It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2-1-22 of the General Laws in Chapter 2-1 entitled "Agricultural Functions of Environmental Management" is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-1-22. Procedure for approval by director -- Notice of change of ownership -- Recordation of permit. -- (a) Application for approval of a project to the director of environmental management shall be made in a form to be prescribed by the director and provided by the director upon request. Prior to the application, a request may be made for preliminary determination as to whether or not the wetlands act, this chapter, applies. A preliminary determination shall be made by the director only after an on-site review of the project and the determination shall be made within thirty (30) days of such request. The wetlands act, this chapter, shall be determined to apply if a significant alteration does appear to be contemplated and an application to alter a wetland will be required. Within fourteen (14) days after receipt of the completed application accompanied by plans and drawings of the proposed project, the plans and drawings to be prepared by the registered professional engineer to a scale of not less than one inch (1") to one hundred feet (100'), the director shall notify all landowners whose properties are within two hundred feet (200') of the proposed project and he will also notify the town council, the conservation commission, the planning board, the zoning board, and any other individuals and agencies in any towns within whose borders the project lies who may have reason in the opinion of the director to be concerned with the proposal. The director may also establish a mailing list of all interested persons and agencies who may wish to be notified of all applications.

(b) If the director receives any objection to the project within forty-five (45) days of the mailing of the notice of application from his office, the objection to be in writing and of a substantive nature, the director shall then schedule a public hearing in an appropriate place as convenient as reasonably possible to the site of the proposed project. The director shall inform by registered mail all objectors of the date, time, place and subject of the hearing to be held. The director shall further publish notice of the time, place, date, and subject of the hearing in one local Rhode Island newspaper circulated

(d) In the event of a decision in favor of granting an application, the director shall issue a permit for the applicant to proceed with the project. The permit may be issued upon such terms and conditions, including time for completion, as the director may require. Permits shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issue and shall expire at the end of that time unless renewed. A permit shall be renewed for up to three (3) additional one year periods upon application by the original permit holder or a subsequent transferee of the property subject to permit, unless the original permit holder or transferee has failed to abide by the terms and conditions of the original permit or any prior renewal thereof. The director may require new hearings if, in his judgment, the original intent of the permit is altered or extended by the renewal application or if the applicant has failed to abide by the terms of the original permit in any way. {ADD In addition, in the event a project authorized by a permit was not implemented by the permit holder or transferee because approval of the project by a federal agency, for which application had been timely made, had not been received or a federal agency had stopped the project from processing, prior to the expiration of such permit, the permit holder or transferee may apply for a renewal of the permit, the permit holder or transferee may apply for a renewal of the permit at any time prior to the tenth (10th) anniversary of the original issuance, and such application shall be deemed to be an insignificant alteration subject to expedited treatment. ADD} The request for renewal of a permit shall be made according to such procedures and form as the director may require.

(e) The original permittee or subsequent transferee shall notify the director in writing of any change of ownership which occurs while an original or renewal permit is in effect by forwarding a certified copy of the deed of transfer of the property subject to the permit to the director.

(f) A notice of permit and a notice of completion of work subject to permit shall be eligible for recordation under chapter 13 of title 34 and shall be recorded at the expense of the applicant in the land evidence records of the city/town where the property subject to permit is located, and any subsequent transferee of the property shall be responsible for complying with the terms and conditions of the permit.

(g) The director shall notify the person requesting a preliminary determination, the person's attorney, agent and other representative of his decision by letter, copies of which shall be sent by mail to the city or town clerk, the zoning board, the planning board, the building official and the conservation commission in the city or town within which the project lies.

(h) The director shall report to the general assembly on or before February 1 of each calendar year on his compliance with the time provisions contained in this chapter.

(i) Normal farming activities shall be considered insignificant alterations and as such, shall be exempted from the provisions of this chapter in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) Normal farming and ranching activities are those carried out by farmers as herein defined, including plowing, seeding, cultivating, land clearing for routine agriculture purposes, harvesting of agricultural products, pumping of existing farm ponds for agricultural purposes, upland soil and water conservation practices, and maintenance of existing farm drainage structures, existing farm ponds and existing farm roads shall be permissible at the discretion of farmers in accordance with best farm management practices which assure that the adverse effects to the flow and circulation patterns and chemical and biological characteristics of fresh water wetlands are minimized and that any adverse effects on the aquatic environment are minimized.

(2) In the case of construction of new farm ponds, construction of new drainage structures and construction of new farm roads, the division of agriculture shall be notified by the filing of a written application for the proposed construction by the property owner. The application shall include a description of the proposed construction and the date upon which construction is scheduled to begin, which date shall be no earlier that thirty (30) calendar days after the date of the filing of the application. The division of agriculture shall review such applications to determine that they are submitted for agricultural purposes and to assure that adverse effects to the flow and circulation patterns and chemical and biological characteristics of fresh water wetlands are minimized and that any adverse effects on the aquatic environment are minimized and will not result in a significant alteration to the wetland. Pursuant to this review, the division shall notify the applicant in writing whether the proposal is an insignificant alteration. Such notice shall be issued not later than thirty (30) days after the date that the application was filed with the division. In the event notice is not given by the division as required herein said application shall be conclusively presumed to be an insignificant alteration. If no notice is given as required herein or if an application is approved as an insignificant alteration, the applicant may cause construction to be done in accordance with the application, and neither the applicant nor his agents or employees who cause or perform the construction in accordance with the application shall be liable for any criminal, civil, administrative or other fine, fee, or penalty including restoration costs for violations alleged to arise from the construction.

(3) The division of agriculture shall, in coordination with the agricultural council's advisory committee, adopt regulations for subsection (i) (2), and shall determine whether a proposed activity, other than an activity listed in subsection (i) (1), constitutes a normal farming activity, or involves the best farm management practices.

(4) Except as otherwise provided for farm road construction, filling of wetlands shall conform to the provisions of this chapter.

(j) For purposes of this section, a farmer is an individual, partnership or corporation who operates a farm and has filed a 1040F U.S. Internal Revenue Form with the Internal Revenue Service, has a state of Rhode Island farm tax number and has earned ten thousand dollars ($10,000) gross income on farm products in each of the preceding four (4) years.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage, but shall have retroactive effect and apply to any fresh water wetlands permit issued subsequent to December 31, 1984.