Herbicide, Tree Cutting Underway at East Beach

Plan seeks to make the beach more open, sandier and bird friendly

Adriana Vossari, RI & Local Government

Photo by Will Collette

East Beach is a state-managed public beach and campground in Charlestown, and visitors will see active restoration crews, posted work areas and a more open, sandier landscape through 2027.

Crews began applying targeted herbicide to invasive plants at East Beach in Charlestown on August 25, the latest phase of a multi-year habitat restoration project on the Ninigret Barrier Beach, according to the Rhode Island State Parks project page. The beach, campground and permitted sand trail remain open, though visitors are told to follow posted signs and stay on designated trails and in parking areas.

The Town of Charlestown has posted its own notice pointing residents to the work, which is led by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the nonprofit Save The Bay. The town's page describes the effort as restoring dune and salt-marsh habitat, removing invasive plants and restoring natural tidal creeks.

For beachgoers, the practical effect is visual as much as anything: portions of the barrier beach that were shaded by pine stands are now open and sandy, and crews and equipment may be working in posted areas.

RI General Assembly session produced mixed results on the environment

McKee's effort to slash green energy funding rebuffed

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

No more pencils, no more books, no more speaker’s dirty looks: lawmakers last week bid farewell to Smith Hill for the year Thursday night, when this year’s legislative session concluded.

It was a roller-coaster ride for environmental advocates, who spent most of the session playing defense. Gov. Dan McKee had proposed rolling back the renewable energy standard and slashing solar financing programs and energy efficiency initiatives as part of an affordability agenda to reduce electric and gas bills by any means necessary.

Bottom of Form

McKee wasn’t the only politician in New England proposing cuts to such programs. Lawmakers in the Massachusetts House passed a bill in February cutting $1 billion from their energy efficiency programs, more commonly known as Mass Save.

But ultimately, in the version of the Rhode Island budget signed into law by McKee on June 12, most of Rhode Island’s climate programs will remain intact. The only changes will be to virtual net metering, which will introduce a voluntary opt-in rate, and reduce the total cap of future solar projects eligible for the program to just 175 megawatts.

Environmental advocates also notched another set of small wins in the budget: the director of the state Department of Transportation was removed as chair of the board of directors for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, and lawmakers allocated the embattled transit agency with enough funds to close its deficit.

Here’s some of what else lived, died or stalled:

First the big news: building decarbonization lives, from a certain point of view.

Previous sessions saw lawmakers attempt to pass a single bill that would require buildings in Rhode Island to track, benchmark, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. That single bill always died in committee, so this year advocates tried a more traditional tack, the tried-and-true General Assembly two-step.

They spun off the more unpopular elements of building benchmarking — the emission mandates — from the main bill that pushes large buildings owners to start tracking emissions. Advocates acknowledged just starting a benchmarking program for all buildings in the state would require years of lead time to draw up regulations and spur adoption.

The two-step worked, and lawmakers passed H7813/S2260 in concurrence Thursday night. Starting in 2028, property owners with buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will have to track and report their emissions for the previous year. Buildings larger than 25,000 square feet start tracking in 2030.

Sen. Victoria Gu gives her review on the recently ended General Assembly session

Highlights from a productive session 

By Victoria Gu

Dear Friends and Neighbors,  We’ve finished another legislative session! After many nights of long committee hearings, bill sponsors and committee chairs work on their bill edits, and June is when bills can be approved for votes in committee and then gain final passage in the House & Senate.  New Leadership: In the past month the RI House of Representatives also elevated Majority Leader Blazejewski to the position of House Speaker and Majority Whip Katie Kazarian to the position of House Whip. Congratulations to them and the outgoing Speaker Joseph Shekarchi for their years of service.

