CRMC’s Policy & Planning group approves new freshwater wetland regulations

August 18, 2005, WAKEFIELD— The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s Policy and Planning subcommittee has voted unanimously to forward its revised freshwater wetlands regulations on to the full Council for approval.

The vote at the August 17 P&P meeting comes two weeks after CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian and Executive Director Grover J. Fugate tasked the staff with improving the existing regulations protecting freshwater wetlands, to bring them to the level of the Council’s regulations safeguarding the state’s coastal saltwater wetlands. The CRMC, as in a number of areas, has some regulatory enhancements that are underway in its policy and planning subcommittee, but because of the recent circumstances, the Council accelerated its efforts to improve freshwater wetlands protection.

“The recent Council decision was an anomaly, but to reinforce our commitment to righting the situation, the CRMC has continued diligently in changing its freshwater wetland regulations,” said Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “We have reacted swiftly and with purpose to the public’s concerns, and the staff has crafted strong regulations that will hopefully ensure this never happens again.”

Definitions and classifications of freshwater wetlands and CRMC jurisdiction will remain the same under the Council’s program, but a passage on tributary wetlands was added to the existing regulations. It reads as follows:

“Tributary wetlands are freshwater wetlands that are connected via a watercourse to a coastal wetland and/or tidal waters. A tributary is any flowing body of water or watercourse which provides intermittent or perennial flow to tidal waters, coastal ponds, coastal wetlands or other down-gradient watercourses which eventually or immediately discharge to tidal waters, coastal ponds or coastal wetlands.”

The new regulations outline the intrinsic value of freshwater wetlands – wildlife and wildlife habitat, recreation and aesthetics, flood protection, recharge or discharge for surface water or groundwater and water quality – and stress that those functions and values further the goals and objectives of the CRMC’s management programs for the protection and management of coastal resources.

Strong language was added prohibiting the alteration, filling, removal or grading or any tributary or tributary wetland that is associated with a coastal wetland or open water system. The regulations state that precise boundaries of these areas will be determined through field inspection when proposals that could impact these systems are being considered.

There is now a section outlining specific situations where the Council might permit the filling, removal or grading of a tributary or tributary wetland, including the 50 foot wetland perimeter and river bank wetland areas outside the wetland “edge,” which would not be considered part of the wetland; and where filling is required to access otherwise buildable land when no other reasonable alternatives for access exist. In these cases, applicants will be subject to a number of requirements:

• The applicant will be required to mitigate the area of wetland lost on a 1 to 2 area basis;
• The wetland that is replaced shall be consistent with that which was filled;
• The mitigation, when feasible, shall take place on-site and/or in an area hydrologically connected to the impacted wetland. When not feasible, the Council will consider other viable alternatives, including increasing mitigation ratios;
• Setback and buffer requirements shall be required for the wetland replacement area;
• Enhancement of existing wetland shall not be an acceptable form of mitigation under this section;
• When applicable, all wetland replacement projects will require approval of the RI Department of Environmental Management, Division of Freshwater Wetlands ; and
• When applicable, the applicant shall concurrently submit applications to the DEM and CRMC so that a concurrent review of the proposed activities can occur.

The new regulations also stipulate that filling of wetlands for priority uses (such as marina expansions, for which the Council allows filling of fringe marsh and requires a restoration ratio of 2 to 1) is exempt from this prohibition.

“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.”

One freshwater wetland complex that would receive enhanced protection 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 regulations, as amended, will now be presented to the full Council at the next meeting on August 23, and will then go out for public comment for 30 days, after which time the Council will vote on the regulations.

Tikoian, at the P&P meeting, also announced the Council’s request that the Rhode Island Sea Grant/University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center conduct an assessment of both Council and staff training needs, and based on the results, develop and provide a training program to build the CRMC’s expertise and capacity as coastal decision makers.

“At this time of increased corporate governance, employee training is standard practice,” Tikoian said. “It’s paramount that we start this process as soon as possible.”