SECTION 1. Sections 20-8.1-1, 20-8.1-3, 20-8.1-4, and 20-8.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-8.1 entitled "Shellfish Grounds" are hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 20-8.1-1. Definition of terms. -- ADD} Unless otherwise specifically provided herein, the following definitions shall apply to this chapter:

(1) The word "department" shall be construed to mean the state department of environmental management.

(2) The word "director" shall be construed to mean the director of the state department of environmental management or his or her duly appointed agents.

(3) The word "person" shall be construed to mean any individual, firm, copartnership, association, or private or municipal corporation.

(4) The word "approved" shall be construed to mean approved by the director.

(5) The word "shellfish" shall be construed to mean and include oysters, mussels, and all varieties of clams.

(6) The term "shellfish grounds" shall be construed to mean and include all land underlying waters within the rise and fall of the tide and the marine limits of the jurisdiction of the state.

(7)(i) The term "polluted area" shall be construed to mean and include any shellfish grounds underlying waters which have been examined and found to be unfit for the taking of shellfish for human consumption which have been declared by the director as polluted areas pursuant to section sections 20-8.1-3 and 20-8.1-4.

(ii) For purposes of any criminal or civil proceeding instituted under this chapter, a declaration by the director shall be prima facie evidence of a polluted area.

(8) The word "taking" shall be construed to mean and include, the gathering, digging, raking, tonging or dredging of shellfish.

{ADD (9) The term "conditionally approved water" shall be construed to mean and include any shellfish grounds underlying waters which have been examined and found fit for the taking of shellfish for human consumption on an intermittent basis which have been declared by the director as conditionally approved waters pursuant to sections 20-8.1-3 and 20-8.1-4. ADD}

{ADD 20-8.1-3. Investigation of shellfish grounds -- Notice of polluted areas. -- ADD} The director shall investigate the sanitary condition of the waters overlying shellfish grounds. Those waters that are found to be in an unsatisfactory sanitary condition for the taking of shellfish for human consumption shall be declared to be polluted areas. The director shall give {ADD annual ADD} notice {ADD as to those areas of the waters of the state ADD} that he or she has declared {DEL any area DEL} to be polluted by advertising his or her action in at least one (1) public newspaper published in the city of Providence {DEL . DEL} {ADD the Director shall provide notice with each shellfish license issued or reissued after December 31, 1994 that it is the obligation of each licensee to inquire by calling a dedicated telephone line or dedicated telephone for the deaf (TTD) line maintained by the department of environmental management prior to taking any shellfish in the waters of the state that are conditionally approved waters. The director shall arrange for notice to be provided on said telephone and TTD telephone lines as to those conditionally approved waters of the state which the director declares to be polluted and in which no shellfish may be taken. ADD}

{ADD 20-8.1-4. Factors considered in determining polluted areas. -- ADD} In making a determination that an area is polluted, the director shall take into consideration one or more of the following matters as they apply: the volume of sewage that may affect the area; the dilution of that sewage by clean water; the distance of the area from sources of pollution; {DEL whether or not DEL} the {DEL median DEL} "most probable number" of {ADD fecal ADD} coliform bacteria found upon examining the water from the area {DEL under different tidal conditions DEL} {ADD in accordance with the national shellfish sanitation programs manual of operations ADD} exceeds {DEL the maximum allowable of seventy (70) DEL} {ADD 14 ADD} per one hundred milliliters (100 {DEL mm DEL} {ADD ml ADD} ) of water, {ADD for a 3-tube decimal dilution test or exceeds 49 per 100 ml of water for a 3-tube decimal dilution test for more than ten (10) percent of the samples. ADD} {DEL the most probable number having been determined according to reprint No. 1621 public health report, United States public health services 1947. DEL} The director may declare an area to be polluted in the absence of a {DEL median DEL} "most probable number" of {ADD fecal ADD} coliforms {DEL in excess of seventy (70) per one hundred milliliters (100mm) DEL} if the director has evidence that significant volumes of {DEL Fresh DEL} Raw sewage or inadequately purified sewage may reach the area {DEL intermittently DEL} . {DEL Whenever a significant increase or decrease occurs in the amount of treated or untreated sewage affecting an area, a DEL} {ADD A ADD} review of the status of {ADD all ADD} the area {ADD in the state ADD} shall be made by the director {ADD on at least an annual basis ADD} .

{ADD 20-8.1-5. Taking or selling shellfish from polluted areas. -- ADD} No person shall take shellfish from the waters of polluted areas, or knowingly sell shellfish taken from the waters of polluted areas, {DEL except shellfish from areas not subject to nearby sources of pollution continuous or intermittent, where the median "most probably number" of coliform bacteria lies between seventy (70) and seven hundred (700), for transplanting or relaying in unpolluted areas, DEL} except pursuant to a transplant program specifically authorized by and conducted under the direct supervision of the director. In granting permission, the department of environmental management shall first obtain the written approval of the director of the department of health as to the suitability and safety for the purposes intended. The possession by any person of shellfish while in a vessel upon the waters of polluted areas between the hours of two (2) hours after sunset and sunrise shall be prima facie evidence that those shellfish were taken by that person in violation of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 1995.