Bills I Passed

Shoreline Access Disclosure for Oceanfront Property Rentals: The House & Senate passed my bill S-2734A to help make sure renters and short-term rental guests understand Rhode Island’s shoreline access rights. Part of the motivation for this bill came from seeing some short-term rental listings advertise a “private beach,” even though Rhode Island law protects public shoreline access up to 10 feet above the recognizable high tide line. This bill helps make sure visitors and tenants get clear information about those rights before they stay at an oceanfront property.  Food is Medicine: The General Assembly has passed my Food as Medicine bill, which creates a task force to design a Medicaid pilot program that uses medically tailored meals or other nutritional supports  to improve the health of patients with chronic, diet-related conditions.  Food insecurity is strongly linked to many of the most costly preventable chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, which drive enormous health care spending.  Medicaid accounts for about one-third of our state budget and is growing at an estimated 6% per year. Our budget will have a growing deficit unless we look at evidence-based programs like food as medicine. 60 Days Advance Notice of Home Insurance Non-Renewals: Insurance companies are being a lot more selective about the location and the condition of the houses they insure, declining to cover homes in coastal areas or with older roofs or water heaters. The bill that Rep. Azzinaro and I passed requiring 60 days’ advance notice will help homeowners find alternative insurance coverage and find tradespeople if they need to fix something at their house in order to continue insurance coverage.

Spotlight: Youth Mental Health

988 on Student & Staff Ids: Last week the General Assembly passed a bill Rep Earl Read & I sponsored to put suicide prevention and substance use crisis hotline numbers directly on student and school staff ID cards. At a time when young people are facing growing mental health challenges, we need to promote awareness of resources like 988. The General Assembly also passed a youth crisis response service bill that codifies a successful pilot program into law. The program helps kids in crisis by getting them fast, specialized care with behavioral health clinicians (avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits) and connecting families to ongoing support. Thank you to constituents who wrote to me about the importance of funding 988: This year, the Senate also advanced a separate bill by Senator Melissa Murray to protect the long-term funding of Rhode Island's 988 crisis line and BH Link services. More than 90% of 988 calls are resolved through phone support alone, connecting people with trained counselors before a crisis escalates. The bill stalled in the House, but we hope to pass it next year. More info here

Looking ahead: Vote for the Green Bond this Nov & Op-Ed on Managed Retreat

We got an extra $5 million for climate resiliency in the Green Bond which will be on the ballot in November! Annually, each town can apply for grants from this pool of funding to strengthen their infrastructure. One example: Westerly received funding for a flood wall around a pump station for the wastewater treatment plant.  Managed Retreat: These photos I took in South Kingstown show how shoreline armoring—like rock walls and elevated structures—disrupt the dynamic beach ecosystem and make it harder for people to walk along the beach. As sea levels rise and more coastal property owners build hard structures to protect against erosion, the public part of the beach gets narrower, and in these pictures, it has become impossible to pass along the shoreline. That's why we need to plan ahead before the next major storm. Instead of repeatedly rebuilding in areas that face increasing flood and erosion risks, towns can identify safer places for homes and infrastructure over the long term. Read more about our work to help Rhode Island communities prepare for rising seas and protect public access to our shoreline:  https://www.providencejournal.com/story/opinion/columns/2026/04/18/rhode-islands-managed-retreat-plan-for-rising-seas-opinion/89628806007/

Next rail advocates meeting: June 22nd 6pm @ Westerly Library

Budget Highlights

62-65 year old early retirees will now get the same exemptions from Social Security tax as people 65 and older. Seniors still must have incomes under $107,000 for single filers and $133,750 for married filers in tax year 2025, to qualify. Child Tax Credit - see this press release Rural Health Transformation Grant - RI received over $150 million in the first year of this federal program and will use it to implement innovative programs like Community Paramedicine - see this website for more information. Stay tuned for more healthcare highlights and impacts of HR1 on our healthcare system

