SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council said Wednesday it will extend the comment period for sections of its Ocean Special Area Management Plan, or SAMP, by a week. Comments are now due July 2.
The SAMP will zone the ocean waters off the coast of Rhode Island for various uses, including identifying primary locations for wind farms.
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During a hearing Tuesday, the Conservation Law Foundation’s Rhode Island chapter requested additional time to review the sections on renewable energy and fisheries resources.
Environmental groups have complained that the CRMC provided inadequate time to review the meaty chapters. The renewable energy chapter is 226 pages long and the fisheries chapter 158 pages.
CRMC spokeswoman Laura Ricketson-Dwyer said the council granted the extension “in the interest of satisfying people as much as possible.”
Ricketson-Dwyer said the extra week would not delay the ultimate approval for the SAMP, which remains on track to be adopted in late summer. The CRMC has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Aug. 24 to review the entire document.
Additional information is available at seagrant.gso.uri.edu/oceansamp.
