Introduced By: Representatives S. Anderson, Barr and Corvese
Date Introduced : March 17, 1999
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 46-15-1, 46-15-6 and 46-15-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15 entitled "Water Resources Board" are hereby amended to read as follows:
46-15-1. Legislative declaration. -- The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:
(1) The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations has been endowed with many and abundant sources of water supplies located advantageously, for the most part, throughout the state. The proper development, protection, conservation, and use of these water resources are essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the general public, and to the continued growth and economic development of the state;
(2) In recent years it has become increasingly apparent that water supply management, protection, development, and use must be fully integrated into all statewide planning processes, and that the allocation of the state's water resources to all users, purposes, and functions, including water to sustain our natural river and stream systems and natural biotic communities, must be equitably decided and implemented under a process which emphasizes efficiency of use and management, minimization of waste, protection of existing supplies, demand management, drought management, conservation, and all other techniques to ensure that our water resources serve the people of Rhode Island for the longest time, in the most efficient use, and in an environmentally sound manner;
(3) The character and extent of the problems of water resource development, utilization, and control, and the widespread and complex interests which they affect, demand action by the government of the state of Rhode Island in order to deal with these problems in a manner which adequately protects the general welfare of all the citizens of the state;
(4) In order to retain and encourage the expansion of our present industries, and to attract new industries, and to promote the proper growth and desirable economic growth of the entire state, state government must play an active role in fostering and guiding the management of water resources; and
(5) There are state and municipal departments, special districts, private firms, and other agencies in the state who have capabilities and experience in the design, construction, operation, and financing of water supply and transmission facilities, which capabilities and experience must be brought to bear on the total problem of water resources development in a coordinated manner if the proper development, conservation, apportionment, and use of the water resources of the state are to be realized.
(6) It shall be the duty of the water resources board to regulate the proper development, protection, conservation and use of the water resources of the state.
{ADD (7) Water supply system shall mean, but shall not be limited to, a system which sells water registered through a metering device or pumps over fifty (50) million gallons of water per year. ADD}
46-15-6. Supply of water to other water supply systems.
-- On any application for a new or additional water supply
or source of water supply, the water resources board, after obtaining
the recommendations of the director of the department of health
and the division of planning, may require or authorize any applicant
to make provisions for the supply and to supply water to any area
of the state which, as determined by the water resources board
in its decision on that application, properly should be supplied
with water from the source or sources of water supply sought by
the applicant. Any municipal water department or agency, special
water district, or private water company within the area may apply
to the water resources board for the right to take water from
that source of water supply or from any part of the water supply
system of the applicant supplied in whole or in part from that
source. If the water resources board requires, or if it approves
the application, it shall be the duty of the applicant to supply
water, subject to such requirements as the water resources board
may impose. The amount of water to be taken and the price to be
paid therefor may be agreed upon between the applicant and the
taker of the water, or if they cannot agree, fair and reasonable
amounts and rates shall be fixed by the {DEL public utilities administratorDEL} {ADD administrator of public utilities and carriers ADD};
provided, further, that nothing contained in this section shall
be construed as diminishing the powers of the {DEL public utilities
administrator DEL} {ADD administrator of public utilities and
carriers ADD} in respect to rates of water suppliers subject to
his or her jurisdiction.
46-15-6.1. Assistants and employees and support provided.
-- The board shall appoint a general manager, who shall
not be subject to the provisions of chapter 4 of title 36; and
shall set his or her compensation and terms of employment. The
general manager shall appoint such subordinates, assistants, and
employees as may be required for the proper performance of the
powers and duties of the board. All those subordinates, assistants,
and employees shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 4
of title 36. {DEL The board may request that the director of
the department of environmental management provide to the board
those facilities, administrative support, staff services and such
other services within the department of environmental management
as are necessary for the proper performance of the powers and
duties of the board. DEL}
SECTION 2. Sections 46-15.1-1, 46-15.1-2, 46-15.1-2.3, 46-15.1-4.1, 46-15.1-5, 46-15.1-19 and 46-15.1-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15.1 entitled "Water Supply Facilities" are hereby amended to read as follows:
46-15.1-1. Legislative declaration. -- The findings and declarations made by section 46-15-1 are hereby made applicable to this chapter.
