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CRMC moves to improve freshwater wetlands regulations
August 4, 2005, WAKEFIELD—The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council has accelerated its efforts to enhance protection of freshwater wetlands in the state, as a result of the CRMC’s May vote to approve development of a Narragansett lot that is mostly wetlands.
The biologists and permitting staff, at the request of CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian and Executive Director Grover Fugate, have been tasked with mapping out the freshwater wetlands in Rhode Island, and bringing their level of protection in line with the state’s coastal wetlands regulations.
“When the General Assembly transferred the jurisdiction of freshwater wetlands from the Department of Environmental Management to the CRMC in 1996, we basically adopted their regulations,” said Tikoian. “Obviously, they’re not working.
According to Tikoian and Fugate, these changes have been on the Council’s agenda for some time, but the INVESTCO case has brought the issue and regulations to the forefront.
“We’ve discussed the issue – the regulations were mirrored after the DEM wetland regulations –the staff recognized that we could improve upon the existing regulations if the council used its planning and regulatory capabilities to bolster these regulations. I have tasked permitting and policy staff to draft changes for the next CRMC policy and planning meeting,” the executive director said. That meeting is scheduled for Wed., Aug. 17.
The CRMC plans to create regulations for designated freshwater wetland complexes that will bring the level of protection of these freshwater wetlands up to those of the Councils regulation for coastal wetlands. The council plans to designate a series of important freshwater wetland complexes around the state for this additional level of protection. The CRMC has also proposed that under the freshwater wetlands regulations, a water quality certificate from the DEM will also be a prerequisite for any application to alter.
One freshwater wetland complex that would be better protected under the CRMC’s new regulations is Wesquage Pond. Special Area Management Plans will also include language prohibiting alteration of a freshwater wetland; the Narrow River plan already includes this language. The Council is also considering regulations that would prohibit altering any freshwater wetland that is associated with a significant wetland complex that can be linked by hydrology to a critical coastal resource area.
“Coastal wetlands are important for a variety of reasons. They provide food and shelter for large populations of juvenile fish and are nurseries for several species of fish. The mud flats and creeks associated with many coastal wetland are rich in shellfish, particularly soft-shelled clams,” the CRMC’s Coastal Resources Management Program states. “Coastal wetlands also provide important habitat for shore birds and waterfowl, and many are among the most scenic features of the Rhode Island shore. Coastal wetlands are effective in slowing erosion along protected shores.”
Under the new regulations, Tikoian said the enhanced protection will be evident.
“With the suggested changes to the regulations, the lot in question never would have been approved,” he said. “These changes will ensure that the INVESTCO application was not precedent setting.”