Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 05 - Water Quality › Part 6 - Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (216-RICR-50-05-6) › Section 216-RICR-50-05-6.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in these rules and
				  regulations, the following terms shall be construed as follows:
1. "Approved project" means any project or
				  portion thereof of a governmental unit or privately organized water supplier
				  that has been issued a certificate of approval by the Department for assistance
				  through the Bank.
2. "AWWA" means
				  the American Water Works Association.
3. "Bank" means the Rhode Island
				  Infrastructure Bank.
4.
				  "Certificate of approval" means the approval issued by the Department which
				  enables the Bank to execute a loan agreement with the qualifying public water
				  system for drinking water system improvements that effectuate the Safe Drinking
				  Water Act (SDWA). Financial assistance may not be extended by the Bank without
				  the issuance of the Certificate of Approval.
5. "Chief Executive Officer" means the mayor
				  in any city, the president of the town council in any town, the executive
				  director of any authority or commission, the president of any association,
				  cooperative, corporation or company, or some other officer or body designated
				  to perform the functions of a chief executive officer under the provisions of a
				  local charter or other law.
6.
				  "Community comprehensive plan" means a plan prepared pursuant to the Rhode
				  Island Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act, R.I. Gen. Laws
				  Chapter 45-22.2.
7. "Community
				  water system" means a public water system which serves at least 15 service
				  connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25
				  year-round residents.
8.
				  "Cumulative impact" means the impact on the environment which results from the
				  incremental impact of project(s) when added to other past, present, and
				  reasonably foreseeable future actions or projects, regardless of which agency
				  or person undertakes such other actions or projects.
9. "Department" means the Rhode Island
				  Department of Health.
10.
				  "Director" means the Director of the Department of Health or her/his
				  designee.
11. "DWSRF" means the
				  Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
12. "Effects" and "impacts", as used in this
				  Part are synonymous. Effects include ecological (such as the effects on natural
				  resources and on the components, structures, and functioning of affected
				  ecosystems), aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, social, and health,
				  whether direct, indirect, or cumulative. The distinctions are:
a. Direct effects are caused by project(s)
				  and occur at the same time and place.
b. Indirect effects are also caused by
				  project(s) and may be later in time or farther removed in distance, but are
				  still reasonably foreseeable. Indirect effects may include growth-inducing
				  effects and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land
				  use, population density or growth rate, and related effects on air, water and
				  other natural systems, including ecosystems.
c. Cumulative effects are caused by both the
				  direct and indirect effects of the project, plus the effects of other projects
				  which are planned in the planning area.
13. "Environment" shall be interpreted
				  comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment and the
				  relationship of people with that environment (see the definition of
				  "effects").
14. "Environmental
				  assessment" means a document that:
a. serves
				  to:
(1) Briefly provide sufficient evidence
				  and analysis of effects of proposed project(s) as a basis for the Department to
				  determine whether to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact or require an
				  Environmental Impact Statement to be prepared.
(2) Document compliance with state and
				  federal environmental review requirements when no Environmental Impact
				  Statement is required.
(3)
				  Facilitate preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement when one is
				  necessary.
b. shall
				  include:
(1) Brief discussions of the need for
				  the proposed project(s).
(2) Brief
				  discussions of alternatives to recommended project(s) which involve unresolved
				  conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources.
(3) Brief discussions of the environmental
				  impacts of the proposed project(s) and alternatives, and outline means to
				  mitigate environmental impacts.
(4)
				  Agencies and persons consulted during the environmental assessment, and
				  responses to substantive comments.
15. "Environmental impact statement" means a
				  detailed written statement that identifies significant impacts associated with
				  the preferred alternative project(s). The Environmental Impact Statement will
				  address:
a. The environmental impact(s) of
				  the proposed project(s).
b. Any
				  detrimental effects on the environment which cannot be avoided should the
				  proposed project(s) be implemented.
c. Alternatives to the proposed project(s)
				  and the environmental impacts of those alternatives.
d. The relationship between local short-term
				  uses of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term
				  productivity.
e. Any irreversible
				  and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the
				  project(s) if implemented.
16. "EPA" means the United States
				  Environmental Protection Agency.
17. "Finding of no significant impact" means
				  a document prepared by the Department briefly presenting the reasons for
				  determining why project(s) will not have a significant effect on the
				  environment. It shall include the Environmental Assessment and shall note any
				  other environmental documents related to it. The Finding of No Significant
				  Impact need not repeat any of the discussion in the Environmental Assessment,
				  but may incorporate it by reference.
