A panel of state coastal regulators whose contentious rulings have already drawn objections is facing new criticism, with vacancies leading to a string of canceled meetings and postponed decisions.
The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council has faced scrutiny in recent years for decisions that some say were determined with politics rather than science in mind. That criticism, mixed with resignations and unfilled positions, has whittled the 10-member group down to seven, making it harder to get the six-person quorum needed to hold a meeting, according to CRMC spokesperson Laura Dwyer.
Nine of 10 council members are unpaid volunteers appointed by the governor, with the 10th spot filled by a representative from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
Three of the eight full council meetings and five of nine subcommittee meetings scheduled since January have been canceled, often due to a lack of a quorum.
That means businesses and property owners looking to expand their oyster farms or boating docks or seeking public access to the coast are left waiting and wondering when their applications will be decided.
CRMC member Jerry Sahagian, a real estate developer and liquor store owner, sympathizes with the small-business owners whose plans have been put in limbo by canceled meetings.
Sahagian says the responsibility to fill open seats lies with the governor, who appoints council members to be confirmed by the Senate. But the scrutiny surrounding the council serves to dissuade new people from volunteering to join.
“Who would want to be part of this group and face all that criticism?” Sahagian said.
Meanwhile, a state legislative panel seeking to reform the Coastal Resources Management Council doesn’t think it can achieve some of its biggest reforms until at least next year.
Topher Hamblett, policy and advocacy director for the nonprofit Save The Bay Inc. who also serves on the House study commission, says the string of canceled meetings is a symptom of the bigger problem of political appointments. Hamblett is among a group of environmental advocates who want to turn the council from a decision-making group into an advisory one. But that kind of “heavy lift” can’t happen until at least next year and also needs federal approvals, according to state Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, who chairs the House study commission.
In the interim, Ruggiero is pushing for some short-term fixes that she thinks can pass this year and will at least act as a bandage to the broken regulation process governing the state’s sprawling coastline. These changes include adding term limits and experience requirements for council members and hiring a full-time hearing officer to rule on enforcement cases.
“We have an opportunity to at least put guardrails in and ensure future decisions are not similar to past decisions,” Ruggiero said during an April 28 meeting of the study commission.
That doesn’t mean other ideas are off the table, but they are just not realistic given the “short runway” before the General Assembly session ends. Also, changes are not in complete control of state officials since they also require approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to Ruggiero, initial conversations with NOAA have suggested the federal agency is “not very supportive” of making the CRMC an advisory group.
That’s not enough to deter Hamblett, who’s used to being patient when it comes to change.
“The most important issues at stake for the environment often take longer than we’d like,” he said.
Update clarifies that nine of the 10 members of the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council are unpaid volunteers appointed by the governor while the 10th is a representative from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.