Read the full budget press release

Senate Highlights

Labor Protections: We passed many noteworthy bills like S-2921 to give domestic workers the same protections under the Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) as other Rhode Island workers. Immigration bills: see this press release and another for protecting constitutional rights Education Funding Formula: only minor changes this year by increasing the “student success factor” - which is an additional amount of funding for each low-income student - from 40% to 43%. We will need to monitor the new Senate commission to study the funding formula, specifically the one suggested by the Blue Ribbon Commission Status of CRMC reform bill: The bill that passed last year required the Governor to appoint members with expertise in coastal matters. There are some new members that the Senate confirmed this year with expertise with civil engineering, coastal wetlands, law, etc. but it remains to be seen whether the political dynamic will change and I still support the overall reform that would restructure CRMC so it’s similar to DEM, with a staff and director making the decisions instead of a politically appointed all-volunteer council. Status of Bottle Deposit & Recycling bills: The bill that passed last year began the first stage which is a needs-assessment to look at our recycling system as a whole. That is still in progress

CRMC approves key SouthCoast Wind permit over objections from fishing industry

Trump couldn't stop them either

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A map rendering showing the proposed path of power lines from SouthCoast Wind up the Sakonnet River to connect in Somerset, Massachusetts. (Courtesy Southcoast Wind)

The murky future for SouthCoast Wind gained a small but significant sign of clarity Tuesday with a key permit approval from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).

The panel’s unanimous vote — the first decision made by the newly retooled council —- followed a four-hour series of expert presentations and public comments on the impacts of the underwater cable lines in Rhode Island waters. The center of the project — 141 turbines generating more than 1,200 megawatts of wind-powered electricity at nameplate capacity — sits more than 60 miles south of Rhode Island’s coastline, closer to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. But project developers needed permission from Ocean State regulators to run power lines from the turbines to the electric grid, snaking up the Sakonnet River, underneath Island Park in Portsmouth and out Mount Hope Bay to reach land at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts.

When and whether the high-voltage cables ever come through Rhode Island remains unclear; SouthCoast is one of many offshore wind projects facing unforeseen setbacks since President Donald Trump took office in January 2026. The developer hasn’t lined up a buyer for its product, though Massachusetts power providers are expected to announce a decision on a potential deal by the end of the month. Rhode Island Energy was initially interested in procuring a small piece of the project power, too, but broke off contract negotiations after multiple delays, citing federal policy uncertainty. 

Federal regulators with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management have also revoked a key federal permit tied to the project and are still reviewing whether to reissue the permit with new conditions — if at all.

Fishermen, municipalities and conservative-funded interest groups noted the federal uncertainty in 90 pages of opposition letters to coastal regulators. Far more pressing for critics, however, was the potential environmental harms to native species and habitats where the developer wants to drill and bury the power lines, and the commercial and recreational fishing community that depends on those habitats.

Wetlands a Vital Link in Ecosystem Chain for Hundreds of Species

Appreciating these vital lands

By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News staff

Amanda Andrews cradled the tiny eastern red-backed salamander in her hands.

“It’s warmer now,” she said. “It’s moving more.”

Bottom of Form

She had found the salamander in the damp, chilly soil under a rock in the North Woods at the University of Rhode Island, 225 acres of forest, wetlands, and streams adjacent to the college campus on Flagg Road.

It was a rainy, cool, late April evening, and the salamander was sluggish in the cold at first. After spending some time in the 18-year-old West Greenwich resident’s warm hand, it became more active, scooting around her palm.

Andrews said it wasn’t her first time holding one of the creatures.

“These are like the ones in my garden,” she said. “I catch them all the time in my yard.” Her mother Sandy, standing nearby, laughed and added, “We live for this.”

McKee unveils 6 picks for revamped CRMC.

Critics are underwhelmed.

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Three lawyers, two former state lawmakers and an entrepreneur whose business ventures include a word game app and organic salad dressings are Gov. Dan McKee’s picks for the reshaped Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.

The six nominees, all men, are slated for initial confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture Wednesday — nearly three months after the March 1 deadline for new appointees to join the volunteer council. 

McKee’s office did not respond to requests for comment Monday on the delay or on his choices of candidates. Copies of their resumes or applications were also not immediately available, nor was the total number of applications received.

McKee’s recommendation letters, submitted to the Rhode Island Senate on May 14, do not offer any details about the candidates besides their names, and, when applicable, their professional qualifications.

