R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-6
§ 46-9-6. Duties of commission.
Status: in_force

The commission shall perform the duties and have the powers set forth in this section as well as other duties and powers as may be provided by law:

(1) To make, establish, and enforce rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, which shall be binding and effectual upon all pilots licensed by the commission, all vessels subject to this chapter, and all parties employing the pilots; and, from time to time, revise or amend the rules and regulations as may be necessary to enable the commission to carry into effect and enforce the provisions of this chapter; the rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, those rules and regulations necessary to enable the commission to respond to emergencies or catastrophic conditions as may occur, whether environmental or otherwise. The rules and regulations shall formalize and detail the authority of the commission over individual bay pilots in relation to other state, federal, and municipal agencies, and any other public safety programs;

(2) To make and establish rates of pilotage for vessels that are subject to the provisions of this chapter;

(3) To establish and determine the qualifications of any person applying for a pilots license and conduct examination;

(4) To issue, suspend, or revoke any pilots license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;

(5) To take any action that is necessary to cause the laws, rules, and regulations concerning pilots and pilotage matters to be fully observed and executed;

(6) To hear and decide complaints made in writing against any pilot, pilots agent or employee, or person subject to the provisions of this chapter for any misbehavior or neglect of or breach of rules or regulations of the commission which it shall deem material to be investigated;

(7) To hear and decide complaints made in writing by any pilot against any charterer, owner, agent, master, or sailor of a vessel for any misbehavior toward that pilot in the performance of the pilots duty, or for any breach of the rules and regulations;

(8) To have the power and authority to take testimony and evidence and administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses and issue and serve witness subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum at any hearings that it may conduct; provided, further, that the commission shall conduct at least one public hearing annually, duly advertised, to hear and receive complaints and comments from individual pilots, associations, or other public or private agencies with regard to any matters that may properly come within the jurisdiction of the commission;

(9) To make an annual report to the director of the department of environmental management for the preceding calendar year, together with the amounts of pilotage collected by the pilots and the amounts paid to the state. The report shall also include but not be limited to:

(i) A review and synopsis of commission activities and administrative proceedings;

(ii) A fiscal report and recommendations on fee collections;

(iii) A synopsis of hearings, complaints, suspensions, or other legal matters related to the authority of the commission;

(iv) A review of goals established and findings and recommendations on commission activity.

(10) To establish criteria for the training, experience, ability, knowledge, aptitude, skill, and professional qualifications of pilots and establish and determine the training, experience, ability, knowledge, aptitude, skill, and professional qualifications requirements necessary to make any person eligible to apply for a pilots license and to conduct examinations, and, in this connection, to appoint a special board of state licensed pilots to supervise the training and instructions of those persons seeking eligibility to apply for a pilots license, and to certify their experience, competency, ability, knowledge, skill, aptitude, education, and training in accordance with criteria established by the commission and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the commission;

(11) To require an applicant for a license or a licensed pilot to submit proof of the applicants mental or physical capability to serve or continue to serve;

(12) To institute proceedings in the appropriate courts in this state to restrain and enjoin actions when any violation of this chapter or rule promulgated thereunder has occurred or is threatened by any person;

(13) To require holders of licenses or certificates, and applicants for licenses or certificates, to submit pertinent information under oath necessary to determine their qualifications or to enforce the provisions of this chapter;

(14) To regulate the station and operation of any pilot boat within the waters of the state used for the purpose of boarding or disembarking any pilot and to designate the areas in which the vessels shall be boarded or left by the pilots; and

(15) To require the reporting of all maritime accidents pursuant to the regulations of the commission.

(16) Within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, the commission shall approve and submit an annual report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the secretary of state, of its activities during that fiscal year. The report shall provide: an operating statement summarizing meetings or hearings held, meeting minutes if requested, subjects addressed, decisions rendered, rules or regulations promulgated, studies conducted, policies and plans developed, approved, or modified, and programs administered or initiated; a consolidated financial statement of all funds received and expended including the source of the funds, a listing of any staff supported by these funds, and a summary of any clerical, administrative or technical support received; a summary of performance during the previous fiscal year including accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies; a synopsis of hearings, complaints, suspensions, or other legal matters related to the authority of the commission; a summary of any training courses held pursuant to subsection 46-9-5(d); a briefing on anticipated activities in the upcoming fiscal year; and findings and recommendations for improvements. The report shall be posted electronically on the general assembly and the secretary of states websites as prescribed in § 42-20-8.2 of the Rhode Island general laws. The director of the department of administration shall be responsible for the enforcement of this provision.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-25.2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-25.2
§ 46-25-25.2. Civil penalties.
Status: in_force

(a) Any person who shall violate the provisions of §§ 46-25-25  46-25-25.3, or of any permit, rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per day for each violation.

(b) The commission shall, in the same manner as cities and towns authorized under the provisions of § 45-6-2.3(a)(4), issue regulations to obtain actual costs and reasonable attorneys fees incurred by the commission in seeking compliance, penalties, or damages.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-8
§ 46-22-8. Muffling devices.
Status: in_force

The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any motorboat shall be effectively muffled by equipment so constructed and used as to muffle the noise of the exhaust in a reasonable manner. Outboard motors shall be equipped with underwater exhausts of standard manufacture as furnished by marine supply dealers. The use of cutouts is prohibited, except for motorboats competing in a regatta or boat race approved as provided in § 46-22-13, and for such motorboats while on trial-runs approved as provided in § 46-22-13(b), or during a period not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours immediately preceding the regatta or race and for the motorboats, while competing in official trials for speed records, during a period not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours immediately following the regatta or race.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-9.5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-9.5
§ 46-22-9.5. Speeding.
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall operate any motor-boat or vessel in any harbor or inlet or any pond or other confined body of water in this state in excess of forty-five (45) miles per hour during the hours from sunrise to sunset and twenty-five (25) miles per hour during periods of darkness or other periods of restricted visibility; provided, however, nothing herein shall prohibit the posting of lesser speed limits where deemed necessary by the appropriate state or local authority.

(b) Violations of this section shall be as follows:

(1) The first violation, if no greater than ten (10) miles per hour over the speed limit, shall be a civil offense which shall require payment of a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) assessment fee and the violator may be required to attend a boating safety course.

(2) Any violation in excess of ten (10) miles per hour over the speed limit shall be deemed a misdemeanor with fines as follows:

(3) State, federal, and local law enforcement and rescue agencies may exceed this speed limit when responding to an emergency or law enforcement action: provided that this speed does not endanger any person not involved in this action.

(c) The operation of personal watercrafts, as defined, use, speed, age of operator, and area of operation shall be regulated by the department of environmental management. Rules and regulations shall be promulgated by the department within three (3) months of June 16, 1991.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-18-16 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-18 / Section 46-18-16
§ 46-18-16. Maximum period of detention of natural stream.
Status: in_force

No person owning any dam on any river or stream of water shall detain the natural stream thereof, at any one time, more than twelve (12) hours out of twenty-four (24) hours, except on Sundays, whenever he or she shall be requested by the owner of any dam within one mile below on the same stream to suffer the natural run of the river or stream to pass his or her dam.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-3
§ 46-12-3. Powers and duties of the director.
Status: in_force

In addition to the other powers granted the director of the department of environmental management herein, the director shall have and may exercise the following powers and duties:

(1) To exercise general supervision of the administration and enforcement of this chapter, and all rules and regulations and orders promulgated hereunder;

(2) To develop comprehensive programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of new or existing pollution of the waters of this state;

(3) To advise, consult, and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the federal government, other states, and interstate agencies and with affected groups, political subdivisions, and industries in the furtherance of the purposes of this chapter;

(4) To accept and administer loans and grants from the federal government and from other sources, public or private, for the carrying out of any of its functions, which loans and grants shall not be expended for other than the purposes for which provided;

(5) To encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and demonstrations relating to water pollution and its causes, prevention, control, and abatement thereof, as he or she may deem advisable and necessary for the discharge of his or her duties under this chapter;

(6) To collect and disseminate information relating to water pollution and the prevention, control, and abatement thereof;

(7) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (24) below, to promulgate standards of water quality and to classify the waters of the state accordingly;

(8) To administer state grants to municipalities and political subdivisions for the construction of sewage treatment works;

(9) To hold hearings, to issue notices of hearings and subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence, and to administer oaths and to take testimony, that he or she may deem necessary;

(10) To approve, pursuant to standards adopted by the environmental standards board, the construction, modification, and operation of discharge systems or any parts thereof, and to require the prior submission of plans, specifications, and other data relative to discharge systems and to require that the plans, specifications, or other data be certified by a professional engineer registered in Rhode Island, and to inspect the systems either under construction or in operation;

(11) To issue a permit for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of pollutants or to issue a general permit authorizing a category of discharges within a geographical area upon conditions as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter and of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., which may include, but not be limited to, providing for specific effluent limitations and levels of treatment technology, monitoring, recording, and reporting standards, or to deny a permit or general permit;

(12) To renew, revoke, modify, or suspend in whole or in part any permit, order, or schedule of compliance pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;

(13) To approve the discharge of pollutants into the waters of this state pursuant to all applicable standards;

(14) To require publicly owned treatment works to adopt and implement requirements regarding the pretreatment of pollutants consistent with existing federal requirements, and to require compliance by all persons with pretreatment requirements;

(15) To issue such orders as may be necessary to prevent the unauthorized construction, modification, or operation of discharge systems and the discharge of pollutants into the waters of this state;

(16) To require proper maintenance and operation of discharge systems;

(17) To consult the advisory council on environmental affairs on the policies and plans for the control and abatement of pollution;

(18) To make, issue, amend, and revoke reasonable rules and regulations for the prevention, control, and abatement of pollution and the enforcement of orders issued hereunder, including public notice and comment requirements;

(19) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

(20) To approve the operation of treatment facilities, pursuant to the provisions of chapters 3, 11, and 18 of title 44;

(21) To promulgate and enforce rules and regulations to govern the location, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of underground storage facilities used for storing petroleum products or hazardous materials to prevent, abate, and remedy the discharge of petroleum products and hazardous materials into the waters of the state; provided that all underground storage tanks and associated piping installed after September 1, 1991, shall provide for secondary containment in a manner approved by the director; and provided, that single-walled tanks and/or piping installed prior to May 8, 1985, shall be permitted to remain in use until December 22, 2017, and single-walled tanks and/or piping installed between May 8, 1985, and July 20, 1992, shall be permitted to remain in use for thirty-two (32) years from the date of installation if the owner/operator of the single-walled tank or piping performs an annual facility compliance inspection to ensure structural integrity; and provided, further, that the installation of underground storage tanks is prohibited at sites located within wellhead protection areas for community water supply wells as designated by the director and consistent with chapter 13.1 of this title. This prohibition shall not apply to the replacement or upgrading of existing underground storage tanks installed prior to July 1, 1991, provided that such activity take place in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulations. The department of environmental management shall by January 1, 2011, develop recommendations for phasing out the stage II vapor recovery program with the required removal of single-walled underground storage tanks in order to achieve the objectives of both program efforts in a cost effective and efficient manner. The department of environmental management shall report its findings to the chair of the house committee on environment and natural resources and to the chair of the senate committee on environment and agriculture on or before January 1, 2011;

(22) To promulgate and enforce rules and regulations to govern the installation, construction, operation, and abandonment of monitoring wells;

(23) To promulgate and enforce rules and regulations to govern the location, design, installation, operation and maintenance of subsurface disposal systems which receive the discharge of pollutants and of subsurface containment systems, including underground storage tanks, used to contain or control the discharge of pollutants below the ground surface.

(24) In connection with the dredging and transportation and disposal of dredge material, to promulgate and adopt water quality standards that conform with the federal Environmental Protection Agencys applicable water quality rules and regulations and guidelines, including, but not limited to, the federal Environmental Protection Agencys rules and regulations and guidelines for deviating from said standards. The department of environmental management shall also apply the applicable standards and guidelines and adopt the procedures as set forth in the manual identified as Evaluation of Dredge Material for Purpose of Ocean Disposal. Testing Manual Put Together by EPA and Army Corps of Engineers in February, 1991 and any amendments or supplements or successor manuals thereto to the extent that the same are relevant to dredging, transportation and/or disposal of dredge materials in tidal waters or any documents or manuals approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency relating to dredging, transportation and/or disposal of dredge materials; and

(25) To prepare and to submit to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the chairperson of the house committee on environment and natural resources and the chairperson of the senate committee on environment and agriculture, not later than February 1, 2005, a plan, including an implementation program with cost estimates, recommended sources of funding, measurable goals, objectives, and targets and limitations for nutrient introduction into the waters of the state, for the purposes of: (i) managing nutrient loadings and the effects of nutrients in the waters of the state; and (ii) preventing and eliminating conditions of eutrophication.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-28-12 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-28 / Section 46-28-12
§ 46-28-12. Powers of coastal resources management council.
Status: in_force

Nothing contained herein shall abrogate or affect the powers of the coastal resources management council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-4
§ 46-4-4. Penalties for violation of town ordinances.
Status: in_force

The town councils of the towns of Barrington, Little Compton, and Warren may impose penalties for the violation of ordinances and regulations, not exceeding in amount twenty dollars ($20.00) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction, for any one offense, the fines to be recovered to the use of the towns; provided, however, the penalties are not repugnant to the laws of this state or of the United States.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-19-5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-19 / Section 46-19-5
§ 46-19-5. Judicial enforcement of order to make dam or reservoir safe.
Status: in_force

(a) If the owner or person having the control of any dam or reservoir, who shall be required to draw off the water, or a portion of the water, in any reservoir, or to make alterations in any reservoir, or repairs thereon or additions thereto, in the manner prescribed in § 46-19-4, shall not forthwith proceed to comply with the requirement, or shall not prosecute the work, when commenced, with reasonable expedition, the director of the department of environmental management shall make out a complaint in which he or she shall set forth the condition of the dam or reservoir, and the steps he or she has taken to cause the water to be drawn off therefrom and for the alteration or repair thereof, or to have additions made thereto to secure the safety of the dam or reservoir, and the default of the owner or person having control thereof in drawing off the water, repairing, altering, or in making an addition to the dam or reservoir, and that the safety of life and property is endangered by the default, and shall subscribe the default, and deliver the complaint to the attorney general or to an assistant attorney general, who shall present the complaint to the supreme court or the superior court, with a petition in the nature of an information ex officio, praying that the person owning or controlling the dam or reservoir may be required and ordered forthwith to comply with the requirements of the director of the department of environmental management theretofore made in the premises, or with such other orders as may be made by the court, to secure all persons having reasonable cause to apprehend injury to life or property from the unsafe condition of the dam or reservoir.

(b) Upon the filing of the petition, a citation shall issue to the person controlling or owning the dam, commanding him or her to appear at a time and place therein named, to show cause, if any exists, why the relief prayed for shall not be granted; and the court shall summarily proceed to hear the cause, and upon hearing the parties, or by proceeding ex parte, if the respondent fails to appear, the court may pass such order and decree in the premises as will effectually secure the persons interested from danger or loss from the breaking of the dam or reservoir complained of; and the court may enforce the orders and decrees by injunction, process for contempt, by sequestration, or by such other process as may be applicable in those cases.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-8
§ 46-24-8. Annual reports.
Status: in_force

The board, during May of each year, shall submit to the councils of the participating cities and towns a report showing actual expenditures for the preceding ten (10) months, and the projected expenditures for the final two (2) months of its fiscal year, as well as a proposed budget for the next fiscal year. This annual report shall include, in addition, a request for any necessary contributions.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-20 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-20
§ 46-15-20. Exemption from taxation.
Status: in_force

The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for the increase of their commerce, welfare, and prosperity, and for the improvement of their health and living conditions, and will constitute the performance of an essential government function, and neither the water resources board nor any municipal water agency, or department, or special water district to whom the water resources board has leased any of its properties or other facilities, shall or may be required to pay taxes or assessments upon or in respect of those properties or facilities acquired, leased, or used by the water resources board under the provisions of this chapter, or upon any improvements constructed on property owned by the board by any municipal water agency, or department, or special water district, or upon the income therefrom; provided, however, the general assembly may direct payments in lieu of taxes to be paid to a city or town in which those properties or facilities are located.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-5-5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-5 / Section 46-5-5
§ 46-5-5. Payment of agreed price.
Status: in_force

If any party shall agree with the department of environmental management to the price for his or her estate or interest in any such land, that price shall be paid to him or her forthwith out of the funds appropriated and available thereof.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-14 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-13 / Section 46-13-14
§ 46-13-14. Delegation of functions.
Status: in_force

The director is hereby empowered to assign all his or her functions authorized by this chapter to such subordinate or subordinates as the director deems advisable.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-28-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-28 / Section 46-28-8
§ 46-28-8. Local watershed councils.
Status: in_force

(a) The rivers council shall establish and recognize local watershed councils to implement the rivers policy as adopted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and set forth in the state guide plan. Unless a watershed is solely within one municipalitys boundaries, each local watershed council shall be comprised of members from each municipality within the watershed area as designated by the department of environmental management. Such local watershed councils may be existing organizations where appropriate.