{ADD The Water Resources Board (Corporate) under this chapter shall constitute a body politic and corporate and a public instrumentality of the state having a distinct legal existence from the state and not constituting a department of state government. ADD}
{ADD The following sections shall also apply to the water resources board, the state agency: 46-15.1-2(a), 46-15.1-2.2, 46-15.2-3, 46-15.1-2.4, 46-15.1-4.1, 46-15.1-5(15)-(25), 46-15.1-20 and 46-15.1-21. ADD}
46-15.1-2. Board created -- Appointment of members. --
(a) There is hereby created a water resources board consisting
of {DEL eleven (11) DEL} {ADD thirteen (13) ADD} members as
follows: Five (5) members shall represent the public and shall
be appointed by the governor as herein provided, at least two
(2) of whom shall be affiliated with public water systems in Rhode
Island; one member shall be from the house of representatives
who shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives
and one member shall be from the senate who shall be appointed
by the majority leader of the senate; {ADD one (1) member to be
selected by the Rhode Island agricultural council established
pursuant to the provisions of chapter 3 of title 2 and who shall
be actively engaged in the agricultural business; ADD} the remaining
{DEL four (4) DEL} {ADD five (5) ADD} members shall be the
{DEL commissioner DEL} {ADD director ADD} of environmental management, {ADD the director of the
Rhode Island economic development corporation ADD} the director
of the department of administration, the director of the department
of health, and the chairperson of the joint committee on water
resources, all of whom shall serve ex officio. When this chapter
shall take effect, the governor shall appoint one of the public
members of the board to serve until the first day of March, 1992,
two (2) members to serve until the first day of March, 1993, two
(2) members to serve until the first day of March, 1994, and all
to serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. In
the month of February, 1992, and in the month of February in each
year thereafter, the governor, with the advice and consent of
the senate, shall appoint successors to the public members of
the board whose terms shall expire in such year, to hold office
commencing on the first day of March in the year of appointment
and until the first day of March in the third year after their
respective appointments and until their respective successors
are appointed and qualified. Any vacancy which may occur in the
board for a public member shall be filled by the governor, with
the advice and consent of the senate, for the remainder of the
unexpired term. Each ex officio member of the board may designate
a subordinate within his or her department, and the chairperson
of the joint committee on water resources may designate a subordinate
within his or her department, and the chairperson of the joint
committee on water resources may designate a member of the committee
or a member of its staff to represent him or her at all meetings
of the board.
(b) The water resources board is designated to carry out the provisions of this chapter. In exercising its powers under this chapter the board shall constitute a body politic and corporate and a public instrumentality of the state having a distinct legal existence from the state and not constituting a department of the state government. The board may take action under this chapter at any meeting of the board. A member of the board who is affiliated with a public water system in Rhode Island, as provided in section 46-15-2, shall not thereby be disqualified from acting as a member of the board on a transaction under this chapter with a public water system. Upon the enactment of this chapter, and annually in the month of March thereafter, the board shall choose a treasurer to act as such under this chapter. The treasurer need not be a member of the board or of its staff and shall serve until his or her successor is chosen and takes office, unless sooner removed by the board with or without cause. In the event of a vacancy in the office of treasurer, the board shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.
(c) Nothing contained herein shall be construed as terminating or discontinuing the existence of the water resources board as it exists prior to July 1, 1993 for purposes of chapters 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 of this title, and the water resources board created hereby shall be and shall be deemed to be a continuation of the water resources board as it existed prior to July 1, 1993 for the purposes enumerated in chapters 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 of this title. Nothing contained herein shall affect the bonding or financing authority of the water resources board as it exists prior to July 1, 1993 nor shall anything contained herein be construed as terminating, altering, discontinuing, or in any way impairing the bonding or financing power of the water resources board as it exists under chapters 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 of this title prior to July 1, 1993.
