§ 42-17.1-4. Divisions within department.
Within the department of environmental management there are established the following
divisions:
(1) A division of parks and recreation that shall carry out those functions of the department
relating to the operation and maintenance of parks and recreation areas and the establishment
and maintenance of such additional recreation areas as may from time to time be acquired
and such other functions and duties as may, from time to time, be assigned by the
director;
(2) A division of fish and wildlife management that shall carry out those functions of
the department relating to the administration and management of hunting and freshwater
fishing; the preservation of wetlands, marsh lands, freshwater lakes, streams, ponds,
and wildlife; and such other related functions and duties as may be assigned by the
director;
(3) A division of agriculture that shall carry out those functions of the department relating
to agriculture, and such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned
by the director, including, but not limited to, plant industry, farm viability, marketing
and promotion, farmland ecology and protection, plant and animal health and quarantine,
pesticides, mosquito abatement, pest survey and response, food policy and security,
and, in collaboration with the department of health, public health as it relates to
farm production and direct marketing of farm products, and those agreed upon through
memorandum of agreement with the department of health or other state agencies. The
department of health shall continue to act as the lead agency for all public health
issues in the state pursuant to chapter 1 of title 23. Nothing herein contained shall limit the department of health's statutory authority,
nor shall any provision herein be construed as a limitation upon the statutory authority
of the department of health granted to the department under title 23, nor shall any
provision herein be construed to limit the authority of the department of environmental
management to enter into memoranda of agreement with any governmental agency. The
chief of the division of agriculture shall report directly to the director;
(4) A division of coastal resources that shall carry out those functions of the department
relating to harbors and harbor lines, pilotage, flood control, shore development,
construction of port facilities, and the registration of boats and such other functions
and duties as may, from time to time, be assigned by the director, except that the
division shall not be responsible for the functions of inspection of dams and reservoirs,
approving plans for construction or improvement of dams, reservoirs, and other structures
in non-tidal waters, and the operation of stream-gauging stations in cooperation with
the United States Geological Survey, and provided, further, that the division and
its staff shall be responsible through the director of environmental management to
the coastal resources management council, and the chief and the staff of the division
shall serve as staff to the council;
(5) A division of planning and development that shall carry out those functions of the
department relating to planning, programming, acquisition of land, engineering studies,
and such other studies, as the director may direct, and that shall work with the Rhode
Island board of education, with educational institutions at all levels, and with the
public in the dissemination of information and education relating to natural resources,
and shall perform the publication and public relations functions of the department,
the functions of inspection of dams and reservoirs, approving plans for construction
or improvement of dams, reservoirs, and other structures in non-tidal waters, and
the operation of stream-gauging stations in cooperation with the United States Geological
Survey;
(6) A division of enforcement that shall enforce all of the laws and regulations of the
department and the coastal resources management council, that shall cooperate with
the other enforcement agencies of the state and its municipalities, and that shall
administer all of the policing, enforcing, licensing, registration, and inspection
functions of the department and such other functions and duties as may, from time
to time, be assigned by the director;
(7) A division of forest environment that shall carry out those functions of the department
relating to the administration of forests and natural areas, including programs for
utilization, conservation, forest fire protection, and improvements of these areas;
assisting other agencies and local governments in urban programs relating to trees,
forests, green belts, and environment and such other functions and duties as may,
from time to time, be assigned by the director;
(8)(i) A division of boating safety that shall carry out those functions of the department
relating to the development and administration of a coordinated, safe boating program
in accordance with the Model Safe Boating Act of 1971 as approved by the National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
(ii) Administration of the division of boating safety shall be the responsibility of the
state boating law administrator whose duties shall include:
(A) The enforcement of all laws relating to the act; and
(B) The powers vested in the state boating law administrator and boating safety enforcement
officer shall include the enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations relating to
"Regulation of Boats,� chapter 22 of title 46, and shall also include the power to:
(I) Execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation of laws, rules, and regulations
relating to the act.
(II) Serve subpoenas issued for the trial of all offenses hereunder.
(III) To carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in the course of, and
in performance of, their duties under this chapter.
(IV) To arrest without warrant and on view any person found violating any law, rule, or
regulation relating to the act; take that person before a court having jurisdiction
for trial; detain that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment;
and to make and execute complaints within any district to the justice or clerk of
the court against any person for any of the offenses enumerated under the act committed
within the district.
(V) Boating safety enforcement officers shall not be required to give surety for costs
upon any complaint made by them.
(iii) The development and administration of a coordinated, safe boating program.
(iv) The establishment and enforcement of such rules and regulations as are deemed necessary
to achieve the purposes of the Model Safe Boating Act as approved by the state boating
law administrators.
(v) The state boating law administrator shall serve as the liaison to the United States
Coast Guard; and
(9) A division of marine fisheries management that shall carry out those functions of
the department relating to the administration, management, and harvest of marine animal
and plant species found in Rhode Island marine waters, including, but not limited
to: stock assessments of marine species; harvest of marine species regulated under
a regional federal fisheries management plan; the review of aquaculture applications
before the CRMC; a commercial fishing licensing program; fixing seasons, bag limits,
size limits, possession limits, and methods of taking on any marine plant and animal
species; and such other related functions and duties as may be assigned by the director.