(b) Local watershed councils shall have standing to present testimony in all state and local administrative proceedings which impact on rivers and water quality and shall receive notice, pursuant to rules adopted by the council, from state or city and town agencies regarding proposed actions pertaining to projects, developments and activities located wholly or partially within the watershed represented by the local watershed council.

(c) Each local watershed council shall be a body corporate and politic, having a distinct legal existence from the state and any municipality within the watershed area in which such local watershed council is located. Each local watershed council shall have power:

(1) To advise and make recommendations for the watershed in the municipality where such watershed is located for the preparation or revision by the municipality of its comprehensive land use plan pursuant to the Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act with regard to achieving and maintaining classifications assigned by the rivers council;

(2) To advise the municipalities with regard to public access to rivers for the preparation or revision by the municipality of a comprehensive land use plan pursuant to the Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act;

(3) To establish and support river watch programs for the protection of the watershed in which it is located;

(4) To negotiate payments between two (2) or more of the municipalities within the watershed for the conduct of services or the erection of projects necessary for the purposes of the local watershed council, subject to majority vote of each of the city and town councils participating in each program or project;

(5) To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed, or interest or interests thereon;

(6) To own, operate, maintain, repair, improve, enlarge, and extend, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, any property acquired hereunder, all of which, together with the acquisition of such property, are hereby declared to be public purposes; and

(7) To sell, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose of to any of the municipalities within the watershed any property or improvements thereto, which the local watershed council may hereafter acquire or construct; provided, however, that any sale, lease, conveyance, or other disposition of the property shall not prejudice or adversely affect any service which the local watershed council is providing to any other participating city or town;

(8) To sue and be sued in connection with any contracts made by, real estate or personal property owned by or leases or conveyances made by the local watershed council;

(9) To adopt and order a corporate seal;

(10) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;

(11) To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes including the creation and maintenance of working capital;

(12) To fix rates and collect charges for the use of the facilities of or services rendered by or any commodities furnished by the local watershed council; and to pay as the same shall become due the expenses of operating and maintaining the properties of the river watershed council;

(13) To contract in its own name for any lawful purpose which would effectuate the purposes of this chapter; to execute all the instruments necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted by this chapter. It is the intention of the legislature that any property acquired by the local watershed councils pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be financed as a self-liquidating enterprise, and that any indebtedness incurred by the local watershed councils shall be payable solely from the earnings or revenues derived from all or part of the property acquired by such river watershed council. Any indebtedness incurred by the local watershed councils shall not be deemed to constitute a debt or a pledge of the faith and credit of the state or of any municipality;

(14) To enter into cooperative agreements with other cities and towns, for any lawful corporate purposes necessary and desirable to effect the purposes of this chapter;

(15) In the performance of its functions the local watershed council may recommend to municipalities land and water conservation programs consistent with the state rivers policy provided for in § 46-28-7;

(16) To apply for, contract for, and expend any federal or state advances or grants or assistance which may be made available for purposes of this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-18-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-18 / Section 46-18-4
§ 46-18-4. Scope of damages appraised.
Status: in_force

The jury shall appraise the damages which the plaintiff shall have sustained by the matters set forth in his or her complaint, from the time of his or her ownership of the premises injured up to the date of the action, if the defendant has been so long for that time the owner of the milldam or pond; if not, then from the time the ownership of the defendant commenced up to the date of the plaintiffs action, or until the defendant ceased to be owner.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-18-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-18 / Section 46-18-11
§ 46-18-11. Effect of sale on execution  Redemption.
Status: in_force

Any sale of the mill or milldam and appurtenances thereof made on the execution shall be valid and effectual against the defendant and against all persons whose titles shall accrue after the service of the complaint in the action; but any person entitled to the premises sold may redeem the premises at any time within one year after the sale, upon paying to the purchaser or person holding under him or her the sum paid therefor, with interest thereon at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-8-5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-8 / Section 46-8-5
§ 46-8-5. Registration fees.
Status: in_force

A fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be charged for the registration certificate; provided, however, that registrations obtained for use by the United States or any agency thereof or the State of Rhode Island or any city or town shall be exempt from payment of any fee.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-27 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-27
§ 46-23-27. Requirements for parking modifications near coastal resources management council rights-of-way.
Status: in_force

(a) Any city, town, municipal agency, private entity, or other organization seeking to reduce, or restrict parking near designated CRMC rights-of-way shall:

(1) Submit a comprehensive parking plan which shall provide a detailed plan outlining the proposed changes, including:

(i) The specific parking areas affected;

(ii) The reasons for the proposed changes; and

(iii) An analysis of the potential impacts on shoreline access for the public, with a specific focus on ADA compliance.

(2) Demonstrate that the proposed changes shall not reduce access for individuals with disabilities and shall meet or exceed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for accessible parking spaces and pathways.

(3) Conduct a public comment period of no less than thirty (30) days to gather feedback from local residents, stakeholders, and advocacy groups.

(b) CRMC shall engage in collaboration with the department of environmental management (DEM) to ensure:

(1) The proposed plan does not conflict with DEM programs or projects or negatively interfere with compliance with state and federal accessibility standards;

(2) Achieves alignment with the goals of preserving and enhancing public shoreline access; and

(3) Provides mitigation measures to address any negative impacts identified during the review process.

(c) CRMC and/or DEM may promulgate any necessary rules and regulations to facilitate the implementation of this section within six (6) months of collaboration provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Agencies or departments acting under the authority and expressed permission of the State of Rhode Island or any city or town shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, provided that any restrictions or reductions in parking near CRMC rights-of-way are temporary in nature and are implemented solely to address legitimate public safety concerns or to alleviate impediments to traffic flow. If the restrictions or reductions are to last more than twenty (20) calendar days, notice must be provided to the CRMC, which shall then make such notice available to the public.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-10-15 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-10 / Section 46-10-15
§ 46-10-15. Taking charge of property wrecked on Block Island.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management shall, immediately on receiving information of any shipwreck or of the finding of any shipwrecked goods or property of any kind in value to the amount of twenty dollars ($20.00) or more upon the shore of Block Island, repair to the place where the property may be found, and in case the property shall not be in the custody of any owner or agent, the director shall take charge thereof and shall preserve and secure the property for the owner.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-7-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-7 / Section 46-7-1
§ 46-7-1. Marking of Pawtucket River channel.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management shall accurately mark the channel of the Pawtucket River by erecting and placing suitable stakes and buoys along the sides of the channel at the request and for the convenience of persons interested in the navigation of the river. Whatever expenses shall be incurred in the performance of these duties shall be paid from any appropriation which the department of environmental management is or may hereafter be authorized to expend.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-16 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-16
§ 46-25-16. Application for federal and state aid.
Status: in_force

Whenever it shall be necessary to obtain assistance from the federal or state governments in the form of loans, advances, grants, subsidies, and otherwise, directly or indirectly, for the execution of the project, the commission may make all necessary applications for those purposes. All the applications shall be made in writing in the name of the commission, and shall be duly signed by the chairperson or such other person or persons as the commission may designate.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-20 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-13 / Section 46-13-20
§ 46-13-20. Exclusion.
Status: in_force

The provisions of §§ 45-13-7  45-13-10 shall not apply to this chapter or the regulations adopted hereunder.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-11
§ 46-25-11. Power to acquire land.
Status: in_force

For any purposes of this chapter, the commission may, at any time and from time to time, take by eminent domain or acquire by purchase or otherwise, such land, water rights, easements, and other property or interests in property, public and private, as it may determine necessary or desirable for the purposes of this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-27-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-27 / Section 46-27-4
§ 46-27-4. Penalties.
Status: in_force

(a) Any person who violates § 46-27-2(b) or 46-27-2(h) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months for each such violation. The privilege to operate a personal watercraft may be suspended for a period of up to six (6) months for each violation.

(b) Any person who violates any other provision of this chapter or who violates any department of environmental management rule or regulation related to the operation of personal watercraft shall be guilty of a civil violation and be subject to a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each violation.

(c) The Rhode Island traffic tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil infractions related to violations of subsection (b) of this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-1
§ 46-12-1. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter the following terms shall, where the context permits, be construed as follows:

(1) Boat means any vessel or water craft whether moved by oars, paddles, sails, or other power mechanism, inboard or outboard, or any other vessel or structure floating upon the water whether or not capable of self locomotion, including house boats, barges, and similar floating objects.

(2) Clean Water Act refers to the federal law enacted under 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., and all amendments thereto.

(3)(i) Director means the director of the department of environmental management or any subordinate or subordinates to whom the director has delegated the powers and duties vested in him or her by this chapter.

(ii) Wherever reference is made in this chapter to any order of the director and the order shall have been modified by the court, the order referred to shall be taken to be the order of the director as so modified.

(4) Discharge means the addition of any pollutant to the waters from any point source.

(5) Effluent limitation means any restriction or prohibitions, established in accord with the provisions of this chapter or under the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., on quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, radiological, and other constituents which are discharged into the waters.

(6) Fecal coliform bacteria means organisms within the intestines of warm blooded animals that indicate the presence of fecal material, and the potential presence of organisms capable of causing disease in humans.

(7) Groundwaters includes all underground waters of whatever nature.

(8) Marine Sanitation Device-Type I means a marine toilet which, under prescribed test conditions, will produce an effluent that will not exceed a fecal coliform bacteria count of one thousand (1,000) parts per one hundred (100) milliliters and have no visible solids.

(9) Marine Sanitation Device-Type II means a marine toilet which, under prescribed test conditions will produce an effluent that does not exceed a fecal coliform bacteria count of two hundred (200) parts per one hundred (100) milliliters, and have suspended solids not greater than one hundred and fifty (150) milligrams per liter.

(10) Marine Sanitation Device-Type III means a marine toilet which is designed to prevent the discharge from the boat of any treated or untreated sewage, or any waste derived from sewage.

(11) Marine toilet means any toilet on or within any boat as that term is defined herein.

(12) No discharge zone means an environmentally sensitive area of the waters of the state which has been declared by the department of environmental management pursuant to the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., to be an area in which any discharge of sewage is prohibited.

(13) Person includes an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation (including a quasi government corporation) partnership, association, syndicate, municipality, municipal or state agency, fire district, club, nonprofit agency, or any subdivision, commission, department, bureau, agency, or department of state or federal government (including any quasi government corporation) or of any interstate body.

(14) Point source means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture.

(15) Pollutant means any material or effluent which may alter the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological characteristics and/or integrity of water, including, but not limited to, dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, cellar dirt or industrial, municipal, agricultural, or other waste petroleum or petroleum products, including but not limited to oil.

(16) Polluting means the causing of pollution.

(17) Pollution means the man made or man induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.

(18) Publicly owned treatment works means any facility for the treatment of pollutants owned by the state or any political subdivision thereof, municipality, or other public entity, including any quasi government corporation.

(19) Release means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of any pollutant into a surface water or wetland, or onto or below the land surface.

(20) Schedule of compliance means a schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable sequence of actions, or operations, leading to compliance with an effluent limitation or any other limitation, prohibition, or standard.

(21) Sewage means fecal material and human waste, or wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body waste, and any wastes, including wastes from human households, commercial establishments, and industries, and storm water runoff, that are discharged to or otherwise enter a publicly owned treatment works.

(22) Underground storage tank means any one or combination of tanks (including underground pipes connected thereto) which is used to contain an accumulation of petroleum product or hazardous materials, and the volume of which (including the volume of the underground pipes connected thereto) is ten percent (10%) or more beneath the surface of the ground.

(23) Waters includes all surface waters including all waters of the territorial sea, tidewaters, all inland waters of any river, stream, brook, pond, or lake, and wetlands, as well as all groundwaters.

(24) Eutrophication means a reduction of dissolved oxygen from excessive plant growth, chiefly algae, typically as an effect of increased nutrient loadings, to levels that impair the viability of other aquatic life.

(25) Nutrient means organic materials and chemicals, including especially nitrogen and phosphorous and their compounds, that are biologically reactive and necessary for life.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-6
§ 46-23-6. Powers and duties  Rights-of-way.
Status: in_force

In order to properly manage coastal resources the council has the following powers and duties:

(1) Planning and management.

(i) The primary responsibility of the council shall be the continuing planning for and management of the resources of the states coastal region. The council shall be able to make any studies of conditions, activities, or problems of the states coastal region needed to carry out its responsibilities.

(ii) The resources management process shall include the following basic phases:

(A) Identify all of the states coastal resources, water, submerged land, air space, fin fish, shellfish, minerals, physiographic features, and so forth.

(B) Evaluate these resources in terms of their quantity, quality, capability for use, and other key characteristics.

(C) Determine the current and potential uses of each resource.

(D) Determine the current and potential problems of each resource.

(E) Formulate plans and programs for the management of each resource, identifying permitted uses, locations, protection measures, and so forth.

(F) Carry out these resources management programs through implementing authority and coordination of state, federal, local, and private activities.

(G) Formulation of standards where these do not exist, and reevaluation of existing standards.

(H) To develop comprehensive programs for dredging in tidal waters and related beneficial use, disposal, monitoring dewatering and transportation of dredge materials.

(I) To accept and administer loans and grants from the federal government and from other sources, public or private, for the carrying out of any of its functions, which loans or grants shall not be expended for other than the purposes for which provided.

(J) To encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and demonstrations relating to dredging, disposal of dredge materials and transportation thereof in the tidal waters of the state as the coastal resources management council may deem advisable and necessary for the discharge of its duties under this chapter.

(K) To collect and disseminate information relating to dredging, disposal of dredge materials and transportation thereof within the tidal waters of the state.

(L) To work with the appropriate federal and state agencies to develop as provided for in this chapter and in chapter 6.1 of this title, a comprehensive plan for dredging in tidal waters and related beneficial use, disposal, monitoring dewatering and transportation of dredge materials.

(M) To apply for, accept and expend grants and bequests of funds, for the purpose of carrying out the lawful responsibilities of the coastal resources management council.

(iii) An initial series of resources management activities shall be initiated through this basic process, then each phase shall continuously be recycled and used to modify the councils resources management programs and keep them current.

(iv) Planning and management programs shall be formulated in terms of the characteristics and needs of each resource or group of related resources. However, all plans and programs shall be developed around basic standards and criteria, including:

(A) The need and demand for various activities and their impact upon ecological systems.

(B) The degree of compatibility of various activities.

(C) The capability of coastal resources to support various activities.

(D) Water quality standards set by the director of the department of environmental management.

(E) Consideration of plans, studies, surveys, inventories, and so forth prepared by other public and private sources.

(F) Consideration of contiguous land uses and transportation facilities.

(G) Whenever possible consistency with the state guide plan.

(v) The council shall prepare, adopt, administer, and cause to be implemented, including specifically through its powers of coordination as set forth in subdivision (3) of this section, a marine resources development plan and such special area management plans as the council may determine to be appropriate or desirable as follows:

(A) Marine resources development plan.

(I) The purpose of the marine resources development plan shall be to provide an integrated strategy for: (a) improving the health and functionality of Rhode Islands marine ecosystem; (b) providing for appropriate marine-related economic development; and (c) promoting the use and enjoyment of Rhode Islands marine resources by the people of the state.

(II) The marine resources development plan shall include specific goals and objectives necessary to accomplish its purposes, performance measures to determine progress toward achieving such goals and objectives, and an implementation program.

(III) The marine resources development plan shall be prepared in cooperation with the department of environmental management, the statewide planning program, and the commerce corporation, with the involvement of such other state agencies as may be appropriate, and with such technical support as may be necessary and appropriate from the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Sea Grant.

(IV) The plan shall be responsive to the requirements and principles of the federal coastal zone management act as amended, including, but not limited to, the expectations of the act for incorporating the federal Clean Water Act into coastal zone management programs.

(V) The marine resources development plan shall take into account local land use management responsibilities as provided for under title 45 and harbor management responsibilities, and the preparation of the plan shall include opportunities for involvement and/or comment by cities and towns.

(VI) The marine resources development plan shall be adopted by the council in accordance with the provisions of this subsection by July 1, 2005, shall as appropriate incorporate the recommendations of the Governors Narragansett Bay and Watershed Planning Commission, and shall be made consistent with systems level plans as appropriate, in order to effectuate the purposes of systems level planning. The council shall update the marine resources development plan at least once every five (5) years.

