RIDEM: New Statewide Wetlands Rules To Go Into Effect In January

BURRILLVILLE, RI — Conservation Commission members across the state will soon have to become familiar with a 148-page document that contains the state’s brand-new freshwater wetlands rules.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management filed its revised rules with the Office of the Secretary of State today, and they will go into effect on January 15, 2022. The filing means that Rhode Island will have one set of wetland protection standards that will apply statewide, instead of a regulatory patchwork from town to town.

Several years ago, a legislative task force studied the state's wetlands protection mechanisms and examined overlap and conflict with local rules. In 2015, state law was revised to reflect some of that work. The recent rulemaking caps that process and implements the law. A public hearing on the new freshwater wetland rules was held on January 6.

The amended 2015 law expanded the jurisdiction of DEM and the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council over lands near freshwater wetland resources and mandated that the agencies develop a common set of standards for freshwater wetland buffers while taking into account resource protection needs, watershed protection needs and existing land use.

"We believe the proposed regulations provide a balance between the benefits of environmental protection, the economic interests of land development, and the need for more affordable housing in our state," said DEM Acting Director Terry Gray in a statement. "The regulations provide certainty and consistency on the standards for wetlands permitting across the state and more options for quicker, streamlined permitting for development and affordable housing projects, while ensuring better buffers for important wetlands areas to protect their functions and values."

DEM will continue to work with stakeholders as the state invests hundreds of millions to address the affordable housing crisis, Gray said.

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is expected to adopt a similar rule.