Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 05 - Water Quality › Part 2 - Rules and Regulations for Dredging and the Management of Dredged Materials (250-RICR-150-05-2) › Section 250-RICR-150-05-2.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. For the purposes of these regulations, the
				  following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Applicant" means the person, firm,
				  partnership, corporation, public utility, government agency and/or any other
				  organization or association seeking a determination, permit, or decision from
				  the Department through prescribed application procedures. The applicant must be
				  the owner of the property or easement which is the subject of the application,
				  or must be the government agency or entity with power of condemnation over such
				  property or easement.
2. "Beach
				  nourishment" means beach nourishment is the placement of sand at a location
				  determined to be acceptable along the coastal profile (including underwater in
				  the near-shore environment) to increase the recreational or habitat value of
				  the beach or to protect the beach from erosion.
3. "Beneficial use" means the use of dredged
				  material in an environmentally protective manner for some productive purpose
				  included, but not limited to Brownfields redevelopment, beach nourishment,
				  landscaping and grading, landfill cover, coastal habitat restoration and/or
				  creation, or construction.
4.
				  "Coastal zone" means the coastal waters of the state and adjacent land and
				  other areas that are under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Coastal Resources
				  Management Council pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-23 or the federal
				  Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §
												1454 et
				  seq..
5. "CRMC" or "council" means
				  the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
6. "Department" means the Rhode Island
				  Department of Environmental Management.
7. "Director" means the Director of the Rhode
				  Island Department of Environmental Management.
8. "Dewatering" means the process of removing
				  excess marine water from dredged material prior to land disposal or beneficial
				  use.
9. "Disposal" means the
				  relocation and/or placement of dredged material, other than for an approved
				  beneficial use or managed at an approved rehandling facility, at any location
				  for more than ninety (90) days after dewatering is completed, unless an
				  alternative time frame is approved under §
											2.11(A)(7)
				  of this Part.
10. "Disposal site"
				  or "location" means a precise and approved geographic area within which dredged
				  material is permitted to be disposed.
11. "Dredged material" means material
				  excavated from the marine waters of the state, including rock, gravel, sand,
				  clay, silt, mud, organic material, and material discarded by humans.
12. "Dredge window" means that portion of the
				  year when marine fisheries resources are least susceptible to significant
				  adverse impacts related to dredging activity or in-water disposal.
13. "Dredging" means the movement of
				  sediments from beneath surface waters by mechanical or hydraulic
				  means.
14. "Habitat" means specific
				  type of place within an ecosystem occupied by an organism, population, or
				  community that contains both living and nonliving components with specific
				  biological, chemical, and physical characteristics including the basic life
				  requirements of food, water and cover or shelter.
15. "Maintenance dredging" means dredging an
				  area within state waters to restore channels and basins to dimensions that
				  support and maintain existing levels of use.
16. "Person" means any individual, group of
				  individuals, firm, corporation, association, partnership or private or public
				  entity, including a district, county, city, town, or other governmental unit or
				  agent thereof, and in the case of a corporation, any individual having active
				  and general supervision of the properties of such corporation.
17. "Rehandling facility" means a facility
				  operated for the purpose of storing and distributing dredged material for
				  off-site disposal or beneficial use.
18. "Site" means a specific location and all
				  contiguous land, structures, appurtenances and improvements associated with
				  that location.
19. "Site operator"
				  means the person who is responsible for the operation of activities at a
				  beneficial use, dewatering, or disposal site for dredged materials.
20. "Site owner" means the person who owns
				  all or a part of a beneficial use, dewatering, or disposal site for dredged
				  materials.
21. "USACE" means the
				  United States Army Corps of Engineers, its agents or representatives.