(VII) The council shall administer its programs, regulations, and implementation activities in a manner consistent with the marine resources development plan.

(VIII) The marine resources development plan and any updates thereto shall be adopted as appropriate as elements of the state guide plan pursuant to §42-11-10.

(B) Special area management plans.

(I) The council shall adopt such special area management plans as deemed necessary and desirable to provide for the integration and coordination of the protection of natural resources, the promotion of reasonable coastal-dependent economic growth, and the improved protection of life and property in the specific areas designated council as requiring such integrated planning and coordination.

(II) The integrated planning and coordination herein specified shall include, but not be limited to, federal agencies, state agencies, boards, commissions, and corporations, including specifically the commerce corporation, and cities and towns, shall utilize to the extent appropriate and feasible the capacities of entities of higher education, including Rhode Island Sea Grant, and shall provide for the participation of advocacy groups, community-based organizations, and private persons.

(III) The council shall administer its programs, regulations, and implementation activities in a manner consistent with special area management plans.

(IV) Special area management plans and any updates thereto shall be adopted as appropriate as elements of the state guide plan pursuant to §42-11-10.

(2) Implementation.

(i) The council is authorized to formulate policies and plans and to adopt regulations necessary to implement its various management programs. With respect to such policies and plans which relate to matters where the coastal resources management council and the department of environmental management have concurrent jurisdiction and upon formulation of the plans and regulations, the council shall, prior to adoption, submit the proposed plans or regulations to the director of the department of environmental management for the directors review. The director shall review and submit comments to the council within thirty (30) days of submission to the director by the council. The comments of the director shall include findings with regard to the consistency of the policies, plans and/or regulations with the requirements of laws administered by the department. The council shall consider the directors comments prior to adoption of any such policies, plans or regulations and shall respond in writing to findings of the director with regard to the consistency of said policies, plans and/or regulations with the requirements of laws administered by the department.

(ii)(A) The council shall have exclusive jurisdiction below mean high water for all development, operations, and dredging, consistent with the requirements of chapter 6.1 of this title and except as necessary for the department of environmental management to exercise its powers and duties and to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to §§42-17.1-2 and 42-17.1-24, and any person, firm, or governmental agency proposing any development or operation within, above, or beneath the tidal water below the mean high water mark, extending out to the extent of the states jurisdiction in the territorial sea, shall be required to demonstrate that its proposal would not:

(I) Conflict with any resources management plan or program;

(II) Make any area unsuitable for any uses or activities to which it is allocated by a resources management plan or program adopted by the council; or

(III) Significantly damage the environment of the coastal region.

(B) The council shall be authorized to approve, modify, set conditions for, or reject any such proposal.

(iii) The authority of the council over land areas (those areas above the mean high water mark) shall be limited to two hundred feet (200²) from the coastal physiographic feature or to that necessary to carry out effective resources management programs. This shall be limited to the authority to approve, modify, set conditions for, or reject the design, location, construction, alteration, and operation of specified activities or land uses when these are related to a water area under the agencys jurisdiction, regardless of their actual location. The councils authority over these land uses and activities shall be limited to situations in which there is a reasonable probability of conflict with a plan or program for resources management or damage to the coastal environment. These uses and activities are:

(A) Power generating over forty megawatts (40 MW) and desalination plants.

(B) Chemical or petroleum processing, transfer, or storage.

(C) Minerals extraction.

(D) Shoreline protection facilities and physiographical features, and all directly associated contiguous areas which are necessary to preserve the integrity of the facility and/or features.

(E) Coastal wetlands and all directly associated contiguous areas which are necessary to preserve the integrity of the wetlands including any freshwater wetlands located in the vicinity of the coast. The actual determination of freshwater wetlands located in coastal vicinities and under the jurisdiction of the coastal resources management council shall be designated on such maps that are agreed to in writing and made available for public use by the coastal resources management council and the director, department of environmental management, within three (3) months of [August 6, 1996]. The CRMC shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the wetlands areas described in this section notwithstanding any provision of chapter 1, title 2 or any other provision, except as provided in subsection (iv) of this section. Within six (6) months of [August 6, 1996] the council in cooperation with the director shall develop rules and regulations for the management and protection of freshwater wetlands, affected by an aquaculture project, outside of those freshwater wetlands located in the vicinity of the coast and under the exclusive jurisdiction of the director of the department of environmental management. For the purpose of this chapter, a coastal wetland means any salt marsh bordering on the tidal waters of this state, whether or not the tidal waters reach the littoral areas through natural or artificial watercourses, and those uplands directly associated and contiguous thereto which are necessary to preserve the integrity of that marsh. Marshes shall include those areas upon which grow one or more of the following: smooth cordgrass (spartina alterniflora), salt meadow grass (spartina patens), spike grass (distichlis spicata), black rush (juncus gerardi), saltworts (salicornia spp.), sea lavender (limonium carolinianum), saltmarsh bulrushes (scirpus spp.), hightide bush (iva frutescens), tall reed (phragmites communis), tall cordgrass (spartina pectinata), broadleaf cattail (typha latifolia), narrowleaf cattail (typha angustifolia), spike rush (eleocharis rostellata), chairmakers rush (scirpus amercana), creeping bentgrass (agrostis palustris), sweet grass (hierochloe odorata), and wild rye (etlymus virginicus).

(F) Sewage treatment and disposal and solid waste disposal facilities.

(G) Beneficial use, dewatering, and disposal of dredged material of marine origins, where such activities take place within two hundred feet (200²) of mean high water or a coastal physiographic feature, or where there is a reasonable probability of conflict with a plan or program for resources management or damage to the coastal environment.

(iv) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (ii) and (iii) above, the department of environmental management shall maintain jurisdiction over the administration of chapter 1, title 2, including permitting of freshwater wetlands alterations and enforcement, with respect to all agricultural activities undertaken by a farmer, as that term is defined in §2-1-22(j), wherever located; provided, however, that with respect to activities located partially or completely within two hundred feet (200²) of the coastal physiographic feature, the department shall exercise jurisdiction in consultation with the council.

(3) Coordination. The council has the following coordinating powers and duties:

(i) Functioning as a binding arbitrator in any matter of dispute involving both the resources of the states coastal region and the interests of two (2) or more municipalities or state agencies.

(ii) Consulting and coordinating actions with local, state, regional, and federal agencies and private interests.

(iii) Conducting or sponsoring coastal research.

(iv) Advising the governor, the general assembly, and the public on coastal matters.

(v) Serving as the lead state agency and initial and primary point of contact for dredging activities in tidal waters and in that capacity, integrating and coordinating the plans and policies of other state agencies as they pertain to dredging in order to develop comprehensive programs for dredging as required by subparagraph (1)(ii)(H) of this section and chapter 6.1 of this title. The Rhode Island resource recovery corporation prior to purchasing cover material for the state landfill shall first contact the CRMC to see if there is a source of suitable dredged material available which shall be used in place of the purchase cover material. Other state agencies engaged in the process of dump closures shall also contact the CRMC to see if there is a source of suitable dredged material available, which shall be used in place of the purchase cover material. In addition, cities and towns may contact the CRMC prior to closing city or town controlled dump sites to see if there is a source of suitable dredge material available, which may be used in place of the purchase cover material.

(vi) Acting as the states representative to all bodies public and private on all coastal and aquaculture related matters.

(4) Operations. The council is authorized to exercise the following operating functions, which are essential to management of coastal resources:

(i) Issue, modify, or deny permits for any work in, above, or beneath the areas under its jurisdiction, including conduct of any form of aquaculture.

(ii) Issue, modify, or deny permits for dredging, filling, or any other physical alteration of coastal wetlands and all directly related contiguous areas which are necessary to preserve the integrity of the wetlands, including, but not limited to, the transportation and disposal of dredge materials in the tidal waters.

(iii) Grant licenses, permits, and easements for the use of coastal resources which are held in trust by the state for all its citizens, and impose fees for private use of these resources.

(iv) Determining the need for and establishing pierhead, bulkhead, and harbor lines.

(v) Enforcing and implementing riparian rights in the tidal waters after judicial decisions.

(vi) The council may require an owner or operator of a commercial wharf or pier of a marine commercial facility, as defined in 300.3 of the Rhode Island coastal resources management program, but not including those facilities defined in 300.4 of the Rhode Island coastal resources management program, and which is capable of offloading cargo, and is or will be subject to a new use or a significant intensification of an existing use, to demonstrate that the commercial wharf or pier is fit for that purpose. For the purposes of this subsection, a commercial wharf or pier means a pier, bulkhead, wharf, docking facility, or underwater utilities. The council may order said owner or operator to provide an engineering certification to the councils satisfaction that the commercial wharf or pier is fit for the new use or intensification of an existing use. If the council determines that the commercial wharf or pier is not fit, it may order the owner or operator to undertake the necessary work to make the commercial wharf or pier safe, within a reasonable time frame. If the council determines that the commercial wharf or pier, because of its condition, is an immediate threat to public health and safety it may order the commercial wharf or pier closed until the necessary work to make the commercial wharf or pier safe has been performed and approved by the council. All work performed must conform to the councils management program. The council is also given the authority to develop regulations to carry out this provision and to impose administrative penalties of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day up to a maximum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) consistent with §46-23-7.1 where there has been a violation of the orders under this provision.

(5) Rights-of-way.

(i) The council is responsible for the designation of all public rights-of-way to the tidal water areas of the state, and shall carry on a continuing discovery of appropriate public rights-of-way to the tidal water areas of the state.

(ii) The council shall maintain a complete file of all official documents relating to the legal status of all public rights-of-way to the tidal water areas of the state.

(iii)(A) The council has the power to designate for acquisition and development, and posting, and all other functions of any other department for tidal rights-of-way and land for tidal rights-of-way, parking facilities, and other council related purposes.

(B) Further, the council has the power to develop and prescribe a standard sign to be used by the cities and towns to mark designated rights-of-way.

(iv) In conjunction with this subdivision, every state department controlling state-owned land close to or adjacent to discovered rights-of-way is authorized to set out the land, or so much of the land that may be deemed necessary for public parking.

(v) No use of land for public parking shall conflict with existing or intended use of the land, and no improvement shall be undertaken by any state agency until detailed plans have been submitted to and approved by the governing body of the local municipality.

(vi) In designating rights-of-way, the council shall consider the following matters in making its designation:

(A) Land evidence records;

(B) The exercise of domain over the parcel such as maintenance, construction, or upkeep;

(C) The payment of taxes;

(D) The creation of a dedication;

(E) Public use;

(F) Any other public record or historical evidence such as maps and street indexes;

(G) Other evidence as set out in §42-35-10.

(vii) A determination by the council that a parcel is a right-of-way shall be decided by substantial evidence. A copy of the final council determination, and all official documents related to the council determination, shall be provided to the municipality in which the right-of-way is located.

(viii) Municipalities shall be required to identify and maintain a current list of public rights-of-way to the tidal water areas in their municipality that have been designated by the council in accordance with this section. Municipal identification of the councils designated public rights-of-way shall also be incorporated and displayed on official maps in accordance with § 45-23.1-1. Non-compliance with this municipal responsibility shall have no effect on the council designation process or final determinations by the council that are set forth in this section.

(ix) The council shall be notified whenever by the judgment of the governing body of a coastal municipality, a public right-of-way to tidal water areas located in such municipality has ceased to be useful to the public, and such governing body proposes an order of abandonment of such public right-of-way. Said notice shall be given not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such abandonment.

(6) Preexisting residential boating facilities.

(i) The council is hereby authorized and empowered to issue assent for preexisting residential boating facilities constructed prior to January 1, 1985. These assents may be issued for preexisting residential boating facilities, even though such facilities do not meet current standards and policies of the council; provided, however, that the council finds that such facilities do not pose any significant risk to the coastal resources of the state of Rhode Island and do not endanger human safety.

(ii) In addition to the above criteria, the applicant shall provide clear and convincing evidence that:

(A) The facility existed in substantially the same configuration as it now exists prior to January 1, 1985;

(B) The facility is presently intact and functional; and

(C) The facility presents no significant threat to the coastal resources of the state of Rhode Island or human safety.

(iii) The applicant, to be eligible for this provision, shall apply no later than January 31, 1999.

(iv) The council is directed to develop rules and regulations necessary to implement this subdivision.

(v) It is the specific intent of this subsection to require that all preexisting residential boating facilities constructed on January 1, 1985, or thereafter conform to this chapter and the plans, rules and regulations of the council.

(7) Lease of filled lands which were formerly tidal lands to riparian or littoral owners.

(i) Any littoral or riparian owner in this state who desires to obtain a lease from the state of Rhode Island of any filled lands adjacent to his or her upland shall apply to the council, which may make the lease. Any littoral or riparian owner who wishes to obtain a lease of filled lands must obtain pre-approval, in the form of an assent, from the council. Any lease granted by the council shall continue the publics interest in the filled lands including, but not limited to, the rights of navigation, fishery, and commerce. The public trust in the lands shall continue and run concurrently with the leasing of the lands by the state to private individuals, corporations, or municipalities. Upon the granting of a lease by the council, those rights consistent with the public trust and secured by the lease shall vest in the lessee. The council may approve a lease of filled lands for an initial term of up to fifty (50) years, with, or without, a single option to renew for an additional term of up to fifty (50) years.

(ii) The lessor of the lease, at any time, for cause, may by express act cancel and annul any lease previously made to the riparian owner when it determines that the use of the lands is violating the terms of the lease or is inconsistent with the public trust, and upon cancellation the lands, and rights in the land so leased, shall revert to the state.

(8)  Marinas  as defined in the coastal resources management program in effect as of June 1, 1997, are deemed to be one of the uses consistent with the public trust. Subdivision (7) is not applicable to:

(i) Any riparian owner on tidal waters in this state (and any successor in interest to the owner) which has an assent issued by the council to use any land under water in front of his or her lands as a marina, which assent was in effect on June 1, 1997;

(ii) Any alteration, expansion, or other activity at a marina (and any successor in interest) which has an assent issued by the council, which assent was in effect on June 1, 1997; and

(iii) Any renewal of assent to a marina (or successor in interest), which assent was issued by the council and in effect on June 1, 1997.

(9)  Recreational boating facilities  including marinas, launching ramps, and recreational mooring areas, as defined by and properly permitted by the council, are deemed to be one of the uses consistent with the public trust. Subdivision (7) is not applicable to:

(i) Any riparian owner on tidal waters in this state (and any successor in interest to the owner) which has an assent issued by the council to use any land under water in front of his or her lands as a recreational boating facility; any alteration, expansion or other activity at a recreational boating facility (and any successor in interest) which has an assent issued by the council, which assent was in effect as of June 1, 1997; and

(ii) Any renewal of assent to a recreational boating facility (or successor in interest), which assent was issued by the council and in effect on June 1, 1997.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-26 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-26
§ 46-22-26. Severability.
Status: in_force

If any provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, any invalidity shall not affect the provisions or application of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of the chapter are declared to be severable.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-13 / Section 46-13-7
§ 46-13-7. Tanks connected to unsafe supplies.
Status: in_force

Any person who maintains a public water supply system connection to a tank which is also supplied with water from a water supply system found by the director to be unsafe, shall maintain the tank open to atmospheric pressure, and the public water supply pipe shall terminate at least two (2) pipe diameters above the maximum level of water in the tank. The tank overflow shall be of adequate size to fix definitely the maximum level.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-8
§ 46-25-8. Compensation  Personnel.
Status: in_force

(a) The members of the commission shall not be compensated for attendance at any board meeting, but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in carrying out their duties under this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no officer or employee of the state shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his or her office or employment by reason of his or her acceptance of membership on the commission or his or her service thereto.

(c) The commissioners shall employ an executive director who shall also be the secretary and who shall administer, manage, and direct the affairs and business of the commission, subject to the policies, control, and direction of the commissioners. The commissioners may employ technical experts and other officers, agents, and attorneys and fix their qualifications, duties, and compensation. Employees of the commission shall not, by reason of their employment, be employees of the state for any purpose, any provision of the general laws to the contrary notwithstanding, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, chapters 29, 39, and 42 of title 28 and chapters 4, 8, 9, and 10 of title 36. Those employees of the commission who were employed prior to June 30, 1999, shall continue to be covered by §§ 36-4-59, 36-5-7 and 36-5-8. The employees are not entitled to the provisions of §§ 36-4-59, 36-5-7 and 36-5-8 while employed by the commission. The employees are only entitled to the provisions of these statutes in the event that any such employee returns to employment in the classified service in a department within the executive branch. The commissioners may employ other employees, permanent and temporary. The commissioners may delegate to one or more of its agents or employees any administrative duties that they may deem proper.

