§ 46-23.3-4. Establishment — The Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience fund.
(a) Establishment. There is established within the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the Ocean State
Climate Adaptation and Resilience fund (the "OSCAR fund�).
(b) Financing. The fund shall consist of the following sources:
(1) Sums the general assembly may appropriate;
(2) Monies received from federal, state, or other sources, including bond funds, for
the purposes of the OSCAR fund;
(3) Monies received from any private donor for the OSCAR fund; and
(4) Any interest earned on the monies in the fund.
(c) Allocation of OSCAR funds. OSCAR funds shall be used to carry out the purposes of this chapter as follows:
(1) The administrative expenses required to carry out the activities of the program as
described in this chapter shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) each for
the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, coastal resources management council, and the
department of environmental management annually, which sum shall not include the cost
of issuing bonds or notes, if any. The department and the council shall be responsible
for submitting annual budget requests for its administrative and implementation costs
of the program to the bank;
(2) The planning, design, engineering, construction, and monitoring of adaptation and
resilience projects as defined in this chapter; and
(3) The OSCAR projects approved by the department and the council upon recommendation
of the technical advisory committee. Only grants approved through the process established
by the department and council shall be eligible for funding under this program. Subject
to the availability of funds in the OSCAR fund, the bank shall award funding upon
receipt of written approval of the department and council.
(d) OSCAR fund grants. Factors to be taken into consideration by the technical advisory committee for the
purposes of granting monies to municipalities and the state for OSCAR grants, for
determining the eligibility of projects for financial assistance, and in prioritizing
the selection of projects by the technical committee shall include, but need not be
limited to:
(1) Consistency with the following where applicable: the council's most recent projections
for sea level rise, the coastal habitat restoration strategy, the state nonpoint source
pollution control plan; and other applicable state and federal laws;
(2) The ability and authority of the applicant to carry out and properly maintain the
adaptation and resilience project;
(3) Whether the project will enhance public access to public land;
(4) The severity to, or the risk and/or extent of, infrastructure degradation on public
land;
(5) The extent of the use by the public of the public land;
(6) The proposed milestones to ensure that the project is completed as designed and approved;
(7) Whether the adaptation and resilience project can also be shown to create or replace
habitat losses that benefit fish and wildlife resources;
(8) Potential water quality improvements;
(9) Potential improvements to fish and wildlife habitats for species that are identified
as rare or endangered by the Rhode Island natural history survey or the Federal Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.;
(10) The level and extent of collaboration by partners (e.g., municipality, nongovernment
organization, watershed council, federal agency, etc.); and
(11) Overall potential benefits to the public and estimated length of time frame of benefit.