46-15.1-2.3. Officers of the board -- Quorum and vote required
for action. -- Forthwith, and upon the enactment of this
chapter, and annually in the month of March, thereafter, the board
shall elect one of its public members as chairperson, one of its
public members as vice chairperson, and shall also elect a secretary
either from its membership or its technical staff. {DEL Six
(6) DEL} {ADD Seven (7) ADD} members of the board shall constitute
a quorum and the vote of {DEL six (6) DEL} {ADD seven (7) ADD}
members shall be necessary for any action taken by the board.
No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right
of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all of the
duties of the board.
46-15.1-4.1. Definitions. -- {DEL (a) "Director"
shall mean the director of the department of environmental management. DEL}
{DEL (b) DEL} The phrase "water supply facilities"
wherever appearing in this chapter and chapter 15 of this title
shall mean water reservoirs, wells and well sites, {ADD treatment, ADD} transmission
or distribution systems, any and all real estate or interests
in real estate held in connection therewith, all equipment and
improvements held in connection therewith, and any and all other
property or interests therein, real, personal or mixed, used or
held to be used in connection therewith.
46-15.1-5. Powers. -- The board shall carry out its functions and shall have the following powers:
(1) To adopt a seal and to alter the seal from time to time;
(2) To sue and be sued;
(3) To purchase, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, or interests therein, and to lease the property as lessee or lessor;
(4) To make or cause to be made such surveys and borings as it may deem necessary;
(5) To engage engineering, legal, accounting, and other professional services;
(6) To make contracts;
(7) To employ personnel and fix their rates of compensation;
(8) To borrow money and issue its bonds and notes as hereinafter provided;
(9) To apply and contract for and to expend assistance from the United States or other sources, whether in the form of a grant or loan or otherwise;
(10) To adopt and amend bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
(11) To invest or deposit funds in demand deposits, savings deposits, and time deposits in any bank or trust company which is a member of the federal deposit insurance corporation or in any obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or as provided in section 35-10-11;
(12) To establish, operate, and maintain or lease to others, or contract with others for the use of, such water supply facilities as may be reasonably required for the fulfillment of its purposes;
(13) To purchase and sell water;
(14) To exercise such other powers as may be necessary or incidental to the exercise of the foregoing powers or to the accomplishment of the purposes of the board;
(15) To acquire, within the limitation of funds therefor, the sites, appurtenant marginal lands, dams, waters, water rights, rights of way, easements, and other property in interests in property for reservoirs, groundwater wells, well sites, and for such pipe lines, aqueducts, pumping stations, filtration plants, and auxiliary structures as may be necessary or desirable for the treatment and distribution of water from those reservoirs, groundwater wells, and well sites. Lands acquired under the provisions of this section shall be acquired with the approval of the governor by purchase, gift, devise, or otherwise on such terms and conditions as the board shall determine, or by the exercise of eminent domain, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 6 of title 37, as amended, insofar as those provisions are consistent with the provisions hereof;
(16) To construct or purchase water reservoirs, wells and well sites, processing facilities, transmission or distribution systems, and other facilities, including existing facilities of municipal water agencies or departments, special water districts, or private water companies, necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter and to implement its plans and program;
(17) To acquire the assets, assume the liabilities, or to effect the merger into itself of any corporation or other organization, including public or private water supply systems incorporated or organized under the laws of this state, which corporation or organization has as its principal business the establishment of water supply facilities or provision of related services, all upon such terms and for such consideration as the board shall deem to be appropriate;
(18) To lease, sell, or otherwise convey any reservoir sites or other water supply or distribution facilities acquired, constructed, or purchased by the board to any municipal water agency or department or special water district or private water company, upon such terms as the board shall deem appropriate;
(19) To provide for cooperative development, conservation, and use of water resources by the state, municipal agencies or departments, special water districts or privately owned water systems, the board may:
(i) Authorize publicly or privately owned water supply agencies to build structures or install equipment on land owned or leased by the board.
(ii) Enter into contracts with publicly or privately owned water supply agencies for operation of any facilities owned or leased by the board or operate any such facility by itself.