(d) The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission and shall be custodian of all books, documents, and papers filed with the commission and of its minute book and seal. He or she shall have authority to cause to be made copies of all minutes and other records and documents of the commission, and to give certificates under the seal of the commission to the effect that the copies are true copies and all persons dealing with the commission may rely upon the certificates.

(e) The department of administration may furnish the commission with suitable offices and telephone service in the state house, state office building, or some other convenient location, for the transaction of its business.

(f) The commissioners of the commission shall, at regular intervals conduct business meetings for the purpose of carrying out its general business. The meetings shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 46 of title 42 entitled open meetings.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-24 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-24
§ 46-15-24. New Shoreham water district obligations.
Status: in_force

The commissioners of the New Shoreham water district, governed by its board of water commissioners, may specifically limit its public water systems obligation to supply water only to those applicants who reside within its designated and described service area as opposed to the entire land area of the municipality.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-8
§ 46-9-8. Regulation of pilot boats.
Status: in_force

Every vessel, boat, or launch of any draft, size, or tonnage, used for the purpose of transporting from the Rhode Island shoreline to a vessel in Narragansett Bay south of the Newport and Jamestown Bridges or, in Rhode Island Sound and in Block Island Sound, a pilot or any person intending to pilot a vessel shall be in compliance with the rules and regulations established by the state pilotage commission regarding the construction, safety, equipment, manning, and operations of the vessel, boat, or launch; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the jurisdiction of the commission to regulate the vessels, boats, or launches in other waters subject to this chapter. Further, the owner or operator of the vessel, boat, or launch shall secure and hold a current certificate of compliance issued by the state pilotage commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-24.1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-24.1
§ 46-25-24.1. Notice of entry.
Status: in_force

Authorized agents and employees of the commission may enter upon any lands, waters and premises in the district for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, test pits, drillings, borings and examinations as the commission may deem necessary for the purposes of the Narragansett Bay water quality management district commission, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass, nor shall an entry for such purposes be deemed an entry under any condemnation proceedings which may be then pending. The commission shall give at least fifteen (15) days notice of its intent to enter such lands, waters or premises to the record owner(s) of the property and to the municipality wherein the property lies, and shall state in that notice the amount it proposes to pay as just compensation for such entry. Following such entry, the commission shall pay the amount of compensation previously proposed, and restore the property to its prior condition or shall reimburse the owner for any actual damage resulting to such lands, waters and premises as a result of such activities. If the owner of said lands believes that the amount paid is insufficient to provide just compensation, the owner may petition to the superior court to have the amount increased. The provisions of this section shall in no way expand the powers of the commission to take any of the properties investigated by eminent domain. Amounts to be paid as just compensation pursuant to this section shall be set by the commission in accordance with § 42-35-1 et seq.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-16-1.2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-16 / Section 46-16-1.2
§ 46-16-1.2. Personnel authorizations.
Status: in_force

In addition to the minimal personnel authorizations contained in article IV of the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Compact, the commission may employ such engineering, technical, and other professional, secretarial, and clerical personnel as the proper administration and functioning of the commission may require.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-18-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-18 / Section 46-18-7
§ 46-18-7. Election between yearly damages and damages in gross.
Status: in_force

Upon the return and filing of the verdict, the court to which it is returned shall continue the cause to some day certain when the court shall be in session, not less than four (4) weeks after the date of the verdict, before rendering any judgment accepting the verdict; and the plaintiff shall, on or before the date so fixed, in writing, make his or her election between the yearly damages and the damages in gross found by the jury.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-11
§ 46-22-11. Transmittal of information.
Status: in_force

In accordance with any request duly made by an authorized official or agency of the United States, any information compiled or otherwise available to the department of environmental management, pursuant to § 46-22-21 or 46-22-22, shall be transmitted to that official or agency of the United States.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-7
§ 46-2-7. Agreements by cities and towns to meet federal conditions.
Status: in_force

Any city or town is authorized to negotiate, cooperate, and enter into agreements with the United States and the state in order to satisfy the conditions imposed by the United States in authorizing any project for the improvement of navigation of any harbor or river and for the protection of property against damage by floods or by erosion, provided the project shall have been approved by the governor.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-13 / Section 46-13-21
§ 46-13-21. Advisory council.
Status: in_force

(a) There is hereby created an advisory council, to be known as the public drinking water supply advisory council, and whose purpose it shall be to advise the director and public drinking water suppliers concerning fees and the implementation of the provisions of this chapter.

(b) The council shall be composed of seven (7) members.

(1) Two (2) members shall be members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker, not more than one from the same political party;

(2) One member of the senate appointed by the president of the senate;

(3) one member to be the director, or his or her designee;

(4) One officer of a community public drinking water supplier appointed by the governor;

(5) One officer of a nontransient noncommunity public water supplier appointed by the governor; and

(6) One member of the general public, to be appointed by the governor.

(c) The legislative members of the council shall serve for a term of two (2) years. Each member may be reappointed for two (2) additional terms.

(d) The member of the general public, appointed by the governor, shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years and may be reappointed for one additional term.

(e) The members, appointed by the governor, who are officers of a public drinking water supplier, shall be appointed for a one year term, and may be reappointed for three (3) additional terms.

(f) The director, or his or her designee, shall serve upon the council without removal.

(g) On the third Monday in July after the enactment of this chapter, the members of the council shall meet at the call of the speaker of the house and organize. The speaker shall appoint a chairperson from among the legislative members. The vice chairperson shall be elected by the membership of the council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-17
§ 46-15-17. Filing reports.
Status: in_force

The water resources board, on behalf of the board, may require any municipal water department, special water district, or private water company at a designated time or times, to file with its statements and reports, in such form as it may prescribe, covering any data or information which it deems necessary or proper to enable it to carry into effect the applicable provisions of this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-9 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-9
§ 46-2-9. Condemnation by cities and towns  Appropriations and borrowing.
Status: in_force

In order to carry out the intent of §§ 46-2-7  46-2-11 any city or town is authorized to acquire by condemnation any land, easements, or rights-of-way required for the improvement or protection project, and any city or town is authorized to make appropriations and to expend funds, in the manner provided by law, for the improvement or protection project, and to issue bonds or other evidences of debt, subject to statutory limitation, for the improvement or protection project.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-33-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-33 / Section 46-33-2
§ 46-33-2. Rhode Island lake management program  Established.
Status: in_force

(a) The department shall develop and implement a lake management program. The program shall include the following elements:

(1) Field surveys and mapping to document the presence of aquatic invasive species in freshwaters;

(2) Development and provision of guidance and technical assistance to lake associations, watershed organizations, and municipalities interested in undertaking lake management actions;

(3) Coordination of the implementation of lake management actions, where appropriate;

(4) Oversight of lake management policy and program development;

(5) Distribution of financial assistance for lake management, including control of aquatic invasive plants, as resources allow; and

(6) Other activities consistent with the powers and duties assigned to the department in § 42-17.1-2(34).

(b) Upon receipt of funding, the department shall establish procedures and rules for the distribution of lake management grants consistent with the following provisions:

(1) Entities eligible to apply for assistance shall include lake associations, watershed associations, municipal governments, and other nonprofit, non-governmental environmental and conservation organizations.

(2) Projects involving lakes and ponds located wholly within a privately owned property and that lack public access to the waterbody are not eligible for assistance.

(3) Projects involving lakes and ponds that lack public access, excepting those excluded in subsection (b)(2) of this section, may be eligible to apply for financial assistance provided the department determines that active management is necessary to protect publicly accessible freshwater resources.

(4) Projects shall be solicited through a publicly advertised process.

(5) Projects shall require a matching contribution of funds.

(6) Eligible projects are determined by the department to be technically sound and appropriate to mitigate an existing aquatic invasive species management, water quality, or aquatic habitat concern.

(7) Funding is used to design and implement specific lake management actions.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-19-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-19 / Section 46-19-4
§ 46-19-4. Investigations and orders as to unsafe dams and reservoirs.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of the department of environmental management, on application made to him or her in writing by any person owning or representing property liable to injury or destruction by the breaking of any dam or reservoir, or on an application made by any mayor or city council of any city, or by the town council of any town, on account of danger of loss of life or of injury to any highway or bridge therein, from the breaking of any dam or reservoir, or, without the complaint, whenever he or she shall have cause to apprehend that any dam or reservoir is unsafe, shall forthwith view and thoroughly examine the dam or reservoir, or cause the dam or reservoir to be viewed and examined. And if in the judgment of the director the dam or reservoir be not sufficiently strong to resist the pressure of water upon it, or if from any other cause the director shall determine the dam or reservoir to be unsafe, or if in his or her judgment there is reasonable cause to believe that danger to life or property may be apprehended from the unsafe dam or reservoir, the director shall determine whether the water in the reservoir shall be drawn off in whole or in part, and what alterations, additions, and repairs are necessary to be made to the dam or reservoir to make the dam or reservoir safe, and shall forthwith in writing under his or her hand notify the owner or person having control of the dam or reservoir to cause the additions, alterations, and repairs in the dam or reservoir to be made within a time to be limited in the notice; and may order the water in the reservoir to be drawn off, in whole or in part, as the director may determine.

(b) If such order is not carried out within the time specified, or if the owner of the dam cannot be determined, the director of the department of environmental management or the directors duly authorized agents may carry out the actions to mitigate the unsafe condition as required by the order, provided the director has determined that an emergency exists and the safety of life and/or property is endangered. The director is hereby authorized to assess the costs of such action, including the use of deed restrictions, against the person owning or having care and control of the dam.

(c) Any order or notice issued by the director shall be eligible for recordation under chapter 13 of title 34. The director shall forward the order or notice to the city or town wherein the subject property is located and the order or notice shall be recorded in the land evidence records in the city or town wherein the subject property is located. Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements of the order or notice, the director shall provide written notice of the same, which notice shall be similarly eligible for recordation. The written notice of satisfactory completion shall be forwarded to the city or town wherein the subject property is located and the notice of satisfactory completion shall be recorded in the land evidence records in the city or town wherein the subject property is located.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-5
§ 46-25-5. General powers.
Status: in_force

The commission shall have the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance of those stated in this chapter:

(1) To sue and be sued, complain and defend, in its corporate name.

(2) To have a seal which may be altered at pleasure and to use the seal by causing it, or a facsimile thereof, to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced.

(3) To purchase, take, receive, lease, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, improve, use, and otherwise deal in and with, real or personal property, or any interest therein, wherever situated.

(4) To make and execute agreements of lease, construction contracts, operation contracts, and all other contracts and instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the commission granted by this chapter.

(5) To make guarantees and incur or assume liabilities as the commission may deem appropriate.

(6) To invest and reinvest its funds.

(7) To secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States, and any of its agencies, and of agencies of this state and its municipalities in the work of the commission.

(8) To accept grants, donations, drafts, loans of funds, and contributions in money, services, materials, or otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from this state and its agencies, or from any other source, and to use or expend those moneys, services, materials, or other contributions in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.

(9) To make assessments and impose reasonable and just user charges, and to pay for such expenses as may be required by law or as may be determined by the commission to be necessary for the maintenance and operation of the project. In addition to the foregoing, the assessments and user charges imposed pursuant to this chapter by the commission shall be set at a rate sufficient to enable the commission to pay the debt service cost on not in excess of fourteen million and fifty-nine thousand dollars ($14,059,000) of general obligation bonds and on notes issued pursuant to this chapter. Any user charge, fee, or rate shall be subject to the approval of the public utilities commission.

(10) To establish a sewage pretreatment program, and to require as a condition, to the grant or reissuance of any approval, license, or permit required under the program, that the person applying for the approval, license, or permit, pay to the commission a reasonable fee based on the cost of reviewing and acting upon the application and based on the costs of implementing the program. In addition, where violations of the provisions of §§ 46-25-25  46-25-25.3, or of any permit, rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto have occurred, the violator shall reimburse the commission for the actual costs of implementing and enforcing the terms of the permit, rule, regulation, or order as a condition to the grant or reissuance of any approval, license, or permit.

(11) To acquire or contract to acquire, from any person, the federal government or the state, or any agency of either the federal government or state, by grant, purchase, lease, gift, condemnation, or otherwise, or to obtain options for the acquisition of any property, real or personal, improved or unimproved, and interests in land less than the fee thereof; and to own, hold, clear, improve, develop, and rehabilitate, and to sell, assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the property for the purposes of carrying out the provisions and intent of this chapter for such consideration as the commission shall determine.

(12) To elect or appoint officers and agents of the commission, and to define their duties and fix their compensation, including authority to employ attorneys, accountants, architectural, and engineering consultants, and such other employees or agents as the commission shall deem necessary in its judgment.

(13) To make and alter bylaws, not inconsistent with this chapter, for the administration and regulation of the affairs of the commission, and the bylaws may contain provisions indemnifying any person who is or was a director or a member of the commission, in the manner and to the extent provided in § 7-1.2-814.

(14) To construct, acquire, repair, develop, own, operate, maintain, extend, improve, rehabilitate, renovate, equip, and furnish a project and make provision for its management.

(15) To prepare or cause to be prepared plans, specifications, designs, and estimates of costs of construction, reconstruction, rehabilitations, improvement, alteration, or repair of a project, and to modify the same.

(16) To issue orders of general or specific applicability to carry out the purposes of the project.

(17) To have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to effect its purposes.

(18) To impose administrative penalties in accordance with the provisions of § 46-25-25.4.

(19) To secure certain payments on its revenue bonds and notes, in whole or in part, by insurance or by letters or lines of credit or other credit facilities.

(20) To enter into agreements, contracts, and other arrangements with the state and any of its departments, agencies, boards or commissions relating to the execution or performance of any function or purpose of the commission, including, but not limited to, investments, employee compensation and employee benefits, and the state and its departments, agencies, boards and commissions are hereby authorized to enter into such agreements, contracts and other arrangements with the commission, and upon the request of the commission shall enter into such agreements, contracts and other arrangements with the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-22.2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-22.2
§ 46-9-22.2. Chemical test  Consent  Administration  Use as evidence  Refusal to submit.
Status: in_force

(a) Any pilot who operates a vessel within the waters of this state shall be deemed to have given his or her consent to a chemical test of his or her breath, blood, and/or urine for the purpose of determining the chemical content of his or her body fluids or breath, provided that the test shall be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to believe the person to have been operating a vessel within the waters of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, toluene, or any controlled substance as defined in chapter 28 of title 21, or any combination thereof. The director of the department of health is empowered to make and file with the secretary of state, regulations which prescribe the techniques and methods of chemical analysis of the persons body fluids or breath, and the qualifications and certification of individuals authorized to administer such testing and analysis. When a person is required to submit to a blood test, only a physician or registered nurse or a medical technician certified under regulations promulgated by the director of the department of health may withdraw blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content therein. This limitation shall not apply to the taking of breath or urine specimens. The person tested shall be permitted as soon as reasonably possible to have a physician of his or her own choosing and at his or her own expense administer a chemical test of his or her breath, blood, and/or urine in addition to the one administered at the direction of the law enforcement officer.

(b) In any criminal prosecution for a violation of any provision of this chapter, evidence as to the amount of intoxicating liquor, toluene, or any controlled substance, as defined in chapter 28 of title 21, or any combination thereof, in the defendants blood at the time alleged as shown by a chemical analysis of the defendants breath, blood, or urine or other bodily substance, shall be admissible and competent, provided, that the defendant has consented to the taking of the test upon which the analysis is made. Evidence that the defendant had refused to submit to the test shall not be admissible unless the defendant elects to testify, and that additional competent evidence is presented bearing on the question whether or not the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, toluene, or any controlled substance as defined in chapter 28 of title 21, or any combination thereof.

(c) If any pilot refuses, upon the request of a law enforcement officer or any agent of the commission, to submit to a test as provided in subsection (a) above, none shall be given, but the commission, if it finds that the law enforcement officer or commission agent had reasonable grounds to believe the pilot had been operating a vessel within the waters of this state under the influence of intoxicating liquor, toluene, or any controlled substance as defined in chapter 28 of title 21, or any combination thereof, that the defendant has been informed of his or her rights in accordance with subsections (a) and (b), above, that the defendant was afforded a reasonable opportunity to exercise those rights, that the defendant had been informed of the penalties incurred as a result of noncompliance with this section, and that the person has refused to submit to the test upon request of the law enforcement officer or commission agent, shall, from the date of the official order of suspension, impose a mandatory license suspension of six (6) months for the first violation, and a mandatory license suspension of one year for the second violation; provided, however, that the commission may suspend for a longer period or revoke or annul the license of any pilot charged with a violation of this section, if presented with competent evidence bearing and upon satisfactory proof that the pilot has violated the provisions of § 46-9-22 or § 46-9-23.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-1-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-1 / Section 46-1-2
§ 46-1-2. Care and supervision of harbors and tidewaters.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management shall have the general care and supervision of all the public harbors and tidewaters within the state, with authority to prosecute for and to cause to be removed all unauthorized obstructions and encroachments therein, and may cause the harbors and public waters to be surveyed and platted and may make such examinations and observations as he or she may deem necessary to protect and develop the rights and interests of the state in the harbors and public waters; and may employ such engineers and other service as may be necessary to this end.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-10 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-10
§ 46-25-10. Acquisition of facilities from municipalities.
Status: in_force

(a) The commission shall acquire the city of Providence Fields Point sewage treatment plant, as well as interceptors, combined sewer overflow facilities, force mains, and appurtenant facilities, and the land, property, easements, and other interests in property from municipalities within the district as may be necessary or desirable in its discretion to carry out the duties under this chapter.

