IIn accordance with notice to members of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s Planning and Procedures subcommittee, a meeting of the subcommittee was held on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 at the offices of the CRMC, Stedman Government Center, 4808 Tower Hill Rd, Wakefield, RI.

MEMBERS PRESENT
Anne Livingston, Chair
Paul Lemont, Vice Chair
Don Gomez
Joy Montanaro
Angelo Liberti, DEM

STAFF PRESENT
Grover Fugate, Executive Director
Jeff Willis, Deputy Director
Caitlin Chaffee, Coastal Policy Analyst
Janet Freedman, Coastal Geologist
Brian Goldman, Legal Counsel

Call to Order. Ms. Livingston called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m.

Ms. Livingston called for a motion to approve the minutes of the June 17, 2014 subcommittee meetings.

Item 4.A. – Section 210.3 – Coastal Wetlands. J. Willis, C. Chaffee and J. Freedman presented the proposed changes. J. Willis introduced the SLAMM project and noted the efforts of staffer Jim Boyd in managing the project. G. Fugate explained the NOAA climate change funding initiatives that enabled the SLAMM projects across the country and how RI was one of only five successful proposals. C. Chaffee explained the proposed revisions regarding the updated findings based on the modeling undertaken by the project, specifically how the data evaluated is more detailed and refined than that of previous years and therefore has a greater level of confidence to be presented in the Findings section. Additionally, C. Chaffee explained that the products (ie: the 600+ inundation map scenarios) will be helpful to municipal, as well as other, planning efforts especially in their comprehensive planning tasks as SLAMM has predicted large upland areas that will be become wetlands over time and these predictions can help plan for future uses. J. Freedman explained how the maps will help inform decision-making for local land preservation groups, conservation commissions, and land trusts, possibly also to assist in their purchasing decisions. C. Chaffee added the project partner efforts. G. Fugate explained how this project and the information developed for it have had the largest outreach effort of the agency to-date. He stated that meetings were held for all 21 coastal communities at least once to explain the project and its outcomes and its benefits to municipal planning efforts and that once the project is finalized at least two workshops will be held to present the map products to the communities. Ms. Livingston suggested that in B.5 the sentence being deleted should remain and be tied to the proposed sentence to drive home the point of marsh loss. C. Chaffee explained that the timeframe referred to in the deleted sentence is also included in the revised SLAMM data that informs the proposed sentence and therefore is more of a refinement of the number of wetland acres lost rather than an increase in loss if the two sentences were combined. G. Fugate noted to C. Chaffee that her work on the RI Salt Marsh Assessment project contains information that may help make Chair Livingston’s point. C. Chaffee added that a summary of such could be added to this Finding to make that point when the Assessment project has concluded. Mr. Lemont noted that in some communities waterfront parcels are looked at for their development potential.

Item 6. New Business. G. Fugate stated that staff is also working on storm surge scenarios for coastal communities that go beyond the inundation scenarios of the SLAMM work and how these can also aid and benefit in state and local decision-making. Mr. Gomez noted the good work that was recently put out in the 41N publication but also noted that Massachusetts and Connecticut have electronic information publications that accomplish the same thing and asked if the agency has a similar vehicle. G. Fugate explained that he has staff developing a similar outreach effort.

ADJOURNMENT. Mr. Lemont, seconded by Mr. Gomez, moved to adjourn the subcommittee meeting. All voted in favor of the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 9:09 a.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Jeffrey M Willis, Deputy Director

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