(20) To enter into contracts to supply raw or processed water to publicly or privately owned water supply agencies, which shall be approved as to substance by the director of administration and as to form by the attorney general;
(21) To review all plans and proposals for construction or installation of facilities for water supply in accordance with the applicable sections of chapter 15 of this title; and
(22) To make loans to publicly owned water supply agencies for acquisition of land, construction, or purchase or installation of equipment or pipes, from funds which may be appropriated for this purpose by the general assembly, from bonds issued for this purpose, or from other funds which may become available to the board for this purpose. No loans shall be made for purposes of installing, improving, or extending local distribution systems unless the board requires such a system to contain a greater capacity than immediately necessary in order to provide water for other municipalities at a later date in accordance with the applicable sections of chapter 15 of this title;
(23) To borrow money temporarily from the water development fund, for the purposes of this chapter, and to implement its plans and programs relating to reservoir development, exclusive of the acquisition of sites for the development of surface reservoirs, in anticipation of revenue or federal aid;
(24) To enter into contracts and/or agreements with such departments, divisions, agencies, or boards of the state as are directed by the governor to regulate, manage, or perform related functions on any lands or waters acquired under the provisions of the Big River -- Wood River Reservoir Site Acquisition Act (P.L. of 1964, chapter 133);
(25) To compensate the departments, divisions, agencies, or boards from the water development fund in an amount equal to the cost of providing such functions or services as are directed to be performed by the governor. The compensation shall be mandatory and shall be provided according to procedures established by the department of administration.
{ADD The board as a body politic and corporate and public instrumentality
created pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to section 46-15.1-5(1)
thru (25) herein. The board as the state agency pursuant to chapter
46-15 shall be subject to section 46-15.1-5(15) {DEL thru DEL} {ADD through ADD} (25) herein. ADD}
46-15.1-19. Surface reservoirs. -- Notwithstanding
the foregoing, no provision of this chapter, nor any language
contained therein, shall allow or permit any funds, proceeds,
revenues, or other sums of money derived by, through, or from
the issuance of revenue bonds as authorized under this chapter,
to be used for the design or construction of any surface reservoirs,
without the approval of the general assembly, or to be used in
connection with the acquisition of sites for the development of
surface reservoirs through the exercise by the water resources
board of the power of eminent domain as provided under section
{DEL 46-15-6 DEL} {ADD 46-15.1-5(15) ADD} and in accordance
with the provisions of chapter 6 of title 37.
46-15.1-20. Water development account fund. -- There
is hereby created a special fund called "water development
{DEL account DEL} {ADD fund ADD}", a general revenue
{DEL account DEL} {ADD fund ADD} within the general fund,
which shall record any net proceeds which may be paid to the state
as a result of the lease of any reservoir sites or other facilities
as may be acquired or constructed by the state in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter, or as otherwise authorized or
permitted, or as a result of the sale of surplus property or any
interest therein, including, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, the sale of excess gravel, timber, or other materials
located on the reservoir sites or other facilities. Monies are
to be deposited as general revenues. The amounts appropriated
shall be made available for the purposes authorized by this chapter,
and also hereby made available for borrowing from the board, in
accordance with and pursuant to the provisions of this chapter
exclusive of acquisition of reservoir sites, and the state controller
is hereby authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon
the general treasurer for the payment or loan of such sums or
such portions thereof as may be required, from time to time, upon
receipt by him or her of properly authenticated vouchers.
SECTION 3. Sections 46-15.2-3, 46-15.2-4, 46-15.2-5 and 46-15.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15.2 entitled "Water Facilities Assistance Program" are hereby amended to read as follows:
46-15.2-3. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall indicate another or different meaning:
{DEL (1) "Director" shall mean the director of the
department of the environment. DEL}
(1) "Distribution facilities" shall mean the pipes and appurtenant facilities employed specifically to deliver, to dispense, to render, or to circulate potable water directly for the benefit of a consumer or a community of consumers.
(2) "Intersystem facilities" shall mean transmission facilities designed and constructed by the owner of any public water system having the capacity to serve two or more water systems.