(b) The acquisition of the treatment plant, facilities, interceptors, combined sewer overflow facilities, mains, and other appurtenant facilities, and the lands, property, easements, or other interests in property shall be paid for solely by user charges and fees to be assessed by the commission in accordance with this chapter. As part of the acquisition, the commission may agree to assume payment of financial obligation debt service liabilities of the city of Providence for long term bonded debt, that is, for debt with maturity schedules of not less than twenty (20) years incurred for capital improvement of the sewage treatment facilities, as determined in the sole discretion of the commission, pursuant to findings of the auditor general, in an amount not to exceed fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000); provided, however, that the payment of the debt service liabilities shall be paid solely out of user charges and fees to be assessed by the commission in accordance with this chapter. User charges assessed pursuant to this section shall be in addition to those charges under the authority of § 46-25-5(9), and shall be reasonable and just and subject to the approval of the public utilities commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-20 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-20
§ 46-25-20. Pipes along highway or railroad.
Status: in_force

Whenever the commission shall lay or install any pipes or other equipment under any public highway, private way, right-of-way, or tracks, the commission shall, as far as possible, restore the public highway, private way, right-of-way, or tracks, to its former condition. Nothing in this chapter shall authorize the commission to condemn any portion of the right-of-way of any railroad, or other public service company, except for the purpose of crossing the same, either above or below grade, and of maintaining suitable and convenient supports for the crossing, in such manner as not to render unsafe, or to impair the usefulness of, the right-of-way for the railroad or the purposes of the public service company.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-13.2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-13.2
§ 46-22-13.2. Bridge safety.
Status: in_force

All ships whose primary cargo is liquefied natural gas as defined in U.S.C. title 49, § 60101(11) shall have at least thirty feet (30²) of clearance under all of Rhode Islands bridges. This section shall not apply to boats under sail.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-21
§ 46-22-21. Reporting of accidents, casualty, vandalism, and thefts.
Status: in_force

The operator or owner of a vessel on the waters of this state, involved, or whose vessel is involved, in an accident, casualty, vandalism, or theft in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000), or other casualty which results in death or injury to a person, shall report the same, and immediately give notice of the incident to the department of environmental management or to a nearby office of local or state police. In the event the local or state police are notified, it shall be the duty of the officer receiving the notice to immediately give notice of the incident to the of department of environmental management. In the event the department of environmental management is notified, it shall be the duty of the employee of the department receiving the notice to give notice of the incident to the state and local police of the city or town wherein the incident occurred within twenty-four hours (24) hours in the following circumstances: thefts in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), or any accident which results in bodily injury or death to a person. In order to allow more complete investigations of theft, all motorboats manufactured after 1971, required to apply for numbering in § 46-22-3, shall provide to the department of environmental management, at the time of their next annual application, the full hull identification number of the vessel. Homemade vessels may apply to the department for identification numbers. The director may promulgate regulations for the enforcement of this requirement.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-23 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-23
§ 46-9-23. Contest  Notice and opportunity to be heard.
Status: in_force

Whenever there is a contested case concerning the granting, denial, revocation, or other action concerning a pilots license, the commission shall provide the pilot with notice and an opportunity to be heard, and shall, in this respect, and all others concerning the contested case, conform to the practices required by the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-6.7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-6.7
§ 46-4-6.7. Town of Little Compton  Powers conferred.
Status: in_force

(a) The provisions of § 46-22-14, or any other provisions of the general laws notwithstanding, and in addition to any authority and powers conferred upon the town council of the town of Little Compton, authority shall also be granted to the town council of the town of Little Compton to enact ordinances as the town council may deem necessary or desirable for the enforcement of any rules and regulations established by the town council governing the public waters within its jurisdiction, and to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels and objects and the size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorages within the public waters within the confines of the town, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the authority and power to regulate waterskiing upon any of the public waters; to designate upon a map of the public waters within the town the places where permanent or temporary moorings or anchorages may be maintained; to assign moorings; to remove moorings; to collect fees for the use of moorings, the fees to be recovered for use by the town of Little Compton; to provide for minimum mooring specifications, to provide for inspection of moorings; to provide regulations for houseboats that are not self-propelled; to regulate the location and placement of lobster pots, fish traps, and other fishing gear; to provide regulations for regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, and exhibitions; to provide for the removal of wrecks and derelicts or abandoned boats or docks; to provide for the regulation of skin diving and scuba diving; to prevent littering and pollution of its public waters; and to impose penalties for violation of the ordinances not exceeding in amount one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction for any one offense and the fines to be recovered to the use of the town.

(b) No powers or duties granted herein shall be construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the coastal resources management council as provided in chapter 23 of this title.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-10-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-10 / Section 46-10-7
§ 46-10-7. Penalty for unauthorized intermeddling with property.
Status: in_force

Every person who shall after the arrival of the commissioner take, detain, or intermeddle with any property shipwrecked or found as aforesaid, except under the direction of the commissioner or of the owner, agent, or other person interested, provided, that the owner, agent, or other person interested, has possession of the property, shall forfeit one thousand dollars ($1,000) for such offense, to be recovered in the name of the commissioner, one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the commissioner and one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the person lawfully authorized to receive the property.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-9 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-9
§ 46-9-9. Temporary pilot licenses  Emergencies.
Status: in_force

In the event of a national or domestic emergency, the commission may issue temporary pilot licenses, to persons not meeting the qualifications in § 46-9-7, to serve as long as the emergency shall exist or until such time as the pilots so licensed can be replaced by persons meeting the qualifications prescribed in § 46-9-7.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-3-15 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-3 / Section 46-3-15
§ 46-3-15. Application of assessment proceeds.
Status: in_force

The proceeds of the assessments, whether or not pledged for the payment of securities, shall be segregated from other funds of the municipality, and shall be used only to pay for the construction of the erosion control system or particular portion thereof in respect to which the assessments are made or, as the case may be, for the payment of the interest on, or principal of, any securities issued to pay for the system or particular part thereof.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-6
§ 46-25-6. Composition of commission  Appointment of members.
Status: in_force

(a) The commission shall consist of nineteen (19) members to be appointed in the following manner: ten (10) members shall be appointed by the governor from the public as herein provided. Two (2) members shall be appointed by the mayor of the city of Providence; one member each shall be appointed by the mayor of the town of North Providence, the mayor of the town of Johnston, mayor of the city of Pawtucket, mayor of the town of Cumberland, town administrator of the town of Lincoln, mayor of the city of Central Falls, and mayor of the city of East Providence.

(b) The appointments to the commission shall be made as follows:

(1) The governor shall appoint two (2) members of the commission to serve until the first day of April, 1981, two (2) members to serve until the first day of April, 1982, four (4) members to serve until the first day of April, 1983, one member to serve until the first day of April 1993, one member to serve until the first day of April 1994, and all to serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. In the month of March in each year thereafter, the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint successors to the members of the commission whose term is expiring in that year, each member so appointed to hold office for a three (3) year period commencing on the first day of April in the year of appointment and continuing until the first day of April in the third year after his or her appointment and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancy for a public member, which may occur in the commission, shall be filled by the governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(2) The mayor of the city of Providence shall appoint one member of the commission to serve until the first day of April, 1982, and one member to serve until the first day of April, 1983, and all to serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. The mayor of the town of North Providence and the mayor of the town of Johnston each shall appoint a member to serve until the first day of April, 1981, each member so appointed shall serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. The Mayor of the city of Pawtucket shall appoint one member of the commission to serve until the first day of April, 1993, and such member so appointed shall serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. The town administrator of the town of Lincoln and the mayor of the city of Central Falls shall each appoint one member of the commission to serve until the first day of April, 1994, and each member so appointed shall serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. The mayors of the town of Cumberland and the city of East Providence shall each appoint one member of the commission to serve until the first day of April, 1995, and each member so appointed shall serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. In the month of March in each year thereafter, the respective mayors and town administrator shall appoint a successor to the member of the commission whose term is expiring, each member so appointed to hold office for a three (3) year period, commencing on the first day of April in the year of appointment and continuing until the first day of April in the third year after his or her appointment and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancy which may occur in the commission shall be filled by the appointing authority who originally appointed the member, and the appointment shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(3) Members of the commission shall be eligible for reappointment.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-8
§ 46-23-8. Gifts, grants, and donations.
Status: in_force

The council is authorized to receive any gifts, grants, or donations made for any of the purposes of its program, which shall be deposited as general revenues, and to disburse and administer the gifts, grants, or donations amounts appropriated in accordance with the terms thereof. The council is authorized to receive any sums provided by an applicant for use by the council in its hearing process, which shall be deposited as general revenues, and to disburse and administer the general revenue amounts appropriated in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-3-10 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-3 / Section 46-3-10
§ 46-3-10. Condemnation of property.
Status: in_force

Whenever it is impossible to reach agreement upon the price to be paid for the purchase of any land or interest therein needed to carry out the purposes of this chapter, or whenever the owner is legally incapacitated or is absent or is unable to convey valid title or is unknown, the department of environmental management is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire by condemnation any properties, notwithstanding whether the properties taken or acquired are or may be devoted to public uses. The condemnation proceedings shall be conducted and the compensation to be paid shall be ascertained and paid pursuant to the provisions of chapter 6 of title 37.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-16 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-16
§ 46-2-16. Examination of commissioners report  Jury trial on damages  Costs.
Status: in_force

The clerk of the superior court shall open the report of the commissioners, and the report may be examined by any person interested therein; and any person or party aggrieved by any award of damages by the commissioners may claim a jury trial upon any item of damages thereby awarded, and may file his or her claim for the trial at any time within three (3) months from the opening of the report; and the claim shall stand for trial by jury as other cases upon the docket of the court, and shall be tried therein in every respect as other cases are there tried, including the right to except to rulings and to apply for new trials for cause; and execution may be awarded thereon as in other cases; but if the party claiming the jury trial shall not therein obtain an award for damages more favorable to him or her than that given by the commissioners, that party shall pay costs to the city or town.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-26-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-26 / Section 46-26-1
§ 46-26-1. Improvements to Ten Mile River.
Status: in_force

The state of Rhode Island or any of its municipalities are hereby authorized to negotiate and enter into agreements with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any of its municipalities concerning improvements to the Ten Mile River.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-29 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-29
§ 46-12-29. Effective date of chapter.
Status: in_force

This chapter shall take effect on September 15, 1983, except that prior to that date the director of the department of environmental management may conduct any hearings necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, and file with the secretary of state any rules and regulations authorized by this chapter to take effect on or after that date.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-6-10.4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-6 / Section 46-6-10.4
§ 46-6-10.4. Derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal fee.
Status: in_force

There is hereby established a derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal fee which shall be in addition to the vessel registration fee assessed pursuant to § 46-22-4(a)(1). The fee shall be assessed biennially at the time vessel registration fees are assessed by the department pursuant to § 46-22-4(a)(1). All derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal fees shall be deposited in the derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal account established pursuant to § 46-6-10.3. The fees shall be assessed as follows:

Pursuant to § 46-22-4(a)(1)(iii), vessels over thirty feet (30²) may, upon request, pay the derelict and abandoned vessel and obstruction removal fee, along with the registration fee annually at the rate of one-half ( 1 / 2 ) the biennial fee for a vessel of the same length.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-19-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-19 / Section 46-19-7
§ 46-19-7. Employment of consulting engineer.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management may employ a consulting engineer in any specific case in which the exigencies of the case may require it. The compensation of the consulting engineer shall be allowed by the director, and shall be paid upon the order of the state controller out of any money in the treasury appropriated therefor.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-10-12 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-10 / Section 46-10-12
§ 46-10-12. Compensation of commissioner for property delivered to town.
Status: in_force

The town council may grant the commissioner such compensation for his or her services and expenses as shall be just, to be ascertained, in case of disagreement between the commissioner and town council, in the same manner as provided in § 46-10-5 for the adjustment of the like question between the commissioner and the owner of the property.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-30-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-30 / Section 46-30-1
§ 46-30-1. Short title.
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be referred to as the Public Water Supply Systems Act of 1995.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-64 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-64
§ 46-25-64. Agreement of the state of Rhode Island.
Status: in_force

The state of Rhode Island does hereby pledge to and agree with the holders of any revenue bonds or revenue notes issued under §§ 46-25-58  46-25-66, that the state will not limit or alter the rights hereby vested in the commission to fulfill the terms of any agreements made with the holders until the revenue bonds or revenue notes, together with the interest thereon, with interest on any unpaid installments of interest, and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or proceeding by or on behalf of the holders, are fully met and discharged. The commission is authorized to include this pledge and agreement of the state in any agreement with the holders of the revenue bonds or revenue notes.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-25 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-25
§ 46-2-25. Apportionment of costs.
Status: in_force

The total cost incurred under § 46-2-12 shall be borne by the city and town which shall have voted to cooperate with the state and the federal government in the flood control project; provided, however, that the state may share in the cost at a rate not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the cost.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-6
§ 46-12-6. Investigation and hearing  Records.
Status: in_force

(a) If the director shall have cause to believe that any person is violating any provision of this chapter, or any regulation, permit, or order of the department of environmental management adopted in accordance therewith, it shall be the directors duty to cause the matter to be investigated. The director may schedule a hearing, receive evidence, and hear witnesses in behalf of the persons believed to be in violation.

(b) The director shall maintain records concerning all investigations undertaken and findings made pursuant to this section. The records shall be made available for public inspection and shall include the following information:

(1) The names and addresses of persons investigated;

(2) The date or dates of any hearing or hearings conducted with respect to those persons and the time and place of the hearings;

(3) Any findings made by the director after the conclusion of the hearings.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-3
§ 46-23-3. Oath of members.
Status: in_force

Each appointed member of the council, before entering upon his or her duties, shall take an oath to administer the duties of his or her office faithfully and impartially, and the oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-5-16 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-5 / Section 46-5-16
§ 46-5-16. Yacht and boat moorings.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of the department of environmental management shall expend such funds as are annually appropriated in purchasing, installing, and maintaining yacht and boat moorings in such harbors in Rhode Island waters as he or she may deem advisable and suitable.

(b) The sum of five hundred dollars ($500) is hereby annually appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the maintenance of such yacht and boat moorings as the director of the department of environmental management may have installed in the harbors of Narragansett Bay; and the state controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of such sum, or so much thereof, as may be required from time to time, upon the receipt by him or her of vouchers approved by the director of the department of environmental management. The moorings shall be available to the public without charge and particularly for the use of nonresident visiting yachtspersons; provided, however, that the moorings shall not be used for more than twelve (12) hours continuously; and provided, further, however, that the moorings shall not be used by any commercial or private persons engaging in fishing.

(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of the preceding sentence shall, upon conviction, be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each offense.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-32-8 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-32 / Section 46-32-8
§ 46-32-8. Landfill monitoring.
Status: in_force

On or before December 31, 2022, the director of the department of environmental management shall file under § 42-35-4 a final rule with the secretary of state to adopt standards and procedures for groundwater and leachate monitoring at and around landfills including, at a minimum, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-15.1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-15.1
§ 46-22-15.1. Operation of boat by nonresident as appointment of attorney to receive process.
Status: in_force

Operation of a motorboat on the waters of this state by a nonresident person, his or her servant, or agent shall be deemed equivalent to an appointment by the nonresident of the secretary of state and the secretarys successor in office, to be his or her true and lawful attorney, upon whom may be served all lawful processes in any action or proceeding against the nonresident, growing out of any accident or collision in which the nonresident, his or her servant, or agent, may be involved while operating a motorboat on the waters of this state, and that operation shall be a signification of the nonresidents agreement that any such process against him or her, which is served as provided herein, shall be of the same force and validity as if served on him or her personally.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-41 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-41
§ 46-12-41. Enforcement.
Status: in_force

(a) The department of environmental management, harbormasters, assistant harbormasters, police officers authorized to make arrests, and employees of the department of environmental management authorized to enforce the provisions of chapter 22 of this title shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of § 46-12-39. In the exercise of enforcing the provisions of § 46-12-39 they shall have the authority to stop and board any vessel subject to this chapter, regardless of whether the vessel is under way, making way, docked, or moored.