Requiring the volunteer panel members to have relevant work experience was a central part of the reform effort approved by state lawmakers on the final day of the 2025 legislative session. The law reduced the size of the council from 10 to seven people to fix the problem of recurring vacancies that force meetings to be canceled due to lack of quorum. 

Neronha sues country club that refuses to obey CRMC order

RI AG sues Quidnessett over rock wall built without permission

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A man fishes along the shoreline immediately north of the rock wall built without permission by the Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The attorney general’s office sued the country club over the wall on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Save the Bay)

The state’s top prosecutor is stepping in to try to force Quidnessett Country Club to remove a rock wall built without permission along its shoreline more than three years ago.

The complaint filed Tuesday by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office comes after years of unsuccessful efforts by state coastal regulators to negotiate with the country club owners and later, pursue legal action against them for the rock wall built in defiance of state coastal regulations.

The 600-foot stone wall was built along the shoreline of the North Kingstown country club in early 2023 — though not flagged by regulators until that summer — to protect the 14th hole of its signature golf course from coastal erosion. But state coastal regulations restrict development along sensitive and species-rich waters like the section of waterfront in question, a violation the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) has sought to have corrected.

Yet the wall remains, each day worsening the delicate ecosystem that surrounds it and inhibiting the state’s constitutionally enshrined public access to the shore, the AG’s complaint states. The 28-page complaint filed in Providence County Superior Court asks a state judge to issue a preliminary injunction forcing the club owners to remove the seawall and restore the shoreline, including vegetation, to its natural state awaiting a jury trial.

Long-Term Repair to Charlestown Breachway Completed

Just in time for Breachway campground opening on Saturday

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), and the Town of Charlestown, along with project partners and supporters including members of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the Rhode Island Salt Ponds Coalition, Save The Bay, and the University of Rhode Island/Rhode Island Sea Grant today celebrated the completion of the long-term repair project of the Charlestown Breachway.

The $8.4M project included breachway restoration, channel dredging, beach re-nourishment with the creation of two sand dunes and plantings planned for fall. $5M was contributed through a DEM request and allocated by the State through CRMC, $2M from CRMC for dredging, and $1.4M provided by the Town of Charlestown.

Contractors reconstructed the west breachway wall in two tiers of stone. Dredged material was reused to restore the town beach, repair erosion along the wall’s west side, and construct two storm-resilient dunes on the same side. The work has restored the breachway’s structural integrity, improved navigation, stabilized the coastline against climate impacts, and preserved water flow in and out of Ninigret Pond to maintain ecological balance and water quality. Work began last November and was completed in late March 2026. These long-term repairs will help safeguard coastal infrastructure, the environment, and the community.

Judge orders Matunuk owner Perry Raso be given another shot at starting to aqua-farm scallops

‘Do it again, but the right way.’

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Perry Raso. Photo: Chip Riegel, Edible Rhody

The embattled Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council was dealt another blow last week after a Superior Court judge tossed one of its most high-profile and controversial decisions because the panel violated its own procedures.

The 48-page order from Associate Justice Joseph Montalbano reopens the longstanding battle between acclaimed restaurateur and oyster farmer Perry Raso and nearby property owners, remanding the case back to the council for additional public hearings and consideration. 

Raso, originally known for the now-closed Matunuck Oyster Bar, sought to expand his shellfish empire with a scallop farm in Potter Pond in South Kingstown. The expansion spawned public outcry by property residents who argued the shellfish beds would interfere with recreational boating, fishing and other activities within the cove. A five-year standoff ended in June 2023, when the coastal agency’s appointed panel approved a scaled-down version of Raso’s original proposal, cutting 40% of the acreage and banning floating cages. The council later signed off on further modifications submitted by Raso that changed the size, layout and position of the submerged scallop nets.

Two sets of property owners took their case to the judiciary, filing two separate lawsuits in Providence County Superior Court in September 2024, later consolidated into a single case. The property owners, through their attorneys, again argued the scallop beds interfered with their ability to enjoy the cove — a point Montalbano rejected in his order.

