Rhode Island Act on Coasts - Coastal Resiliency

In June 2024, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the Act on Coasts, which creates a framework for coastal resiliency through a statewide Coastal Resilience Plan, overseen by the state Chief Resilience Officer (CRO). The CRO is also responsible for assessing sea-level rise impacts in coastal and riverine communities, which the Coastal Resilience Plan will address. The Rhode Island Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (RIEC4) will collaborate with the CRO to develop the statewide plan and ensure alignment with other state coastal resilience and mitigation activities.

The state’s extensive island and coastal population are vulnerable to erosion, sea-level rise, flooding, and increasingly severe and frequent coastal storms. The coastline is wave-dominated, and the vast majority of the shore is erosional (i.e., the shoreline is primarily losing, not gaining, sediment over time). The Act on Coasts addresses these climate risks by adding additional coastal policy and coordinating responsibilities to the state CRO. With the collaboration and guidance of the RIEC4 and Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (RIIB), the CRO will create a statewide Coastal Resilience Plan, propose, advocate for, and implement coastal resilience policies, and manage state resilience funds (the Municipal Resilience Program and the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience Fund). 

The statewide plan will include short- and long-term strategies for coastal resilience and adaptation, and will meet all the requirements for a FEMA Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan will include an assessment of climate risk to power, water, sewage, stormwater, grey, and emergency infrastructure, and the most urgent risks for the coast in general. An analysis of state investments in resilience will be included, followed by recommendations on how to prioritize future investments and infrastructure projects, and general resilience and adaptation recommendations. The statewide plan will be updated every 2 years by the CRO. The first plan will be published by the end of 2025 and delivered to the governor, RIEC4, and the general assembly as part of the State Climate Plan. 

The Act on Coasts additionally mandates that the CRO:

  • Support and implement habitat restoration projects with the RI Department of Environmental Management,
  • Monitor federal funding opportunities for resilience projects, and
  • Provide technical assistance on resilience planning and projects, and
  • Recommend investment strategies to balance grey and green infrastructure projects, managed retreat, and other approaches for climate adaptation.

In 2021, the Assembly passed the Act on Climate, which mandated a statewide Climate Resilience Plan. The Act on Coasts builds upon this previous act to focus on coastal resilience specifically, given the significance of the coastal environment and economy in Rhode Island. The statewide Coastal Resilience Plan will also build upon the RI shoreline change special area management plan (Beach SAMP), state Hazard Mitigation Plan, and the Municipal Resilience Program. The Act on Coasts amended Title 46 of the Rhode Island General Laws (Waters and Navigation) by adding Chapter 23.4 (Act on Coasts - Coastal Resiliency)

 

Publication Date: June 26, 2024

Related Organizations:

  • State of Rhode Island

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  • Laws

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