(3) "Transmission facilities" shall mean the pipes, pumping stations, and storage facilities required to carry potable water, or raw water to a treatment facility or storage facility for later treatment, from a water source to or throughout an area served or to be served by a public water system for the specific purpose of supplying water to support a general population. Transmission facilities shall not include the distribution system. Determinations concerning eligible transmission facilities for purposes of this program shall be made by the water resources board.
46-15.2-4. Water facilities assistance program established -- Eligibility. -- (a) There is hereby established in the water resources board a Rhode Island water facilities assistance program. The board shall administer this program so as to ensure the proper and systematic development of coordinated water supply and transmission facilities and shall expend the funds available under this chapter in a manner that accomplishes this objective.
(b) This program shall provide twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost of approved water transmission facilities designed and constructed to serve a single water system, and shall provide fifty percent (50%) of the cost of approved intersystem facilities. Only the construction of water transmission and intersystem facilities and the acquisition of land or rights-of-way, together with necessary engineering and design, are eligible for assistance under this program. Costs of borrowing, amortization costs, legal, and all other costs attendant to the funding of water transmission and intersystem facilities are not eligible for financial assistance under this program and must be fully borne by the project applicant. The cost of distribution facilities as defined in this chapter are not eligible for financial assistance under this program. Determinations of project eligibility shall be made by the water resources board.
(c) Only municipalities and quasi municipal water agencies are eligible to apply for assistance under this program. Determinations of applicant eligibility shall be made by the water resources board.
(d) Only projects reviewed and approved by the water resources board, the division of public utilities and carriers, and the state planning council may be funded. Each project supported by this program must be consistent with a plan adopted and kept current by the water resources board in accordance with section 46-15-6 and with applicable elements of the state guide plan, as adopted and kept current by the state planning council in accordance with section 42-11-10(c); provided, however, that with respect to any project which has been approved by the board and which thereafter becomes eligible to participate as an intersystem facilities project, the submission to, and approval by, the public utilities commission and statewide planning council shall not be required.
(e) Each transmission facility supported by this program must link a water source with a water distribution system, both of which are complete and operational or will be so at the time that the transmission facility is completed or is projected for future construction. The capacity of both the water source and the distribution system must be adequate to meet present and future needs, considering all other demands that may be placed on the same sources and distribution systems. All determinations required under this subsection shall be made in a timely fashion by the water resources board.
(f) The quality of water to be conveyed through the proposed transmission system must meet the Rhode Island department of health requirements for the most restrictive current or planned use. All reasonable measures to assure that this level of water quality will be maintained must have been taken.
(g) The design and construction of an approved transmission facility must ensure that it will remain operational for its design life with routine maintenance, and that it will resist all external and internal forces that can be reasonably anticipated as determined by the water resources board.
(h) The water resources board will ensure that maintenance of the transmission facility is performed in a manner that ensures that it will remain operational throughout its design life and is assured by a dedicated revenue such as a user fee or some other equally reliable means.
{DEL (i) No funds shall be expended by or distributed under
the Rhode Island water facilities assistance program to or for
any water system connections ordered pursuant to section 46-15-6
except upon express statutory authorization by the general assembly. DEL}
46-15.2-5. Application to assistance program. --
(a) Applicants shall submit projects proposed for assistance under
this program to the water resources board, in the form and content
prescribed by the {DEL director DEL} {ADD board ADD}. The
board shall coordinate the review and disposition of all applications
by all agencies concerned in an expeditious manner. The board
shall incorporate the information required by all agencies to
conduct their review of proposals in its application documents.
(b) Upon receipt of an application, the board shall determine whether the application is complete and contains all necessary information. Incomplete applications shall be returned to the applicants. Complete applications shall be formally acknowledged by the board.
(c) The board shall forward a copy of each application accepted
to the division of public utilities and carriers, to the state
planning council, {ADD the department of health ADD} and to the {DEL director
of the DEL} department of {DEL the environment DEL}
{ADD environmental management ADD}. Review of applications by these
agencies shall be conducted concurrently.
