Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 815 - Division of Public Utilities and Carriers › Chapter 50 - Common Carriers › Subchapter 00 - General Administration › Part 1 - Fuel Price Emergency Surcharge for Towers, Taxicabs and Limited Public Motor Vehicles Water Carriers (815-RICR-50-00-1) › Section 815-RICR-50-00-1.4 - Water Carriers

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Available To: A
				  person or entity licensed under R.I. Gen. Laws §§
										39-3-3,
				  39-3-3.1 or
				  39-3-4 to perform as a "common
				  carrier of persons and/or property upon water between termini within the
				  state."
B. Application of
				  surcharge: If a person or entity is authorized to implement a surcharge it must
				  be applied nondiscriminatorily to all persons and vehicles carried.
C. Application for authorization of a
				  surcharge: When the average retail cost of marine diesel in Rhode Island
				  exceeds one dollar and twenty ($1.20) cents per gallon, a water carrier may
				  request authorization to impose a surcharge. A water carrier requesting
				  authorization to impose a surcharge must demonstrate a nexus between the actual
				  price that it has paid per gallon of marine diesel and its operations costs
				  over the thirty (30) day period on which it is basing its request for a
				  surcharge. The water carrier must submit actual invoices, including a price per
				  gallon assessment, for the marine diesel it purchased during the period, the
				  number of passengers and vehicles it carried, the number of trips it made, and
				  the number of gallons of marine diesel it used per trip. This information must
				  be delivered to the Division by the fourth Tuesday of the month before the
				  calendar month for which the water carrier is requesting authorization to
				  impose a surcharge. The Division will notify the entity within five (5)
				  business days after receipt of all submitted data as to whether a surcharge may
				  be collected, and what amount of surcharge the water carrier is authorized to
				  collect. If the water carrier chooses to impose the surcharge, it must do so no
				  later than three (3) days from the date on which it was notified that the
				  Division had authorized the imposition of a surcharge. The authorization of the
				  surcharge will expire thirty (30) days after the water carrier has begun
				  collecting the surcharge.
D.
				  Amount of surcharge: The amount of the surcharge will be determined based on
				  evidence presented by the water carrier. However the amount of the surcharge
				  will not exceed fifty ($0.50) cents per person or vehicle carried.
E. The following method will be used to
				  calculate the average retail price of marine diesel in Rhode Island: The
				  average retail price of marine diesel in Rhode Island will be determined by the
				  Division based on the retail price of "over the road" diesel which is posted on
				  the Rhode Island portion of the AAA of Southern New England's web-site on the
				  first and third Wednesday of each month. The Division will determine the retail
				  price of marine diesel on each of those days by first subtracting from this
				  price of "over the road" diesel the amount of federal and state taxes which are
				  assessed on each gallon which are not assessed on marine diesel 1. Then, the
				  Division will adjust that figure to include the Rhode Island sales tax that is
				  assessed on marine diesel 2.
F.
				  Notification to regulated water carriers of activation of program:
1. On the fourth Monday of each month
				  preceding a month in which the Division will announce the activation of the
				  program, the Associate Administrator of the Motor Carrier's Section of the
				  Division will issue an Administrative Order stating:
a. The retail price of marine diesel in Rhode
				  Island on the first and third Wednesday of each month as determined by the
				  Division using the above stated method;
b. The average retail price of marine diesel
				  in Rhode Island, based on these two data points; and,
c. The activation of the program for the
				  following calendar month.