In the wee hours of the final day of the legislative session, the Rhode Island
General Assembly voted to approve the Smart
Development for a Cleaner Bay Act of 2007.
The Smart Development for a Cleaner Bay
Act of 2007, H-6143 (Sullivan-
Coventry, West Greenwich) & S-808 (Moura- East Providence) will raise
Rhode Island’s runoff standards for new
development and redevelopment projects, to better protect the Bay and Rhode Island’s lakes,
rivers and streams from pollution.
“You can’t overstate
the importance of protecting the quality of the water in our rivers, reservoirs
and the Bay,” said Rep. Sullivan. “We can’t live without clean water, so it has
to be a consideration whenever land is developed. This legislation will ensure
that developers take advantage of the latest techniques to keep pollution from
stormwater runoff from entering the watershed.”
“We need to take every necessary step to preserve
Rhode Island’s
waterways, and that includes requiring developers to employ the most
environmentally-friendly methods of development,” said Sen. Moura. “With
several waterfront development projects being proposed in East Providence in the
coming years, I’m very committed to ensuring that the purity and beauty of our
waterfront is protected.”
Runoff from
development, also called stormwater runoff, is a source of bacteria, nitrogen
and phosphorous in Narragansett Bay and other
waterways throughout the state. Stormwater runoff also carries harmful
chemicals and other toxins into Rhode
Island’s rivers and streams.
“This bill whose time has come,” said Matt Auten,
Advocate for Environment Rhode Island. “Encouraging, but not requiring,
smarter development practices is no longer enough to protect the Bay,
or our rivers and streams from pollution. Now is the time to require
smarter development in Rhode Island and Environment Rhode Island
applauds Rep. Sullivan, Sen. Moura and the General Assembly for taking
a big step in the right direction.”
The Smart Development For A Cleaner Bay Act of 2007
would:
· Require modern
low-impact site design techniques to be used as the primary method to manage
stormwater.
· Prevent new
runoff pollution and help maintain Rhode Island’s natural water cycle and supply
system by requiring pre-development groundwater recharge to be maintained
on-site.