(d) The water resources board shall evaluate each application to determine whether all requirements of sections 46-15-1 and 46-15-3 have been met, and shall further ensure that:
(1) Design and engineering of the project are sound, as provided in section 46-15.2-4(f);
(2) The applicant has adequately demonstrated that a need exists in its community for the water that would be provided by the project.
(3) The project links a water source with a water distribution system, as set forth in section 46-15.2-4(d);
(4) The distribution system owned or to be owned by the applicant has or will continue to have sufficient capacity to carry the projected volumes of water, as set forth in section 46-15.2-4(d);
(5) The proposed water source is adequate to meet the applicant's needs and will have sufficient capacity to serve all future demands imposed by the applicant in combination with all other users, as set forth in section 46-15.2-4(d);
(6) The quality of the water meets the standards established by the Rhode Island department of health water quality regulations for the purpose intended, as provided in section 46-15.2-4(e);
(7) The project incorporates sound conservation techniques as provided in section 46-15.1-5; and
(8) The project is properly related to all other water systems serving adjacent or nearby areas in terms of interconnections and mutual support.
(e) The division of public utilities and carriers shall review the financing aspects of all projects, particularly with respect to costs that will be imposed on water users as a result of the project. The division shall perform an analysis of the proposed costs and benefits of the project and shall, on the basis of its findings, make a determination as to whether approval of the project is in the best interests of the water users. If the division determines the project is in the best interests of the water users, it shall approve the project. If the division determines that the project is not in the best interests of the water users, it shall disapprove the project. Since the division's review must be based on estimated costs and interest rates, the full financing costs will not be precisely known. The absence of specificity concerning the finance of costs must be considered by the division.
(f) The state planning council shall review all proposed projects to determine whether they are consistent with all relevant elements of the state guide plan. Upon determination that a project is consistent with all relevant elements of the state guide plan, the state planning council shall render its approval. Upon a determination that the project is not consistent with all relevant elements of the state guide plan, the council shall disapprove the project. The state planning council will provide the policy framework necessary to guide this program through the state guide plan.
46-15.2-6. Decision on application and financing. --
(a) Except as provided in section 46-15.2-4(d) with respect to
intersystem facilities, no project shall be approved by the water
resources board unless the project has been approved by the division
of public utilities and carriers, as set forth in section 46-15.2-5(e),
by the state planning council, as set forth in section 46-15.2-5(f),
and by the department of the environment. The water resources
board shall approve the project based upon its finding of fact,
as provided in section 46-15.2-5(d)(1) through (d)(8), and upon
approval by the division of public utilities and carriers, the
state planning council, and the department of the environment.
A project disapproved by either the division of public utilities
and carriers, the state planning council, {ADD the department of
health ADD} or the department of {DEL the environment DEL}
{ADD environmental management ADD} shall not be approved by the water
resources board.
(b) The water resources board shall not approve a transmission facility project and intersystem facility project unless the applicant first adequately demonstrates that its seventy-five percent (75%) share or fifty percent (50%) share, as the case may be, of the project cost is available and obligated to the project.
(c) The water resources board shall not approve a project unless sufficient state funds to provide the state's share of the project cost are available.
(d) The water resources board shall ensure that the state's share of a project cannot be used by or transferred to a private or investor-owned water company.
(e) Upon approval of a proposed project as set forth in section 46-15.2-5, the water resources board shall so notify the applicant and shall establish the amount of state participation in the project representing the appropriate state share of eligible costs as determined from the application. Costs incurred in excess of those set forth in the application shall not automatically increase the amount of state participation. However, the applicant may submit a subsequent proposal, in accordance with sections 46-15.2-4 and 46-15.2-5, that requests state participation in those costs. If the project is completed at a cost below that set forth in the application, the amount of state participation shall be reduced proportionately.
(f) The water resources board shall establish a schedule by which state funds shall be paid to the applicant that ensures that funds are disbursed only when required for the project.
(g) The water resources board is empowered to issue rules and regulations to provide proper security for the state's grant-in-aid for each approved project.
