What is the CRMC? – Organization
The Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is an independent state regulatory agency composed of sixteen members. Members of the Council are appointed by the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House for terms of three years. The CRMC's enabling legislation requires that representation include members from coastal communities; state and local government officials, the general public, and the director of the Department of Environmental Management, who serves ex officio. When contested cases are heard, the Council must include a representative from the community involved when no CRMC member is from that town.
Each year for the past decade, the CRMC processes an average of over 1,100 applications. These proposed activities comprise of residential renovations and new homes, boat docks, subdivisions of land, and commercial and industrial work, and everything in-between.
The CRMC is organized into two (2) basic elements: the Council; and, its staff. Currently (as of January 2007) the Council membership is:
- Mr. Michael M. Tikoian, Chair
- Mr. Paul E. Lemont, Vice Chair
- Mr. Thomas Ricci
- Mr. David Abedon
- Mr. Donald Gomez
- Mr. K. Joseph Shekarchi
- Mr. Neill Gray
- Mr. W. Michael Sullivan, RIDEM
- Mr. Raymond C. Coia
- Mr. Gerald P. Zarrella
- Mr. Bruce Dawson
It meets regularly (every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month) and as necessary to hear application requests, investigate the existence of right-of-ways, hold workshops, and develop policy. It does this as one body, or as a subcommittee. All meetings of the CRMC are open to the public.
The following are standing subcommittees of the CRMC:
RIGHTS-OF-WAY SUBCOMMITTEE
- Paul Lemont, Chair
- W. Michael Sullivan, RIDEM, Vice Chair
- Neill Gray
- Bruce Dawson
- Joseph Shekarchi
- Michael Tikoian, Chair
- David Abedon, Vice Chair
- Paul Lemont
- Neil Gray, Vice Chair
- Ray Coia
- Bruce Dawson
- Michael Tikoian, Chair
- Paul Lemont, Vice Chair
- David Abedon
- Bruce Dawson
- Donald Gomez
- Ray Coia
- W. Michael Sullivan, RIDEM
Additional subcommittees can be created at the direction of the Chairman, who can also call for meetings as needed. All of these subcommittees function with the assistance of the Executive Director and staff.
Administratively, staff is divided into sections that perform policy and planning, administrative, permitting, and enforcement duties, all providing the Council with the necessary expertise to assist in decision-making. The staff conducts pre-application conferences, reviews all pertinent permit applications and prepares recommendations for decisions to be made by the Council. The staff also prepares draft plans and regulations for the Council's consideration. The staff of the CRMC is divided into the following components:
Administrative
The Executive Director is responsible for all aspects of the agencies functions. Personnel issues, budget preparation, and various other administrative duties are carried out by the Executive Director in addition to the daily decision-making and recommendations to Council members.
Permitting
The permitting staff conducts pre-application conferences, reviews all pertinent permit applications and prepares recommendations for decisions to Council members. The permitting staff, for most applications, is divided into teams, each team consisting of an Environmental Scientist and an Engineer. Each of the teams covers a specific geographic area of the state. This includes all of the territorial waters of the state and land areas in and surrounding the municipalities. The limited geographic focus of each team results in an increased knowledge and awareness of each areas coastal environment.
Policy and Planning
The policy and planning staff assures that all pending planning tasks are continued and that new planning tasks are initiated. In conjunction with the administrative section, the policy and planning staff prepares annual federal grant requests, and program performance reports. The policy and planning staff also serves as the lead contact on coastal planning activities and performance of the federal grant program with OCRM/NOAA.
Enforcement
The enforcement staff acts upon any violations of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program (RICRMP). They work closely with the permitting teams in order to discover any violation of the regulations in all of the geographic coastal regions of the state. In addition, the permitting staff works closely with other state agencies to make enforcement more efficient.
Voice 401-783-3370 • Fax 401-783-3767 • E-Mail cstaff1@crmc.ri.gov