However, Montalbano, who is on track to become the court’s presiding justice, found credence in the plaintiffs’ arguments over process. Specifically, he said the council flouted its own rules by failing to fully explain the rationale for its decision, which contradicted the recommendation from a smaller subcommittee that gave a preliminary, and more comprehensive, review. The council also violated its procedures by failing to give public notice or opportunity for additional public input in the “substantial” revisions Raso submitted after the final vote.

Son of long-time Charlestown Assistant Solicitor Bob Craven declares candidacy to replace his father

Robert Craven Jr. is running for House District 32

Steve Ahlquist

When Robert Craven Jr. announced he was running for the State Representative seat his father was vacating, I reached out to request an interview. We met at Cafe Nero in Downtown Providence, a place so busy neither of us had coffee. The interview has been edited for clarity:

Steve Ahlquist: I don’t want to start on a negative note, but in this state, we oftentimes have what I think of as “inherited” seats. That is, the child of a politician taking over an elected position from their parent. Your father is the current State Representative from District 32, so what do you bring to this position that makes it earned rather than inherited?

Robert Craven: Two things. One, I’m running not because I have his name; I’m running despite having his name. I’m running in North Kingstown because it’s where I grew up and where I know the state and the country best. I’m running because I have the specific experience to deliver meaningful results for North Kingstown. My father represented well. He had his own experience to rely on. I have some of the same skills, but a different skill set and perspective on much of it, which will let me either expand on or add to what he accomplished.

Steve Ahlquist: You do have an impressive resume. Do you want to talk about that?

Robert Craven: I’m glad to. For the past three years, I’ve been the policy director for Rhode Island’s Treasurer. In that capacity, I’ve helped champion legislation that expanded wealth opportunities for low-income Rhode Islanders, helped towns like North Kingstown protect themselves from the threats of climate change, helped survivors of sexual assault access the funds and support systems they need, and pushed Rhode Island forward in financial well-being. Before that, I ran the Treasurer’s campaign, as you know...

Steve Ahlquist: Which is when I got to know you a little bit.

Robert Craven: Exactly. And before I got into the politics and policy side of things, I practiced law for a few years at a litigation firm in Downtown Providence, where I practiced banking law, complex commercial disputes, and class action lawsuits.

Steve Ahlquist: That put you in the position to be in the Treasurer’s office

Robert Craven: Yeah. It was a good foundation for understanding the issues the office usually deals with. And I dealt with a lot of land use and Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) law when I was practicing law, which gave me the CRMC’s perspective on things and where some of these communities and their zoning boards are in terms of being able to construct (or not construct) what they’re comfortable with, and what’s environmentally sound.

Steve Ahlquist: Land use and the CRMC are two hot topics at the State House right now. We’re dealing with land use issues and possibly reorganizing the CRMC or folding it into the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

Robert Craven: I think CRMC needs a revisit. That organization has served the state well enough since its creation, but the policies surrounding it are changing. The needs of the state have shifted, and there’s going to be a lot more urgency in what they do as we head towards an era where we might see a dramatic change in what’s happening on our shoreline.

Steve Ahlquist: I think we’re already seeing dramatic changes. We’re looking at parts of Newport going underwater...

Robert Craven: ... and Warren, North Kingstown, Westerly...

Steve Ahlquist: Yeah. Whole sections of the state - land, houses, businesses, whatever - are going to be flooded if we can’t figure out something.

Growing up in a political household, what was that like? Mine is a firefighter family, so we were somewhat political, union politics...

Robert Craven: My mom was a union president in Narragansett. I grew up hearing about the Department of Education and how it was not funding teachers. When I was in middle school, I remember hearing about pension reform from my mom, who was one of the people affected by it. Growing up in that kind of household with a father always interested in policy and politics shows you that the system is accessible, right? I went to George Washington University down in DC, but I came back to intern in health and housing policy for Governor Lincoln Chafee.