(h) The water resources board may condition the approval of any intersystem facilities project on the applicant agreeing that it will not charge any water system which uses such a facility an amount in excess of its costs for purchase, production, and transmission of water to the user, and an appropriate portion of its cost of repair, maintenance, and replacement of the facility based upon the capacity allocated to the user.
SECTION 4. Section 46-15.7-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15.7 entitled "Management of the Withdrawal and Use of the Waters of the State" is hereby amended to read as follows:
46-15.7-1. Legislative findings and declaration. -- (A) The general assembly finds that:
(1) The Constitution of the state of Rhode Island charges the general assembly with responsibility for the conservation of all natural resources, including water.
(2) The supply of fresh water available to the people of Rhode Island for use in their daily lives and to support agriculture, hydropower, indigenous wildlife and plant species, navigation, water-based recreation, wetlands, and other uses is finite and is not equally available or accessible throughout the state.
(3) A significant portion of the fresh water resource of the state is already being used to serve a variety of needs and purposes and the total volume and quality of the remaining fresh water resource of the state is subject to quantitative, qualitative, or geographic constraints on its availability or use.
(4) Allocation of the water resource of Rhode Island has thus far been accomplished on a random, first come, first served, or ad hoc basis with minimal or no consideration given to overall allocation of the resource so as to meet all present and foreseeable future needs.
(5) All of the data needed to properly manage the allocation and use of the water resource of the state are not available. The responsibility to provide essential data rests primarily upon those who withdraw and use the waters of the state.
(B) Therefore, the general assembly declares that:
(1) Management of the amounts, purposes, timing, locations, rates, and other characteristics of fresh water withdrawals from ground or surface waters is essential in order to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the state of Rhode Island, to promote the continued existence, diversity, and health of the state's native wildlife and plant species and communities, and the fair and equitable allocation of the water resource among users and uses, and to insure that long-range rather than short-range considerations remain uppermost.
(2) To support these objectives adequate data is essential to determine the capabilities of the states water resources to support various uses and users and the quantities of water needed for these uses.
(3) This requirement shall be carried out by management of fresh water resources of the state based on long-range planning for and conservation of these resources; fairness, equitable distribution, and consideration for all human uses; matching the use of water with the quality of water necessary for each use, giving priority to those uses that require the highest quality water; maintenance of native aquatic and terrestrial animal and plant species, populations, and communities and statewide diversity; continued upholding of and improvement in the quality of the environment and especially of the water resources itself; and careful integration with all other social, economic, and environmental objectives, programs, and plans of the state.
{ADD (4) The water resources board shall be the state agency which manages the withdrawal and use of the waters of the state of Rhode Island. ADD}
SECTION 5. Section 37-20-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-20 entitled "Big River Reservoir Moratorium" is hereby amended to read as follows:
37-20-1. Big River Reservoir -- Development prohibited. -- All land acquired by the state or any subdivision thereof for the development of the "Big River Reservoir" so-called, including any land acquired by the Big River -- Wood River Reservoir Site Acquisition Act, P.L. 1964, ch. 133, shall not be sold nor shall the land be developed in any way. The state shall not allow any future development or continued development on that property, and the property shall be designated "open space" as defined in section 45-36-1(1) -- (7).
Provided, however, that the foregoing shall not be construed to
prohibit the use of the said property as a water reservoir {DEL and
in the event an appropriate state agency makes that determination DEL},
{ADD or for the development of wells and well sites together with
any infrastructure necessary for the treatment, transmission,
storage and distribution of drinking water if the water resources
board determines that exploration or development of groundwater
is appropriate, ADD} then it shall not require legislative action
to remove the property from the "open space" {ADD for
the purposes of groundwater development ADD} as defined in section
45-36-1(1) -- (8).
SECTION 6. Chapter 46-15 entitled "Water Resources Board" is hereby amended by adding the following section thereto:
{ADD46-15-1.1. Definitions. --ADD}{ADD"Water supply system" means, but shall not be limited to, a system which sells water registered through a metering device or pumps over fifty (50) million gallons of water per yearADD}
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon passage.
