§ 46-23.4-3. Statewide coastal resilience plan.
(a) The Rhode Island statewide climate change resilience strategy shall include a coastal
resilience plan that recommends a specific long-term and short-term strategy for climate
change resilience and adaptation in the coastal areas of the state including, but
not limited to, tidal and non-tidal waters, waterfronts, and inland areas along the
coast.
(b) The statewide coastal resilience plan shall include at a minimum:
(1) All necessary information and assessments required by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) advanced mitigation plans that will allow Rhode Island to apply for
federal funding for coastal resilience preparedness;
(2) An assessment of the vulnerabilities of communities located within the coastal areas
to climate change effects such as rising sea levels, increased flooding, and tidal
and storm surge flooding anticipated by the year 2050, including physical, economic,
and social vulnerabilities including, but not limited to:
(i) Power infrastructure;
(ii) Water and sewage infrastructure including water and sewage treatment facilities and
private wells and septic systems;
(iii) Stormwater drainage;
(iv) Existing hard infrastructure such as seawalls, tidal gates, dams, roads, and bridges;
and
(v) Emergency and shelter facilities;
(3) Comprehensive and detailed information of the investments that the state, along with
the federal government, local governments, and other organizations, have made or committed
to make in building the resilience of coastal communities, planning guidance and assistance,
and other resilience and adaptation measures;
(4) A recommendation of methodologies for decision-making for further investment of state
or federal funds in constructing additional hard or nature-based resilience structures
to prevent or mitigate impacts of climate change, or in adopting other resilience
or adaptation strategies;
(5) A detailed analysis that includes assessment of highest, immediate, and long-term
risks to the coastal regions; and
(6) A comprehensive list of any recommendations for actions to be taken by the state to
prepare coastal communities to plan, mitigate, and adapt to the anticipated impacts
of climate change including, but not limited to, stormwater drainage, hard infrastructure,
nature-based solutions, relocation, and retreat strategies and for financing strategies
to fund the recommended resilience and adaptation measures.
(c) The statewide coastal resilience plan shall be updated as necessary and shall be reviewed
at least every two (2) years, beginning October 1, 2027, by the CRO.