(b) Harbormasters and assistant harbormasters are authorized to make periodic color dye flush tests of boats and may check boats moored in their jurisdictions for compliance with § 46-12-39.

(c) Municipalities of the state may deny a mooring permit to any boat not in compliance with § 46-12-39.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-9 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-9
§ 46-24-9. Powers of authority.
Status: in_force

The authority shall the have power:

(1) To negotiate payments within one or more of the participating communities for the conduct of services or the erection of projects necessary for the purposes of the authority, subject to a majority vote of each of the city and town councils participating in each program or project.

(2) To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed, or interest or interests thereon.

(3) To own and operate, maintain, repair, improve, enlarge, and extend, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, any property acquired hereunder, all of which, together with the acquisition of the property, are hereby declared to be public purposes.

(4) To sell, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose of, to any of the participating cities or towns, any property or improvements thereto, which the authority may hereafter acquire or construct; provided, however, that any sale, lease, conveyance, or other disposition of the property shall not prejudice or adversely affect any service which the authority is providing to any other participating city or town.

(5) To sue and be sued.

(6) To adopt and order a corporate seal.

(7) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs, which bylaws may contain provisions indemnifying any person who is or was a member of the authority, in the manner and to the extent provided in § 7-1.2-814 of the Rhode Island Business Corporation Act.

(8) To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes, including the creation and maintenance of working capital.

(9) To fix rates and collect charges for the use of the facilities of or services rendered by or any commodities furnished by the authority to each of the participating cities or towns, and to pay, as the same shall become due, the expenses of operating and maintaining the properties of the authority.

(10) To contract in its own name for any lawful purpose which would effectuate the provisions of this chapter; to execute all the instruments necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; and to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted by this chapter. It is the intention of the legislature that any property acquired by the authority pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be financed as a self liquidating enterprise, and that any indebtedness incurred by the authority shall be payable solely from the earnings or revenues derived from all or part of the property acquired by the district.

(11) To enter into cooperative agreements with other cities, towns, or public service corporations for the interconnection of public works facilities or for any other lawful corporate purposes necessary and desirable to effect the purposes of this chapter.

(12) In the performance of its functions, the authority is expressly authorized to provide for land and water conservation and for the construction and maintenance of hiking and biking trails, flood control and water pollution control facilities, preservation of wetlands, dam construction, diversion of streams, dikes, walls, and pumping stations, whether or not on its own initiative or by recommendation to the participating communities, and to encourage tax relief for landowners in the construction of facilities for such purposes.

(13) The authority is authorized to apply for, contract for, and expend any federal or state advances or grants or assistance which may be made available for the purposes of this chapter.

(14) The authority shall have all the powers and authority which were previously granted to the Pawtuxet River district commission. All purposes of the Pawtuxet River district commission, including those described in § 46-25-38.1(4), shall be established by a vote of the Pawtuxet River authority as created by this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-15 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-15
§ 46-2-15. Appraisal and award of damages.
Status: in_force

At the time mentioned in the notice given under the authority of § 46-2-14, or at such adjournment from that time as the court shall order, the court shall appoint three (3) suitable persons to be commissioners to appraise the damages sustained by any person whose property, estate, or rights of property shall have been taken for either or any of the purposes authorized in § 46-2-12; the commissioners, after being duly sworn to the faithful discharge of their trust and giving due notice to the parties in interest, shall proceed to hear the parties with their allegations and proofs, and to examine the premises, and shall make up and return their award in the premises to the clerk of the superior court from which they received their appointment, with their fees marked thereon, which fees, being first allowed by the court, shall be forthwith paid by the town or city taking the property, estate, or rights of property embraced in the award.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-3
§ 46-22-3. Operation of unnumbered motorboats prohibited.
Status: in_force

(a) Every motorboat on the waters of this state shall be numbered.

(b) No person shall operate or give permission for the operation of any motorboat on those waters unless the motorboat is numbered in accordance with this chapter, or in accordance with applicable federal law, or in accordance with a federally approved numbering system of another state, and unless:

(1) The certificate of number awarded to the motorboat is in full force and effect, and

(2) The identifying number set forth in the certificate of number is displayed on each side of the bow of the motorboat.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-2
§ 46-9-2. Vessels required to employ state licensed pilot  Vessel defined.
Status: in_force

(a) Every foreign vessel, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every American vessel under register, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every other vessel not exempted by § 46-9-3, or the laws of the United States, entering or departing from any port of the state or traversing the waters of the state north of a line drawn from Point Judith to Sakonnet Point, shall take and employ a pilot licensed under this chapter and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter; and the vessel, its master, owner, agent, or consignee shall be liable for any pay pilotage rates in accordance with the pilotage rates established by the pilotage commission or which may be established under the provisions of this chapter; and the vessels shall be subject to regulations established by the pilotage commission, which commission is established under § 46-9-5.

(b) Unless otherwise provided, as used in this chapter, the word vessel means every description of watercraft or other artificial contraption used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and measuring one thousand (1,000) gross tons or more, and capable of loading to a draft of twelve feet (12²) or more, and every foreign ship, boat, barge, vessel, and watercraft, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every American ship, boat, barge, vessel, and watercraft under register, regardless of gross tonnage or draft.

(c) Notwithstanding any of the above provisions, any vessel carrying or towing a barge or similar conveyance carrying more than one thousand (1,000) gross tons of any oil, petroleum, petroleum distillate, or any by-product thereof, shall be defined as a vessel and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-17
§ 46-9-17. Liability for fees.
Status: in_force

The master, owner, agent, or consignee entering or clearing a vessel at any port in this state shall be jointly and severally liable for pilotage fees at the rates prescribed by the rules and regulations of the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-5 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-5
§ 46-4-5. East Providence harbor lines  Jurisdiction.
Status: in_force

The jurisdiction of the city of East Providence shall include all of the public waters easterly of the easterly sides of the ship channels in the Seekonk River, Providence River and Harbor, and Narragansett Bay from the Pawtucket-East Providence city line southerly to the point of intersection of those ship channel sides with a straight line drawn from Gaspee Point on the west shore to Nayatt Point on the east shore; and all of the public waters on the northerly side of a line running sixty-five degrees (65 degrees) true from the intersection formed by the straight line drawn from Gaspee Point to Nayatt Point and the ship channel side to the point of intersection with the East Providence-Barrington boundary line; and all of the public waters, westerly and northerly, in Bullock Cove, of the East Providence-Barrington boundary line to the point of in intersection of the boundary line and the mean high water line.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-18.3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-18.3
§ 46-23-18.3. Sites for disposal of spoil from dredge operations, selection.
Status: in_force

(a) The council, upon recommendation of the coastal resources advisory committee, on or before the first day of January, 1999 and periodically thereafter as necessary, shall consistent with the comprehensive programs required in § 46-23-6(1)(ii)(H) identify and establish one or more in-water disposal sites to be used for the purpose of disposal of dredge materials from marinas and yacht clubs.

(b) The council, upon recommendation of the coastal resources advisory committee, on or before the first day of January, 2002 and periodically thereafter as necessary, shall consistent with the comprehensive programs required in § 46-23-6(1)(ii)(H) identify and establish one or more in-water disposal sites to be used for the purpose of disposal of dredge materials from all sources not otherwise delineated in (a) above.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-8-6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-8 / Section 46-8-6
§ 46-8-6. Notice of sale, loss, or destruction of motor.
Status: in_force

Within seven (7) days after an outboard motor has been sold, assigned, lost, or destroyed, the owner of the outboard motor shall notify the licensing authorities of the town or city in which the outboard motor is registered. The licensing authorities shall then note the information on its copy of the certificate of registration and forward the information to the attorney general, who shall do likewise on his or her copy of the certificate of registration.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-18-13 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-18 / Section 46-18-13
§ 46-18-13. Death of plaintiff pending action.
Status: in_force

If the plaintiff in the action shall die pending the action, the plaintiffs death shall not abate the action, but the plaintiffs executor or administrator, as in suits which survive, shall come in and prosecute the action, but the jury assessing damages shall assess damages only up to the date of the plaintiffs action; which damages shall be assets in the hands of the administrator or executor, and not yearly damages or damages in gross, unless the heirs at law or devisees of the deceased shall, in writing or in person, in open court, consent to the appearance of the administrator or executor.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-6.11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-6.11
§ 46-4-6.11. Town of Charlestown  Powers conferred.
Status: in_force

(a) In addition to any authority or powers conferred upon the town council of the town of Charlestown, authority shall also be granted to the town council of the town of Charlestown to authorize it for the appointment of a harbormaster and by ordinance grant such authority as the town council may deem necessary to the harbormaster for the enforcement and supervision of any ordinances, rules, and regulations governing the public waters within its jurisdiction, and to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels, and the size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorings within the public waters within the confines of the town, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the authority and power to prohibit waterskiing on any said public waters, to designate upon a map of the public waters within the town, the places where permanent or temporary moorings or anchorages may be maintained, to assign moorings, to remove moorings, to collect a fee for the use of moorings, to provide regulations for houseboats that are not self-propelled, to provide regulations for regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, and exhibitions, to provide for the removal of wrecks or derelicts or abandoned boats, and to impose penalties for violators of the ordinances, not to exceed in amount one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction, for any one offense, the fines to be recovered to the use of the town. The town council shall also have the authority to recover the cost of removing any wreck or derelicts or abandoned boats from the owner or persons responsible for the wrecks, derelicts, or abandoned boats by suit in either the district court or the superior court of Washington County.

(b) No powers or duties granted herein shall be construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the coastal resources management council as provided in chapter 23 of this title, as amended.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-20-3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-20 / Section 46-20-3
§ 46-20-3. Determination of best method of drainage  Apportionment of damages  Action by council.
Status: in_force

If the town council, after hearing the parties in interest, shall deem it advisable, they shall appoint three (3) judicious and disinterested persons who shall prescribe the best mode of draining the land or lands and shall apportion the damages and benefits between the parties in interest, and shall make a report in writing of their doings to the council, and the council shall appoint a day for hearing the parties interested, and, after notice as provided in § 46-20-2, shall consider the report, and accept or reject the report in whole or in part, as justice shall require, and the council may make such orders thereon as they shall deem lawful and right.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-25.6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-25.6
§ 46-25-25.6. Municipal ordinances.
Status: in_force

(a) Any municipality within the district, which has connected or connects its sewers with the facilities of the project, shall adopt appropriate rules and regulations, pertaining to sewer usage, no less restrictive than the rules and regulations pertaining to sewer usage so adopted by the commission. The municipal rules and regulations shall include procedures for monitoring and enforcing compliance, and shall be submitted to the commission prior to their adoption. The commission shall have the authority to refuse service or connection to any municipality that fails to comply with this section.

(b) The commission shall retain the authority to seek judicial relief for noncompliance by affected dischargers when any municipality has failed to seek that relief, or when the municipality has acted to seek that relief but has sought a penalty which the commission finds to be insufficient. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit the authority granted the commission under §§ 46-25-25  46-25-25.4.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-1
§ 46-22-1. Declaration of policy.
Status: in_force

It is the policy of this state to promote safety for person and property in and connected with the use, operation, and equipment of vessels, and to promote uniformity of laws relating thereto.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-18 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-18
§ 46-12-18. Records of operation.
Status: in_force

The director may, by regulation, order, permit, or otherwise, require any person who discharges to the waters or who discharges to a publicly owned treatment works to:

(1) Establish and maintain such records;

(2) Make such reports;

(3) Install, calibrate, use, and maintain such monitoring equipment or methods (including where appropriate, biological monitoring methods);

(4) Sample such discharges (in accordance with such methods, at such locations, at such intervals, and in a manner as the director shall prescribe); and

(5) Provide such other information relating to discharges into the waters or into a publicly owned treatment works as the director may reasonably require.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-35 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-35
§ 46-25-35. Legislative recommendations.
Status: in_force

The commission may, from time to time, recommend to the general assembly the advisability of the enactment of any legislation relating to the project.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-57 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-57
§ 46-25-57. Sale of rights to uncollected assessments and user fees that are due and payable.
Status: in_force

The executive director, with the approval of the chairperson of the commission and the director of the department of administration, is authorized to sell to a bank or other financial institution the rights of the commission to receive assessment and user fees which are due and payable as of the end of the commissioners fiscal year and are uncollected at the time of the sale. Terms and conditions of the sale shall be determined by the executive director, with the approval of the chairperson and the director of the department of administration. Any agreement between the commission and a bank or other financial institution, executed under this section, shall be filed with the secretary of state, but need not be filed or recorded under the Uniform Commercial Code. The executive director shall act as the sole collecting agency for the bank or financial institution, and shall exercise the rights under this chapter as to collection, enforcement of liens, and sale for nonpayment with respect to the assessments and user fees.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-29-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-29 / Section 46-29-4
§ 46-29-4. Right of appeal.
Status: in_force

Any person aggrieved by any determination made by the director pursuant to this chapter may seek review of that determination before the administrative adjudication division of the department pursuant to Chapters 35 and 17.7 of title 42.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-6.4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-6.4
§ 46-4-6.4. Town of North Kingstown  Powers conferred.
Status: in_force

(a) The provisions of § 46-22-14, or any other provisions of the general laws notwithstanding, and in addition to any authority and powers conferred upon the town council of the town of North Kingstown authority shall also be granted to the town council of the town of North Kingstown to authorize for the appointment of a harbormaster and by ordinance grant such authority as the town council may deem necessary to the harbormaster for the enforcement and supervision of any ordinances, rules, and regulations governing the public waters within its jurisdiction, to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels and the size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorings within the public waters within the confines of the town including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the authority and power to prohibit waterskiing on any of the public waters, to provide for the regulation of skin diving, and scuba diving, to designate upon a map of the public waters within the town the places where permanent or temporary moorings or anchorages may be maintained, to assign moorings, to remove moorings, to set and collect a fee for the use of moorings, to provide for minimum mooring specifications, to provide regulations for houseboats that are not self-propelled, to provide regulations for regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, and exhibitions, to provide for the removal of wrecks or derelict or abandoned boats or docks, and to impose penalties for violation of the ordinances, not exceeding in amount one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction, for any one offense, the fines to be recovered to the use of the town.

(b) No powers or duties granted herein shall be construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the coastal resources management council as provided in chapter 23 of this title.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-13.1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-13.1
§ 46-22-13.1. Marine safety zones.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of the department of environmental management is hereby authorized, when necessary for the safety of the public and/or protection of the environment, to establish temporary safety zones on the waters of this state for the purposes of restricting vessel traffic, and direct those persons authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter to prosecute in district court any violations of any marine safety zone. The director shall coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard and, when applicable, local harbormasters prior to the establishment of a marine safety zone.

(b) As described in this section, a temporary marine safety zone shall not exist for longer than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours. Only in the event of an environmental disaster, marine disaster or public safety emergency shall the director have the authority to extend the zone beyond seventy-two (72) hours.

(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to imprisonment not to exceed one year or a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1000), or both, for each violation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-40 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-40
§ 46-25-40. Advances from general fund in anticipation of the issue of notes or bonds.
Status: in_force

The general treasurer is authorized, from time to time, with the approval of the governor, in the anticipation of the issue of notes or bonds under the authority of this chapter, to advance to the fund, to be used for the purposes specified in § 46-25-38, any funds of the state not specifically held for any purpose; provided, however, that all the advances shall be returned to the general fund forthwith upon the receipt by the fund of proceeds from the issue of notes or bonds.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-6.17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-6.17
§ 46-4-6.17. Town of Westerly  Powers conferred.
Status: in_force

(a) The provisions of § 46-22-14, or any other provisions of the general laws notwithstanding, and in addition to any authority and powers conferred upon the town council of the town of Westerly, authority shall also be granted to the town council of the town of Westerly to authorize for the appointment of a harbormaster and by ordinance grant such authority as the town council may deem necessary to the harbormaster for the enforcement and supervision of any ordinances, rules, and regulations governing the public waters within its jurisdiction, to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels, both wind and power, and the number, size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorings within the public waters within the confines of the town including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the authority and power to prohibit water-skiing on any of the public waters, to provide for the regulation of skin diving and scuba diving, to designate upon a map of the public waters within the towns the places where permanent or temporary moorings or anchorages may be maintained, to assign moorings, to remove moorings, to set and collect a fee for the use of moorings, to provide for minimum mooring specifications, to provide regulations for houseboats that are not self-propelled, to provide regulations for regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, and exhibitions, to provide for the removal of wrecks or derelict or abandoned boats or docks, and to impose penalties for violation of the ordinances, not exceeding in amount one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction, for any one offense, the fines to be recovered to the use of said town.