That experience, along with what I had growing up, showed me how accessible the system can be. And then, if you learn how the system works, you can really accomplish something through it. There’s this impression that politicians are inaccessible or that they’re in it for malicious intent, but that’s not the case. You have a lot of good people out there who are trying to accomplish something - trying to do the right thing. That’s kind of the lesson that I learned growing up around it.

Legislation Would Fold CRMC into DEM, Remaking Controversial Executive Council Into an Advisory Board

One way to deal with a dysfunctional agency

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Mergers and acquisitions isn’t usually a process that applies to the public sector, but under proposed legislation this year it is something that could happen with the state’s environmental agencies.

Rhode Island government splits environmental management and protection into two separate agencies. Broadly, the Department of Environmental Management handles much of the state’s interior, oversees air and water permits, and oversees the state’s food production.

The Coastal Resources Management Council has jurisdiction over developments within 200 feet of Rhode Island’s coastline and 3 miles out to sea, an area that covers all of Narragansett Bay and most of Block Island Sound.

New legislation (H7996/S3082) proposes to merge the two entities, with CRMC — as the smaller of the two agencies — becoming a bureau within DEM. CRMC’s director would become a deputy director within DEM, and the politically appointed board that oversees the coastal agency would be transformed into an advisory body with little decision-making power.

For advocates of the legislation, the bills kill two birds with one stone. The controversial 10-member CRMC board is nerfed, and the state’s two environmental agencies receive a synergistic boost by joining forces. CRMC’s executive director would go from a position confirmed by the Senate to one hired by DEM.

CRMC Denies Westerly Couple’s Application to Redo Seawall

Stones unturned

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

How many stones can you replace in a seawall before it becomes a new wall?

Five percent? Ten? What if the stones are almost twice the size?

That was the subject of debate between commissioners on the Coastal Resources Management Council and a waterfront property owner.

James and Cheryl Chrones own, via a family trust, the last house on Atlantic Avenue in Westerly before the street turns into sandy beach. Like many houses dotting Rhode Island’s shoreline, this one has a 400-foot revetment, a seawall that has existed in some form or another since 1938.

The water in front of the Atlantic Avenue home is designated as Type 1 waters by CRMC; it’s meant for conservation only, and shoreline-hardening structures like seawalls aren’t allowed. It’s why coastal regulators have gone back and forth with the Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown over its illegal seawall.

But there’s a catch: the Chrones’ seawall is grandfathered in because it predates the formation of CRMC by more than three decades. So, while state regulations say they can’t expand it or create a new wall, they are allowed to keep the current one and put in applications to maintain it.

Since 1993, the Chrones have put in seven other, separate CRMC applications for seawall maintenance, including an emergency permit following Superstorm Sandy to replace riprap and repair a concrete patio.

Hitting the beach again to improve public access for Rhode Islanders

Sen. Gu, Rep. Cortvriend introduce legislation to strengthen shoreline access

Photo by Will Collette

Rep. Terri Cortvriend and Sen. Victoria Gu have introduced a trio of bills to protect Rhode Islanders’ access to the shoreline.

“Our coasts, rivers, ponds and lakes are precious resources that make Rhode Island special,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown). “These bills provide the tools necessary to preserve historic foot paths and rights of ways so that every Rhode Islander can enjoy them.”

The three bills would make it easier for both the Coastal Resources Management Council and municipalities to preserve traditional footpaths and shoreline rights of way and to educate tenants of shoreline properties about public shoreline access rights.

Number of new CRMC members to come this year: 7. Number of nominees picked by McKee: Zero

Doing nothing is not a solution

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

From SteveAhlquist.news

Heather Low’s application to serve on the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) opens with a letter crediting her grandfather, a retired Navy veteran and avid boater, and childhood summers spent along the Kickemuit River in Warren, for her lifelong love for fishing and conservation.

Low, 51, of Coventry, has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. She’s active in the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, and, since May 2025, has also served on the CRMC’s Fishermen’s Advisory Board, representing recreational anglers in the agency’s negotiations with offshore wind project developers.

Low wants to join the politically appointed full council to share her perspective as a conservationist and angler.

She sent in her application the day before Thanksgiving. Since then?

