2025 -- S 1117

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LC002999

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

STRONGLY REPROVING THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD'S PLAN TO REMOVE

38 BUOYS FROM RHODE ISLAND WATERS

     Introduced By: Senator Linda L. Ujifusa

     Date Introduced: May 29, 2025

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, The maritime industry in Rhode Island is a significant economic driver,

generating billions of dollars in sales and employing thousands. The Rhode Island maritime

industry and boating safety are conclusively intertwined; and

     WHEREAS, Boating safety is a major focus for our State, which relies on safe navigation

and maritime practices, particularly with the prevalence of recreational boating and the potential

for accidents; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island is home to about 400 aids to navigation (AtoN), including

roughly three dozen coastal buoys that would be eliminated under the U.S. Coast Guard's recent

proposal which is the result of a federal shift toward using more modernized navigation systems

like GPS, electronic charts and smartphone apps and fewer physical markers; and

     WHEREAS, There are approximately 40,000 boats registered in Rhode Island, with

many thousands more visiting the Ocean State each year; and

     WHEREAS, Many of these are smaller vessels with less technologically equipped

boaters who lack the type of equipment essential to navigate safely without guidance from AtoN,

particularly in congested waterways like Narragansett Bay where aids to navigation, including

buoys, are crucial for safe boating; and

     WHEREAS, In addition, complete reliance on electronic navigation systems is risky,

especially in areas with complex waterways and changing conditions; and

     WHEREAS, Aids to navigation (AtoN), including buoys and markers, serve various

purposes, including marking channels, hazards, restricted areas, and special markings like traffic

separations, and are crucial for safe navigation; and

     WHEREAS, "The maritime industry in Rhode Island, particularly related to navigation

and boating safety, is vital, with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Rhode Island Department of

Environmental Management (DEM) playing key roles"; and

     WHEREAS, The Coast Guard's goal and purpose needs to be cognizant and guided by

the views and generational knowledge of Rhode Island boaters who live and sail the Ocean State's

waters; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby urgently requests the

U.S. Coast Guard to retain and maintain the 38 buoys, currently considered for removal from

Rhode Island waters, in order to ensure the safety of both recreational boaters and commercial

traffic; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to members of the Rhode Island Congressional

Delegation, Terry Gray, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management,

Rear Admiral Michael E. Platt, Commander, First Coast Guard District, and Captain Clinton J.

Prindle, Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard First District.

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LC002999

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