(b) No powers or duties granted herein shall be construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the coastal resources management council as provided in chapter 23 of this title.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-6.10 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-6.10
§ 46-4-6.10. Town of New Shoreham  Powers conferred.
Status: in_force

(a) The provisions of § 46-22-14, or any other provisions of the general laws notwithstanding, and in addition to any authority or powers conferred upon the town council of the town of New Shoreham authority shall also be granted to the town council of the town of New Shoreham to authorize it for the appointment of a harbormaster and by ordinance grant such authority as the town council may deem necessary to the harbormaster for the enforcement and supervision of any ordinances, rules, and regulations governing the public waters within its jurisdiction, and to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels, and the size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorings within the public waters within the confines of the town, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the authority and power to prohibit waterskiing on any public waters, to designate upon a map of the public waters within the town, the places where permanent or temporary moorings or anchorages may be maintained, to assign moorings, to remove moorings, to collect a fee for the use of moorings, to provide regulations for houseboats that are not self-propelled, to provide regulations for regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, and exhibitions, to provide for the removal of wrecks or derelicts or abandoned boats or docks, and to impose penalties for violators of the ordinances, not to exceed in amount one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days in some jail or house of correction, for any one offense, the fines to be recovered to the use of the town. The town council shall also have the authority to recover the cost of removing any wreck or derelicts or abandoned boats or docks from the owner or persons responsible for the wrecks, derelicts, abandoned boats, or docks by suit in either the district court or the superior court of Washington County.

(b) No powers or duties granted herein shall be construed to abrogate the powers or duties granted to the coastal resources management council as provided in chapter 23 of this title, as amended.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-18 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-18
§ 46-2-18. Judgment for damages.
Status: in_force

Whenever the report of the commissioners shall be received by the court and no right of trial by jury shall be claimed thereon, the court shall enter judgment in favor of the several claimants for the damages awarded to them respectively; and so shall enter judgment upon the verdict of the jury, subject to the right to apply for new trials for cause, upon the rendition of the verdict; and the court shall forthwith grant execution upon those judgments.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-1.1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-1.1
§ 46-15-1.1. Water supply system defined.
Status: in_force

Water supply system means, but is not limited to, a system which sells water registered through a metering device or pumps over fifty (50) million gallons of water per year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-7
§ 46-9-7. Qualifications for original license.
Status: in_force

Every person who shall apply for an original license to act as a pilot in the waters of this state north of a line drawn from Point Judith to Sakonnet Point shall be a citizen or legal resident of the United States; shall possess a masters license of unlimited tonnage, (any oceans) issued by a duly constituted authority of the United States; shall possess a federal first-class pilots endorsement covering the section of the waters of this state required by commission rules; shall possess a states pilots license for the waters of Block Island Sound; shall have completed training in his or her duties as a pilot over the route under the supervision of the board of state licensed pilots appointed by the commission for this purpose pursuant to commission rules; and shall conform to physical and mental standards and possess professional experience and qualifications as the commission shall, from time to time, establish and require.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-12 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-12
§ 46-22-12. Water skis and surfboards.
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall operate a vessel on any waters of this state for towing a person or persons on water skis, or a surfboard, or similar device unless there is in the vessel a person at least twelve (12) years of age, in addition to the operator, in a position to observe the progress of the person or persons being towed. Any person or persons on water skis, a surfboard, a tube or similar device that is being towed behind a vessel on any waters of this state shall be required to wear a life jacket approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.

(b) No person shall operate a vessel on any waters of this state towing a person or persons on water skis, a surfboard, or similar device, nor shall any person engage in water skiing, surfboarding, or similar activity at any time between the hours from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.

(c) The provisions of subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a performer engaged in a professional exhibition or a person or persons engaged in an activity authorized under § 46-22-13.

(d) No person shall operate or manipulate any vessel, tow rope, or other device by which the direction or location of water skis, a surfboard, or similar device may be affected or controlled in such a way as to cause the water skis, surfboard, or similar device, or any person thereon to collide with or strike against any object or person.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-11
§ 46-23-11. Rules and regulations.
Status: in_force

The rules and regulations promulgated by the council shall be subject to the Administrative Procedures Act.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-21
§ 46-12-21. Liability.
Status: in_force

Any person who shall negligently or intentionally pollute groundwater shall be liable to any other person who is damaged by that pollution.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-16 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-16
§ 46-24-16. Merit system.
Status: in_force

The authority is authorized to establish by resolution a personnel merit system for its employees.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-7 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-7
§ 46-24-7. Fiscal year.
Status: in_force

The fiscal year of the authority shall be from July 1 to June 30.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-17
§ 46-22-17. Enforcement.
Status: in_force

The department of environmental management, harbormasters, assistant harbormasters, police officers authorized to make arrests, and employees of the department of environmental management, authorized to make arrests under the provisions of §§ 2-12-8, 20-1-12, and 20-1-15, shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter and, in the exercise thereof, shall have the authority to stop and board any vessel subject to this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-2
§ 46-24-2. Pawtuxet River authority created.
Status: in_force

A board to be known as the Pawtuxet River authority is hereby created. The board shall be a body corporate and politic, constituting a public benefit corporation, and shall serve as the governing body of the authority for the purposes of this chapter. The powers of the corporation shall be vested in and exercised by the majority of the members of the board hereby created and in office.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-17
§ 46-24-17. Money of the authority.
Status: in_force

All money of the authority from whatever source derived, shall be paid to the treasurer of the authority. The money on receipt shall be deposited forthwith in a separate bank account or accounts. The money in the account shall be paid out on a check of the treasurer on requisition by the authority, or of such other person or persons as the authority may authorize to make the requisitions. All deposit of the money shall be secured by obligations of the United States or the state of Rhode Island with a market value equal at all times to the amount of deposits, and all banks and trust companies are authorized to give securities for any deposits. The authority shall have power as to the custody, collection, security, investment, and payment of any money within its jurisdiction.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-17.3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-17.3
§ 46-22-17.3. Refusal to stop on order or command.
Status: in_force

It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100), for any person to refuse to move or stop on oral command or order of any employee of the department of environmental management in the exercise of the employees duties under this chapter. It shall likewise be a misdemeanor, punishable as aforesaid, for any person to refuse to move or stop on oral command of a harbormaster, assistant harbormaster, or police officer, operating from a patrol boat identified as such and exercising the duties lawfully assigned to him or her.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-18.6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-18.6
§ 46-23-18.6. Coastal Resources Management Council Dredge Fund.
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a separate fund to be held by the coastal resources management council to be known as the dredge fund. All amounts pursuant to § 46-23-18.5 must be deposited into the fund and shall not be deposited into the general fund of the state, and shall be kept by the general treasurer of the state in a separate fund for the coastal resources management council, and shall be paid out by the treasurer upon the order of the council, without the necessity of appropriation or re-appropriation by the general assembly. Funds must be used to create additional dredging and disposal options and for the management of said disposal options.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-16-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-16 / Section 46-16-4
§ 46-16-4. Issuance of certificates to employees of treatment plants.
Status: in_force

(a) The commission may administer programs of training and certification for personnel, and may make classifications thereof. Any certificate issued by the commission shall be accepted by this state and all agencies and subdivisions thereof as conclusive evidence that the holder has the training, education, and experience necessary for certification for the class of position or responsibility described therein. The director of the department of environmental management may impose and administer any other requirements for certification within any applicable provisions of law, but it shall not reexamine or reinvestigate the applicant for a certificate with respect to his or her training, education, or experience qualifications.

(b) The commission shall keep a record of all certificates issued by it, and in response to any inquiry concerning such a certificate, the commission shall inform the inquirer concerning its issuance and validity. The commission shall annul any certificate issued by it, if the commission finds that the certificate was obtained by misrepresentation of any material fact relating to the education, training, or experience of the applicant. The annulment shall be pursuant to rules and regulations of the commission which shall afford due notice to the certificate holder and an opportunity to present relevant evidence for consideration by the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-28-5.1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-28 / Section 46-28-5.1
§ 46-28-5.1. Removal of members.
Status: in_force

Members of the council shall be removable by the governor pursuant to § 36-1-7 of the general laws and for cause only, and removal solely for partisan or personal reasons unrelated to capacity or fitness for the office shall be unlawful.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-4
§ 46-25-4. Establishment of commission  Purpose.
Status: in_force

(a) There is hereby authorized, created, and established a public corporation of the state having a distinct legal existence from the state and not constituting a department of state government to be known as The Narragansett Bay water quality management district commission, with such powers as are set forth in this chapter, for the purposes of acquiring, planning, constructing, extending, improving, and operating and maintaining publicly owned sewage treatment facilities in the district.

(b) It is the intent of the general assembly, by the passage of this chapter, to vest in the commission all powers, authority, rights, privileges, and titles which may be necessary to enable it to accomplish the purposes herein set forth, and this chapter and the powers herein granted shall be liberally construed in conformity with those purposes.

(c) The commission and its corporate existence shall continue until terminated by law or until it shall cease to exist under the timetable contained in § 46-25-48. Upon termination of the existence of the commission, all its rights and properties shall pass to and be vested in the state, and, in accordance with law, the governor may permit whatever rights and properties he or she shall see fit to pass to municipalities located within the district, if the municipality or municipalities accept the rights or properties.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-5-15 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-5 / Section 46-5-15
§ 46-5-15. Disposition of lands no longer needed.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management, when he or she shall deem any land or interests in land acquired or taken under the provisions of this chapter to be no longer required for the purposes of this chapter, may:

(1) With the consent of the person or persons from whom the land or interests were obtained, or their heirs, successors, or assigns, convey the land or any part thereof with or without suitable restrictions by executing and recording a deed thereof, which deed shall be duly executed on behalf of the state by the director of the department of environmental management, and the recorded deed shall thereby revest the title to the land or interests in land so conveyed in the persons, their heirs, successors, and assigns, in whom it was vested at the time of the taking, and the fair market value of the land or interests in land so conveyed at the time of the conveyance may be pleaded in mitigation of damages in any proceedings instituted on account of the taking; or

(2) Lease or sell and convey the land with or without suitable restrictions for such consideration as may be fixed by the director of the department of environmental management, by executing and delivering a lease or deed thereof, which lease or deed shall be executed on behalf of the state by the director; provided, however, the person or persons in whom the title to the land was vested at the time the land was acquired under the provisions of this chapter, shall, if living, and if the land was so acquired within the preceding five (5) years, have the prior right to lease, purchase, or reinvest himself or herself or themselves, as the case may be, of the land before the land may be leased, sold, or conveyed as provided by this section. The prior right shall be conclusively presumed to have been waived in the event that a written offer to lease, sell, or reconvey the land, containing the terms and conditions of the offer, shall have been sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the person or persons, and the offer shall not have been accepted within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-16-1.3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-16 / Section 46-16-1.3
§ 46-16-1.3. Concurrence in additional powers.
Status: in_force

(a) This state hereby concurs in the conferring of any powers or duties on the New England interstate water pollution control commission by other states, in addition to those conferred by provisions of the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Compact. This concurrence is pursuant to article II of that compact.

(b) The concurrence is subject to the following limitations:

(1) Unless this state specifically confers a power or duty on the commission, other than one conferred by the compact itself, no financial or other burden or duties shall be placed upon this state, or any agency, officer, or subdivision thereof by reason of the conferring or exercise of the power or duty. At any time the governor shall have the power to make inquiry of the commission and to examine its books and records in order to ascertain the state of compliance with this chapter.

(2) The rights, privileges, and responsibilities of this state with respect to the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Compact and the commission established thereby, shall not be limited or impaired.

(3) The commission shall include in its annual report to the governor and the legislature of this state a full account of any additional powers or duties administered by it.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12-37 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-12 / Section 46-12-37
§ 46-12-37. Waste from seagoing vessels.
Status: in_force

The owners and/or agents of any seagoing vessel entering the waters or waterways of this state which intends to transfer or discharge any type of waste or bilge at a certified shore facility or terminal pursuant to the Resource and Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq., shall first file a performance bond or other evidence of financial responsibility with the director in the amount of at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) payable to the state of Rhode Island. In the event the vessel causes damage to the environment, the bond shall be forfeited to the extent of the costs incurred by the state to rectify and clean up the damage to the environment and natural resources of the state and to the extent of any fine levied for violations of water pollution abatement laws. Any seagoing vessel transferring any type of waste or bilge without coverage shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-21
§ 46-25-21. Sewer, user fees, charges, and assessments.
Status: in_force

For the purpose of causing the project and its operation, maintenance, and improvements to be self liquidating, the commission shall assess any person having a direct or an indirect connection to the project the reasonable charges for the use, operation, maintenance, and improvements of the project. The sewer user fees, charges, and assessments shall be subject to the approval of the public utilities commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-3-4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-3 / Section 46-3-4
§ 46-3-4. Cooperation with federal government  Prevention of erosion.
Status: in_force

The department of environmental management is hereby designated the shore erosion authority of the state for the purpose of cooperating with the beach erosion board of the department of defense, as provided for in 33 U.S.C. § 426. The department of environmental management shall carry out investigations and studies of conditions along the shore line, harbors, rivers, and islands within the territorial waters of the state with a view to devising and projecting economical and effective methods and works for preventing or correcting beach erosion and damage to public and private property resulting therefrom.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-11
§ 46-9-11. Deferment of applications for future examination.
Status: in_force

If the commission, after a public hearing duly called, deems that the number of licensed pilots is sufficient to meet the demands of commerce in the waters of this state, it shall place the names of the subsequent applicants on file for future examination and licensing in the order in which the applications are filed.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-25 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-25
§ 46-23-25. Issuance of beach vehicle registration permits.
Status: in_force

(a) The coastal resources management council may issue beach vehicle registration permits in accordance with § 31-8-1.1 of the general laws and adopt regulations that the council deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The council may appoint responsible citizens or corporations of the state, engaged in operating sporting goods stores to act as agents with authority to issue permits in the manner and under the conditions as set forth below. Before an appointment shall occur, that citizen or corporation of the state shall deliver to the council a bond with a surety company authorized to do business in the state of Rhode Island. The requirements and conditions of the bond shall be established by the regulations.

(b) Any person or corporation appointed by the council as provided in section (a) above shall, upon the application of any person entitled to receive a permit under this chapter and upon payment of the specified permit fee, register and issue to the person a beach vehicle registration permit in the form prescribed and furnished by the council. The permit shall bear the name, place of residence, and signature of the registrant, and the vehicle make, model, year, and license plate number and shall authorize the registrant to own and operate a beach vehicle in the state of Rhode Island during those seasons and in those manners and according to those conditions as shall be provided by regulations established by the council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-6-1 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-6 / Section 46-6-1
§ 46-6-1. Deposit of dirt and other substances in public tidewaters.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of environmental management shall regulate the depositing of mud, dirt, and other substances in the public tidewaters of the state, and shall prescribe the places where they may be deposited; and every person who shall place or deposit mud, dirt, or other substances in the waters without obtaining proper authority therefor, shall be fined for each offense one hundred dollars ($100), one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the state and one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the complainant.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-24-14 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-24 / Section 46-24-14
§ 46-24-14. Quorum.
Status: in_force

The majority of the members of the committee shall be required to transact any business.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-13 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-13
§ 46-23-13. Application and hearing fees.
Status: in_force

The council shall be authorized to establish reasonable fees for applications and hearings. All fees collected by the council, including fees collected for leases, shall be deposited as general revenues. The state controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for payment of such sum or sums as may be necessary from time to time and upon receipt by him or her of duly authenticated vouchers presented by the commissioner of coastal resources management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-9 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-13 / Section 46-13-9
§ 46-13-9. Assurance of safety in public supply.
Status: in_force

Any person maintaining a public water supply system shall direct the operation and maintenance of the water supply facilities so that the water furnished to the public shall be safe and potable.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-21
§ 46-23-21. Notice of permit  Recordation.
Status: in_force

A notice of permit shall be eligible for recordation under chapter 13 of title 34 as determined by the executive director, and shall be recorded at the expense of the applicant in the land evidence records of the city or town where the property subject to permit is located, and any subsequent transferee of the property shall be responsible for complying with the terms and conditions of the permit. The clerk of the various cities and towns shall record any orders, findings, or decisions of the council at no expense to the council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-3-12 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-3 / Section 46-3-12
§ 46-3-12. Assessments against property benefited authorized.
Status: in_force

For the purpose of securing repayment for the construction cost borne by the municipality for any erosion control system installed or for the cost of any land or interest purchased or taken pursuant to this chapter, the legislative body is authorized and empowered to assess any property upon which taxes are now levied that is benefited by the protective works, and to fix the rate of assessments levied thereon. The assessments shall be a lien upon each property or estate so assessed in the same way and manner as other taxes assessed on real estate are liens, and, if not paid as required, shall be collected in the same manner that other taxes assessed on real estate are by law collected.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-19 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-19
§ 46-25-19. Sewer connections.
Status: in_force

(a) The commission shall have full and complete power and authority to limit, deny, or cause appropriate direct or indirect connections to be made between any building or property located in the district generating sanitary or industrial wastewater, and any public sewer or appurtenance thereof discharging to the project. The commission shall prescribe such rules and regulations for sewer connections as in the opinion of the commission are necessary and appropriate for the maintenance and operation of the project. No person shall make any connection from any structure to any sewer or appurtenance thereto discharging to the project without first being granted a written permit from the commission, in accordance with the rules and regulations. The commission shall also have full and complete power and authority to compel any person in the district, for the purpose of sewage disposal, to establish a direct connection on his or her property, or at the boundary thereof, to any publicly owned sewer discharging to the district sewer project, and to cause the connection to be made at the expense of the person, firm, or corporation.

