While the Smart Development for a Cleaner Bay Act of 2007 percolates through the legislative process, the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council has already taken action to help reduce the amount of stormwater runoff that is finding its way into Narragansett Bay.
Just as the act aims to do statewide, CRMC’s Urban Coastal Greenways regulations now require that low-impact development techniques be used for all redevelopment and development projects in “urban coastal areas.” And that requirement, which applies to waterfronts in Cranston, Providence, Pawtucket and East Providence, is being embraced by developers as well as environmentalists.
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“We haven’t encountered any resistance from any of the large developers we’re working with,” said Jeanne Boyle, director of planning in East Providence.
LID can be done in a variety of ways, with the goal of getting more stormwater to be absorbed into the ground and out of the storm sewer system.
From permeable parking lots, to green roofs (which have four to six inches of soil and plants on the roof to hold water), to simpler techniques such as adding more greenery and eliminating curbs, LID is designed to fight the continuing paving over of the state.
The legislation specifically uses the Land Use 2025 projection that 16 percent of the state will be developed if current building plans are followed over the next two decades as justification for the approach.
“We’re trying to minimize the stormwater getting to the end of [the storm sewer] pipe,” said Jim Boyd, a coastal policy analyst at CRMC. “Not only do you encourage groundwater recharge; you also minimize the amount of stormwater that leaves the site and has to be dealt with at end of pipe. And if you can minimize the amount of stormwater, you could have [fewer] events of combined sewer overflows.”
One reason developers like the requirement is that it uses less land. In an urban area, where land is at a premium, “using a retention pond uses a lot of space,” said Boyle.
And Wenley Ferguson, restoration coordinator at Save the Bay, which used LID techniques when building its Providence Center, emphasized the return to developers.
“The green roof was the most expensive for us, but we did get federal funds for [it]. … But your basic LID doesn’t have to be more expensive,” she said.
“If you’re trying to minimize stormwater runoff, you can get rid of curbing, which will save. Also, if there’s less runoff, the large-design retention basin doesn’t need to be the same capacity, so more of the site can be used by the developer. It’s the common-sense approach to stormwater.”
Boyle added that this also isn’t new to most developers. In fact, for the last two years, she has been seeing developers increasing use of LID techniques.
“With most of the developments we see, the engineers are already using LID technology for stormwater management,” she said, adding that developers in non-waterfront areas are also using those techniques.
Rep. Raymond J. Sullivan Jr., D-Coventry, who sponsored the LID legislation in the House, believes the General Assembly must act now.
“If [stormwater] is not treated or controlled, it does cause pollution to our rivers, our streams and eventually to Narragansett Bay,” he said. “We’re the Ocean State, so we need to take serious steps to make sure we’re protecting these natural resources.”
To further ease the impact on developers, Sullivan said, the LID legislation was adjusted after speaking with the Rhode Island Builders Association and now will not require developers to retain any specific amount of stormwater. Instead, it simply requires that the developers use LID to the maximum extent practical.
“We’re not trying to overly interfere with the way this is working, and we hope folks will be responsible,” Sullivan said.
The CRMC has taken a similar stand. “What we are really doing is getting folks thinking about doing LID,” Boyd said.