18. "Local governmental unit" means any town,
				  city district, commission, agency, authority, board or other political
				  subdivision or instrumentality of the state or of any political subdivision
				  thereof responsible for the ownership or operation of a community water system
				  or a nonprofit noncommunity water system within the state.
19. "Mitigation" means:
a. Avoiding an impact altogether by not
				  implementing a certain project or parts of a project.
b. Minimizing an impact by limiting the
				  degree or magnitude of a project and its implementation.
c. Rectifying an impact by repairing,
				  rehabilitating, or restoring the effected environment.
d. Reducing or eliminating an impact over
				  time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the
				  project.
e. Compensating for an
				  impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or
				  environments.
20.
				  "National Environmental Policy Act" means the federal National Environmental
				  Policy Act of 1969,
				   42 U.S.C. §
												4321  et. seq.
21. "Noncommunity water system" means a
				  public water system that is not a community water system.
22. "Public water system" means a system for
				  the provisions to the public for piped water for human consumption, provided
				  such system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average
				  of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. The term
				  "public water system" shall include all sources, and facilities involved in
				  collecting, treating, storing, and distributing the water.
23. "Privately organized water supplier"
				  means any community water system or noncommunity nonprofit water system not
				  owned or operated by a local governmental unit.
24. "Record of decision" means a document
				  prepared by the Department that briefly reviews the significant effects that a
				  project(s) will have on the environment. It shall include the Environmental
				  Impact Statement and shall note any other environmental documents related to
				  it. Since the Environmental Impact Statement is included, the Record of
				  Decision need not repeat any of the discussion in the Environmental Impact
				  Statement, but may incorporate it by reference. The Record of Decision will
				  specify mitigation measures necessary to allow a project to proceed.
25. "SDWA or Safe Drinking Water Act" means
				  the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974,
				   42 U.S.C. §
												300f  et.seq.
26. "Significantly", as used in the
				  Department's environmental review process, means considering both the context
				  and intensity of impacts, whether beneficial or detrimental.
a. Context means that the significance of the
				  impacts of a project must be analyzed in several contexts such as: the
				  community as a whole (social, economic); the effected region; the effected
				  interests; and the locality. Significance varies with the setting of the
				  proposed project(s). In the case of a site-specific action, such as siting of a
				  drinking water treatment facility, significance would usually depend upon the
				  effects in the locale rather than in the whole planning area. Conversely,
				  extending distribution lines to a previously undeveloped portion of the
				  planning area would result in effects on many elements of the
				  environment.
b. Intensity refers to
				  the severity of the impact. The parties responsible for facility planning must
				  bear in mind that more than one agency may make decisions about partial aspects
				  of a major action. The following should be considered in evaluating
				  intensity.
c. Impacts may be both
				  beneficial and detrimental. A significant effect may exist even if it is
				  believed on balance that the effect will be beneficial.
d. The degree to which the proposed
				  project(s) affect public health and safety.
e. Unique characteristics of the geographic
				  area impacted by the project(s) such as proximity to historic or cultural
				  resources, park lands, prime farmlands, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, or
				  ecologically critical areas.
f. The
				  degree to which the effects of the proposed project(s) on the quality of the
				  environment are likely to be controversial.
g. The degree to which the possible effects
				  on the environment are uncertain or involve unique or unknown risks.
h. The degree to which a project may
				  establish a precedent for future projects with similar effects or represents a
				  decision in principle about future consideration.
i. Whether the project(s) is related to other
				  projects with individually minor but cumulatively major impacts. Significance
				  exists if it is reasonable to anticipate a cumulative major impact on the
				  environment. Significance cannot be avoided by terming a project temporary or
				  by breaking it down into small component parts.
j. The degree to which the project may
				  detrimentally affect districts, sites, highways, structures or objects listed
				  in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, or may
				  cause loss or destruction of significant scientific, cultural, or historic
				  resources.
k. The degree to which
				  the project may detrimentally affect an endangered or threatened species or its
				  habitat that has been determined to be critical under the federal Endangered
				  Species Act of 1973,
				   16 U.S.C. §
													1531  et.seq.
l. Whether a project threatens a violation of
				  federal, state or local laws or requirements imposed for the protection of the
				  environment.
27. "State
				  guide plan" means goals, policies, or plan elements for the physical, economic,
				  and social development of the state, adopted by the State Planning Council in
				  accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											42-11-10.
28. "This Part" mean all parts of Rhode
				  Island rules and regulations pertaining to the Drinking Water State Revolving
				  Fund (216-RICR- 50-05-6).