Providence, RI-- The R.I. House has voted 60-0 to approve the
Smart Development For A Cleaner Bay
Act of 2007. The legislation 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. The legislation was introduced by
Rep. Ray Sullivan (Coventry, West
Greenwich).
“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.”
Runoff
from development, also called stormwater runoff, is a source of bacteria, nitrogen
and phosphorous pollution 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, and eventually into the Bay.
“This
bill whose time has come,” said Matt Auten, Advocate for Environment Rhode
Island. “Encouraging, but not requiring smarter, cleaner 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 and the R.I. House for taking a big step in the right direction.
A
companion bill (S-808) has been introduced in the R.I. Senate by Sen. Paul
Moura (East Providence).
If enacted into law 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.
· Ensure that state, federal and
public agencies implement policies and procedures to comply with the new
requirements and that municipal stormwater ordinances are also updated to meet
the new standards.