(b) The term appurtenance, as used herein, shall be construed to include adequate pumping facilities, whenever the pumping facilities shall be necessary to deliver sewage into the project.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-17 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-17
§ 46-2-17. Amendment of proceedings.
Status: in_force

Any proceeding in taking any property or estate or rights of property, or in claiming damages therefor, or other proceeding under the provisions of §§ 46-2-12  46-2-26, may at any stage of the proceeding, with the leave of the court, be amended upon such terms and conditions as to the court may appear to be just and proper.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-2-11 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-2 / Section 46-2-11
§ 46-2-11. State contributions where appropriation made by city or town.
Status: in_force

Where an appropriation has been made by any city or town council for that purpose, and where an appropriation has also been made by the general assembly for that purpose, the director of the department of environmental management, with the approval of the governor, is authorized to provide for the payment by the state of not more than one-half (Â½) of the cash contribution required by the United States, for the improvement or protection project.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-24 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-24
§ 46-23-24. Lien on property.
Status: in_force

The executive director may record the notice of fee or final order of fine as a lien on the subject property in the land evidence records of the town or city in which said property is located. Recordation of said fee or final order of fine shall be the only manner by which said lien may be perfected against the subject property.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-7-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-7 / Section 46-7-2
§ 46-7-2. Misuse or injury to Pawtucket River channel markers.
Status: in_force

The owner or the person having charge of any vessel, scow, boat, seine, or raft of any kind, which shall be made fast to any stake or buoy erected or placed for the security or guidance of vessels navigating the river, and every person who shall in any way willfully injure, remove, or destroy any of the stakes or buoys placed, shall be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) and not less than twenty dollars ($20.00), one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the state and one-half (Â½) thereof to the use of the complainant, or be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months nor less than ten (10) days.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-13 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-13
§ 46-15-13. Water supply planning.
Status: in_force

The division of planning shall study and evaluate the needs of the state for current and future water supply and shall have the following powers:

(1) To formulate and maintain a long range guide plan and implementing program for development of major water resources and transmission systems needed to furnish water to regional or local public water systems as part of the state guide plan adopted pursuant to § 42-11-10.

(2) To provide for cooperative development, conservation, and use of water resources by the state, municipal agencies or departments, water resources board, and public water systems, including special water districts and privately owned public water systems, the division of planning may:

(i) Divide the state into areas for the purpose of providing water supply facilities;

(ii) Designate municipal water departments or agencies, special districts, or privately owned public water systems to perform area-wide water supply operations within each area.

(3) To review all plans and proposals for construction or installation of facilities for water supply for conformance with the state guide plan in accordance with § 46-15-2 and report its findings to the water resources board.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-4-3 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-4 / Section 46-4-3
§ 46-4-3. Town regulation of speed of vessels  Control of anchorages.
Status: in_force

In addition to any authority and powers conferred upon the town council of any town by authority of § 46-4-2, authority shall also be granted to the town councils of the towns of Barrington, Little Compton, and Warren to regulate by ordinance the speed, management, and control of all vessels on the public waters within the confines of those towns and to regulate the size, type, location, and use of all anchorages and moorings within the waters or harbors of the towns of Barrington, Little Compton, and Warren.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-15 / Section 46-15-21
§ 46-15-21. Reporting requirements.
Status: in_force

(a) Within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, the board shall approve and submit an annual report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate and the secretary of state of its activities during that fiscal year. The report shall provide:

(i) A summary of the boards meetings including when the board and its committees met, subjects addressed, decisions rendered and meeting minutes; a summary of the boards actions including a listing of the proposals and plans for public water supply systems received; hearings held, findings, assessments, recommendations, and decisions rendered concerning proposed projects for public water supply systems; water supply studies conducted; consents issued for transport of water to another state; decisions rendered requiring or authorizing a water supplier to provide water to other water supply systems; rules and regulations promulgated; violations and penalties assessed; actions taken to abate nuisances or restrain or prevent violations, and any actions taken to investigate the activities of municipal water departments, special water districts or private water companies; a synopsis of the hearings, complaints, suspensions, or other legal matters related to the authority of the board; a summary of any training courses held pursuant to subdivision 46-15.1-5.2(2); a consolidated financial statement of all funds received and expended by the board including the source of the funds; a listing of the staff and/or consultants employed by the board; and a listing of findings and recommendation derived from board activities.

(ii) The report shall be posted electronically as prescribed in § 42-20-8.2. The director of the department of administration shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this subsection.

(b) Forthwith upon passage of this act, and within ninety (90) days of the end of the fiscal year 2006, the board shall submit to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate an annual work plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Said annual work plan shall list the tasks the board plans on working on over the course of the upcoming fiscal year including a description of how the elements are consistent with and supportive of the systems level plan developed and implemented by the Rhode Island Bays, Rivers, and Watersheds Coordination Team, as prescribed in § 46-31-5.

(c) Within ninety (90) days of the end of the fiscal year 2006, and within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year thereafter, the board shall submit to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate and the secretary of state an annual performance report for that fiscal year. Said report shall describe and evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the implementation of the annual work plan pertaining to that fiscal year, and shall include a summary of progress made in the following areas: formulation and maintenance of a long range guide plan and implementing program for the development of major water resources and transmission systems, as prescribed in § 46-15-13; promulgation of an emergency plan for water supplies in the event of a water emergency declaration by the governor, as prescribed in § 46-15-14; and actions undertaken for the cooperative development, conservation, and use of state water resources, as prescribed in § 46-15-13. The report shall be posted electronically as prescribed in § 42-20-8.2. The director of the department of administration shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this subsection.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-34 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-25 / Section 46-25-34
§ 46-25-34. Cooperation and coordination with other agencies.
Status: in_force

In the performance of its duties hereunder, the commission shall be entitled to ask for and to receive from the Providence water supply board or any other commission, board, officer, or agency of the state, such information, cooperation, assistance and advice as shall be reasonable and proper in view of the nature of the functions. Each municipality within the district shall make available to the commission the names and addresses of the users of sewage services within the municipality, and shall assist the commission in providing administrative support for the billing of users at a reasonable cost to the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-27-2 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-27 / Section 46-27-2
§ 46-27-2. Regulation of personal watercraft.
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall operate a personal watercraft at any time between the hours from one-half (Â½) hour after sunset to one-half (Â½) hour before sunrise; provided, that police and fire department personnel on official duty may operate personal watercraft with proper equipment and lighting and are exempted from the provisions of this subsection.

(b) A personal watercraft must at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. Maneuvers that unreasonably or unnecessarily endanger life, limb, or property, including, but not limited to, weaving through congested vessel traffic, circling a larger vessel unreasonably or jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably, constitutes reckless operation of a vessel and are prohibited.

(c) No person under the age of sixteen (16) shall operate a personal watercraft on the waters of the state unless an adult accompanies him or her or unless he or she has passed a department of environmental management approved or United States Coast Guard approved safety course.

(d) It is unlawful for the owner of any personal watercraft or any person having charge over or control of a personal watercraft to authorize or knowingly permit the watercraft to be operated by a person under sixteen (16) years of age in violation of this section unless the provisions of subsection (c) are met.

(e) No person shall operate a personal watercraft within two hundred feet (200²) of swimmers, divers, shore, or moored vessels, except at headway speed.

(f) Personal watercraft, when launched from shore or returning to shore, must proceed directly to the area where operation is allowed in a direction as near perpendicular as possible, not in excess of headway speed.

(g) No person shall operate a personal watercraft unless he or she and any passenger is wearing a personal flotation device approved by the United States Coast Guard.

(h) No person shall operate any personal watercraft in a reckless manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of another.

(i) No person shall operate any personal watercraft unless it is numbered in accordance with § 46-22-4.

(j) A person operating a personal watercraft equipped by the manufacturer with a lanyard-type engine cutoff switch must attach the lanyard to his or her person, clothing, or personal flotation device as appropriate for the specific vessel.

(k) The towns of Charlestown and Westerly have joint jurisdiction over any waters that transcend both jurisdictions, may enter into a binding memorandum pursuant to § 46-23-15.1, and are hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft within their jurisdictions. The ordinances may include a ban or limitation on operation on:

(1) Waterbodies that are less than three hundred (300) acres in size, or four hundred feet (400²) in width;

(2) Waterbodies upon which a tradition of swimming, shellfishing, fishing, paddle sports, or small craft rowing or sailing exists;

(3) Waterbodies that can be demonstrated to be ecologically sensitive;

(4) Waterbodies or portions of them surrounded or bordered by significant concentrations of residential development;

(5) Waterbodies where a history of powerboat regulation already exists; or

(6) Waterbodies where navigational considerations due to congestion can be shown to exist.

( l ) The department of environmental management shall review and grant final approval of municipal regulations adopted pursuant to this section.

(m) The town of Coventry is hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft on Tiogue Lake. The ordinances may include a ban or limitation on operation on Tiogue Lake.

(n) The towns of South Kingstown, Narragansett, Middletown, and North Kingstown are hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft on any or all fresh or inland waters of this town. The ordinances may include a ban or limitation of personal watercraft on any waters in this town. To the extent that any body of water may transcend more than one of the towns set forth in this section, each town shall have joint jurisdiction over the body or bodies of water and may enter into a binding memorandum pursuant to § 46-23-15.1 regarding each towns joint jurisdiction over the body or bodies of water.

(o) The town of Narragansett is hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft on any or all fresh or inland waters of this town. The ordinances may include a ban or limitation of personal watercraft on any waters in this town. To the extent that any body of water may transcend more than one of the towns set forth in this section, each town shall have joint jurisdiction over the body or bodies of water and may enter into a binding memorandum pursuant to § 46-23-15.1 regarding each towns joint jurisdiction over the body or bodies of water.

(p) The town of South Kingstown is hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft on Narrow River and Green Hill Pond. To the extent that Narrow River transcends the towns of South Kingstown, North Kingstown, and Narragansett, each town shall have joint jurisdiction over such body of water and may enter into a binding memorandum pursuant to § 46-23-15.1 regarding each towns joint jurisdiction over such body of water.

(q) The town of West Greenwich is hereby authorized to provide, by ordinance, regulations controlling the use of personal watercraft on any or all fresh or inland waters of this town. The ordinances may include a ban or limitation of personal watercraft on any waters in this town.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-3-20 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-3 / Section 46-3-20
§ 46-3-20. Authority of director  Federal assistance.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of the department of environmental management shall have full and complete authority to act as the public agency of the state, to cooperate with and assist the federal government in all matters relating to the construction of protective works in the event that the federal government shall make any federal funds or federal assistance therefor. The chief or any subordinate designated by the chief, may act as the agent of the federal government in accordance with the requirements of the provisions of any federal legislation relating to federal assistance.

(b) The director, with the approval of the governor, is hereby authorized to accept, on behalf of the state, the provisions of the federal legislation, and may file written evidence of each acceptance with the federal government. Each acceptance shall be duly signed by the director.

(c) The director may enter into all necessary contracts and agreements with the federal government, or any agency thereof, necessary or incident to the construction of protective works, and all contracts and agreements shall be signed in the name of the state by the director of the department of environmental management, and in that event the construction shall be carried out and executed in all respects subject to the provisions of the appropriate federal law, and the rules and regulations made pursuant thereto, and to such terms, conditions, rules, and regulations, not inconsistent with federal law, rules, and regulations, as the director of the department of environmental management may establish with respect to the construction.

(d) All money paid to the state by the federal government for the purpose of construction of protective works, shall be received by the general treasurer and deposited by the treasurer in a separate fund; and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw his or her orders on the general treasurer for the payment thereof, or so much thereof as may be required from time to time for such purposes, upon the receipt by the treasurer of proper vouchers signed by the director of the department of environmental management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-9.4 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-9.4
§ 46-22-9.4. Operating so as to endanger, resulting in personal injury.
Status: in_force

(a) When the serious bodily injury of any person ensues as a proximate result of the operation of any vessel in reckless disregard of the safety of others, the person so operating such vessel shall be guilty of operating so as to endanger, resulting in personal injury.

(b) Serious bodily injury means physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

(c) Any person charged with a violation of this section shall upon conviction be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years and shall be required to take a boating safety course.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-20.6 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-23 / Section 46-23-20.6
§ 46-23-20.6. Oaths  Subpoenas  Powers of hearing officers.
Status: in_force

The hearing officers are hereby severally authorized and empowered to administer oaths, and the hearing officers, in all cases of every nature pending before them, are hereby authorized and empowered to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production and examination of papers, books, accounts, documents, records, certificates and other legal evidence that may be necessary or proper for the determination and decision of any question before or the discharge of any duty required by law of the hearing officer. All subpoenas and subpoena duces tecum shall be signed by a hearing officer or the commissioner of coastal resources, and shall be served as subpoenas are served in civil cases in the superior court; and witnesses so subpoenaed shall be entitled to the same fees for attendance and travel as are provided for witnesses in civil cases in the superior court. In cases of contumacy or refusal to obey the command of the subpoena so issued, the superior court shall have jurisdiction upon application of the council with proof by affidavit of the fact, to issue a rule or order returnable, in not less than two (2) nor more than five (5) days, directing the person to show cause why he or she should not be adjudged in contempt. Upon return of such order, the justice, before whom the matter is brought for hearing, shall examine under oath the person, and the person shall be given an opportunity to be heard, and if the justice shall determine that the person has refused without reasonable cause or legal excuse to be examined or to answer legal or pertinent questions, he or she may impose a fine upon the offender or forthwith commit the offender to the adult correctional institutions, there to remain until he or she submits to do the act which he or she was so required to do, or is discharged according to law.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-10-20 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-10 / Section 46-10-20
§ 46-10-20. Arbitration of amounts due director.
Status: in_force

If the director of the department of environmental management and the other party shall not agree on the sum so due the director, the case may be submitted to three (3) arbitrators for settlement; one of the arbitrators shall be chosen by the director, one by the other party, and the third by the two (2) already selected; they shall be citizens of the state and, unless objection is raised by the director or the other party, resident voters of the town of New Shoreham. If objection is made to the selection of inhabitants of that town for the service in any case, then selection may be made of any three (3) resident voters in the county of Newport.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-19 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-22 / Section 46-22-19
§ 46-22-19. Penalties.
Status: in_force

In addition to any other penalties specified in this chapter:

(1) Any person who violates any provision of §§ 46-22-3  46-22-5, 46-22-8, 46-22-9.2, 46-22-10, and 46-22-13, or who violates any rule or regulation made under the provisions of those sections shall be guilty of a civil violation and be subject to a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation. Jurisdiction over violations of this subsection shall be with the traffic tribunal. In accordance with chapter 42-17.10, any person charged with violating any rule or regulation made under the provisions of this subsection may elect to dispose of the charge without personally appearing before the traffic tribunal by mailing or delivering the form and summons to the traffic tribunal with a check or money order in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100).

(2) Any person who violates any provision of §§ 46-22-7 and 46-22-12 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) for each violation.

(3) Any person who violates any provision of §§ 46-22-9 and 46-22-9.1 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both for each violation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-21 — RI Code / Title 46 / Chapter 46-9 / Section 46-9-21
§ 46-9-21. Payment of pilotage fees.
Status: in_force

The master, owner, or operator of every vessel subject to this chapter shall make available to the local agent on the vessels arrival, pilotage fees as part of the vessels port performance payments for expeditious disbursement to the attending pilots. The payment of the pilotage fees may be demanded on the vessels departure.