“I’ve heard nothing,” Low said in an interview Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the March 1 deadline for Gov. Dan McKee to name seven new members for the state coastal resources panel passed without any appointments or even public mention of prospective candidates. 

Tear down this wall!

CRMC finally moves to enforce its own demands

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council has filed a counterclaim against Quidnessett Country Club, seeking court intervention to force the club to take down a rock wall built without permission along its property line three years ago. (Courtesy of Save the Bay)

More than 100 days after state coastal regulators verbally agreed to crack down on Quidnessett Country Club for failing to remove a rock wall from its shoreline, they’re backing up their words with legal action.

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) filed a counterclaim against the North Kingstown country club in Providence County Superior Court Tuesday. It wants a judge to force the country club to remove the 600-foot stone wall built without permission roughly three years ago. The 17-page filing was submitted in response to one of three lawsuits the country club has filed against the coastal panel in the ongoing dispute over how to restore the shoreline of its property — and whether the wall even needs to be taken down.

The country club initially built the buffer to shield the 14th hole of its signature golf course from coastal erosion, defying state coastal rules that prohibit permanent structures in environmentally sensitive areas. After being caught by state regulators in August 2023, the country club initially sought retroactive permission by arguing for less stringent environmental regulations in the area. 

The politically appointed coastal panel denied the request in January 2024, setting off a debate over how Quidnessett should remove the wall and return the shoreline to its preexisting conditions. All seven plans submitted by Quidnessett were rejected by CRMC staff because they failed to meet coastal requirements.

During the back-and-forth with coastal regulators, Quidnessett turned to the courts, with a trio of lawsuits alleging procedural violations and challenging the legitimacy of the agency’s shoreline restoration requirements.

The country club’s most recent complaint, filed Oct. 23 in Providence County Superior Court, asked a judge to reverse the CRMC’s enforcement order, contending that the dispute should be referred to an administrative hearing officer under the agency’s own guidelines, while labeling coastal regulators’ conditions for the location and slope of a natural barrier to replace the rock wall as “arbitrary and capricious.” 

The agency in its counterclaim denied these allegations, instead pointing to Quidnessett’s defiance despite an escalating series of written and verbal warnings and threats of fines.

CRMC must enforce its own rulings

Two years later: Quidnessett Country Club’s illegal rock wall still stands without enforcement action

SteveAhlquist.news

From a Save The Bay press release:

Today marks two years since the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) issued a cease and desist order requiring Quidnessett Country Club to remove the illegal rock wall they erected without permission on Narragansett Bay. Since the issuance of that order, CRMC’s politically-appointed Council has allowed Quidnessett to retain the unlawful wall, allowing numerous extensions, at the cost of Rhode Islanders’ access to the natural shoreline and local habitats like the beach and salt marsh near the shores of the country club.

“CRMC’s Council is complicit in maintaining this illegal rock wall on the shores of Narragansett Bay,” said Jed Thorp, Director of Advocacy for Save The Bay. “First, the Council entertained a water-type change that would have allowed the Club to keep a massive structure built on the coast without any permits. Then, when that avenue failed, the Council gave the Club multiple extensions to deliver restoration plans that would properly restore the ecosystem to its previous state. Now, a recent appeal filed by Quidnessett in Superior Court will, in effect, grant the Club more time to keep the unpermitted and illegal rock wall. The wall has stood for over two years, constructed by the Club in violation of state and federal law, and to date, with no consequences. It’s time for the Council to stop protecting this private golf course and treat it like any other willful violator of the law–order the Club to rectify the violation, remove the wall, and fully restore the shoreline.”

Save The Bay staff recently visited the illegally erected rock wall site on Narragansett Bay. While there, staff observed local wildlife such as horseshoe crabs and birds that depend on the local habitat for survival, a habitat that has been partially buried under a 20-foot-tall pile of rocks on the shoreline. CRMC’s staff stated in its evaluation of the violation that the massive stone structure could also affect the nesting of the eastern diamondback terrapin, an endangered species. Additionally, the wall deflects wave energy along the wall to neighboring properties–in this case, the salt marsh and sandy beaches–which will increase erosion in those habitats.

