recreational 4 structures, and/or structural shoreline protection facilities. 5 c. ªDeveloped barriersº mean those that contain houses and/or 6 commercial/industrial structures; they may also contain surfaced 7 roads and structural shoreline protection facilities.