Title 46
Waters and Navigation

Chapter 23.4
Act on Coasts — Coastal Resiliency

§ 46-23.4-3. Statewide coastal resilience plan.

(a) The Rhode Island statewide climate change resilience strategy shall include a coastal resilience plan that recommends a specific long-term and short-term strategy for climate change resilience and adaptation in the coastal areas of the state including, but not limited to, tidal and non-tidal waters, waterfronts, and inland areas along the coast.

(b) The statewide coastal resilience plan shall include at a minimum:

(1) All necessary information and assessments required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) advanced mitigation plans that will allow Rhode Island to apply for federal funding for coastal resilience preparedness;

(2) An assessment of the vulnerabilities of communities located within the coastal areas to climate change effects such as rising sea levels, increased flooding, and tidal and storm surge flooding anticipated by the year 2050, including physical, economic, and social vulnerabilities including, but not limited to:

(i) Power infrastructure;

(ii) Water and sewage infrastructure including water and sewage treatment facilities and private wells and septic systems;

(iii) Stormwater drainage;

(iv) Existing hard infrastructure such as seawalls, tidal gates, dams, roads, and bridges; and

(v) Emergency and shelter facilities;

(3) Comprehensive and detailed information of the investments that the state, along with the federal government, local governments, and other organizations, have made or committed to make in building the resilience of coastal communities, planning guidance and assistance, and other resilience and adaptation measures;

(4) A recommendation of methodologies for decision-making for further investment of state or federal funds in constructing additional hard or nature-based resilience structures to prevent or mitigate impacts of climate change, or in adopting other resilience or adaptation strategies;

(5) A detailed analysis that includes assessment of highest, immediate, and long-term risks to the coastal regions; and

(6) A comprehensive list of any recommendations for actions to be taken by the state to prepare coastal communities to plan, mitigate, and adapt to the anticipated impacts of climate change including, but not limited to, stormwater drainage, hard infrastructure, nature-based solutions, relocation, and retreat strategies and for financing strategies to fund the recommended resilience and adaptation measures.

(c) The statewide coastal resilience plan shall be updated as necessary and shall be reviewed at least every two (2) years, beginning October 1, 2027, by the CRO.