Save The Bay continues to advocate for comprehensive CRMC reform, including removing the Council, leaving coastal decision-making to CRMC’s expert staff, and putting a full-time staff attorney in place to ensure that law and science, not politics, guide regulatory decisions.

“We need a coastal agency that will defend our local habitats and natural resources, not violators of the law,” Thorp said. “By maintaining this illegal wall in place, the Council is sending the wrong message to coastal developers that you can build without permits or impunity.”

SteveAhlquist.news is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

CRMC settles one beach access dispute in Westerly

Weekapaug fake fire district road blocks still unresolved.

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

After more than 40 years since it was first given to the state for consideration, coastal regulators have decided to designate a shoreline access point at the end of Everett Avenue in Westerly a state right of way.

The matter had technically been before the Coastal Resources Management Council, the state agency that oversees coastal access, since the late 1970s. According to a report and recommendation authored by CRMC counsel Anthony DeSisto, the agency’s right of way subcommittee held hearings in the fall and winter of 1978 and early 1979.

“The town has made representations that it’s a public street, it’s in the harbor management plan as a public right of way to the shore,” DeSisto said. “You have your dedication and acceptance as subcommittee members heard, the two elements indicating it’s a public right of way.”

During the hearings, the town and members of the public indicated the access point was used as a public right of way (ROW) by local residents, but the full council voted in 1980 to put its designation process on hold to allow abutters opposing the designation process to provide evidence to the contrary. That evidence never materialized, and the ROW issue lay dormant until brought to CRMC’s attention by a town solicitor in Westerly in February.

Long-Term Repair to Charlestown Breachway Begins

Add another $1.4 million to Charlestown's out of pocket cost for climate change damage

Photo by Will Collette

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Town of Charlestown, and the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) announce that a long-term repair project of the Charlestown Breachway will begin in mid-October with the initial mobilization of equipment and materials. 

$8.4M in funding has been allocated for the project, with $5M contributed from a DEM request and allocated by the State through CRMC, $2M from CRMC for dredging, and $1.4M provided by the Town of Charlestown.

The project will restore the Breachways’ structural integrity, improve safe navigation, stabilize the coastline, and preserve essential water flow to maintain ecological balance, and water quality. Granite boulders will be added to raise the western wall, while dredging in Ninigret pond will remove storm-deposited sand to rebuild the beach and dunes. 

These long-term repairs will safeguard coastal infrastructure, the environment, and the community. Construction is expected to be completed by April 2026 ahead of the camping and beach seasons, with vegetation restoration completed by fall of 2026. Learn more about the project and check for updates at: https://charlestownri.gov/breachwayinformation.

Can CRMC Solve Mystery of Who Owns Westerly’s Spring Avenue Extension Right of Way?

Weekapaug fake fire district claims it can block beach access

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

(Rob Smith/ecoRI News)

The public testimony presented in the Town Council chambers last week about a shoreline right of way sounded more like a science fiction novel than democracy in action.

For the first time coastal regulators were on hand to accept comment on the status, history, and local traditions surrounding what’s become the most contentious shoreline access point in recent memory: the Spring Avenue Extension right of way (ROW).

Supporters of shoreline access have identified the ROW as being once owned by the town as recently as the 1940s, with plenty of town residents recalling using the path to Quonachontaug Barrier Beach, also known as Weekapaug Beach, as recently as the 1970s. The town, these advocates allege, owns the right of way and never gave up its rights to the ROW.

On the other side of the issue is the Weekapaug Fire District, which restricts access and excludes the public from the beach during the busy summer session from mid-June to mid-September, as well as private property owners who claim the ROW was never used by the public, and who say the ROW is privately owned.

It’s a paradox, one that officials at the Coastal Resources Management Council aim to solve within the next year. The hearing last week, on a hot Monday evening, was the first in a series of public meetings aimed at soliciting the opinions and views of local residents and Rhode Islanders on how and when the right of way was used.