§ 46-23.1-3 - The Rhode Island coastal and estuarine habitat restoration trust fund.
SECTION 46-23.1-3
§ 46-23.1-3 The Rhode Island coastal andestuarine habitat restoration trust fund. – (a) Establishment. There is established within the coastal resourcesmanagement council a Rhode Island coastal and estuarine habitat restorationtrust fund (the "trust"). On July 1, 2002, July 1, 2004 and each July 1stthereafter, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) of the feescollected under the uniform oil spill response and prevention statute (§46-12.7-4.1) shall be deposited into the trust. The trust shall be availablefor disbursement by the council in accordance with the restrictions andpurposes of this chapter and subject to an annual appropriation by thelegislature. The trust may also receive federal, state, municipal, and privategrants, gifts, or donations. Funds in the trust shall not be used formitigating any current, planned or future projects that degrade, fill, orotherwise destroy coastal or estuarine habitats. Funds in the trust shall notbe used to fulfill any liability for restoration required by any local, stateor federal agency pursuant to an environmental or public health enforcementaction.
(b) Funding of estuary and coastal habitat restorationactivities. Factors to be taken into account by the technical committee forthe purposes of granting monies for estuary and coastal habitat restorationactivities, determining the eligibility of an estuary and coastal habitatrestoration projects for financial assistance, and in prioritizing theselection of estuary and coastal habitat restoration projects by the technicalcommittee shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) Consistency with the state estuary and coastal habitatrestoration strategy, the Narragansett Bay comprehensive conservation andmanagement plan, the state coastal nonpoint pollution control plan, the coastalresources management program, the department of environmental managementregulations, and pertinent elements of the state guide plan;
(2) The ability of the applicant to provide adequatepersonnel funding, and authority to carry out and properly maintain the estuaryand coastal habitat restoration activity;
(3) The proposed monitoring plan to ensure that short-termand long-term restoration goals are achieved;
(4) The effectiveness of any nonpoint source pollutionmanagement efforts upstream and the likelihood of re-impairment;
(5) Whether the estuary and coastal habitat restorationactivity can be shown to replace habitat losses that benefit fish and wildliferesources;
(6) Potential water quality improvements;
(7) Potential improvements to fish and wildlife habitats forspecies which are identified as rare or endangered by the Rhode Island NaturalHistory Survey or the federal Endangered Species Act [16 U.S.C. §1531 et seq.];
(8) The level and extent of collaboration by partners (e.g.,municipality, nongovernment organization, watershed council, federal agency,etc.); and
(9) Potential direct economic benefit to a community or thestate.