Home Economy Economic Activity State lawmakers form 9-member commission to study beach erosion

State lawmakers form 9-member commission to study beach erosion

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PBN Staff

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04/10/2024

THE R.I. HOUSE of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday to form a panel that will study and come up with cost-effective strategies to tackle beach erosion by January. / PBN FILE PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE

PROVIDENCE – A new committee is turning its attention toward the state’s beaches to find solutions for the beach erosion that has been plaguing the Rhode Island shoreline. The House passed a resolution Tuesday to form a panel that will study and recommend cost-effective strategies to tackle beach erosion by January. The nine-member commission will

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PROVIDENCE – A new committee is turning its attention toward the state’s beaches to find solutions for the beach erosion that has been plaguing the Rhode Island shoreline. The House passed a resolution Tuesday to form a panel that will study and recommend cost-effective strategies to tackle beach erosion by January. The nine-member commission will be comprised of four House members appointed by the House speaker, plus the leaders of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council, the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, the New England district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Misquamicut Business Association. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Samuel A. Azzinaro, D-Westerly; Rep. Kathleen Fogarty, D-South Kingstown; Rep. Raymond Hull, D-Providence; Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi, D-South Kingstown; Tina Spears, D-South Kingstown; Terri Cortvriend, D-Portsmouth; Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Newport; Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-South Kingstown; and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton. “We have a serious problem here in the Ocean State because our beaches are eroding at an alarming rate,” Azzinaro said in a news release. “Our coastline and beaches are some of the finest in the world and we have to do everything in our power to protect this incredible asset that brings in millions of dollars in business and tourism every single year.” The resolution notes that Rhode Island has eight state beaches: Charlestown Breachway, East Beach in Charlestown, East Matunuck in South Kingstown, Misquamicut in Westerly, Roger Wheeler, Scarborough North and South. and Salty Brine in Narragansett. It also says potential fixes for the erosion problem include the placement of sand on beaches for the purposes of restoring them for recreation and providing storm protection for upland properties. The resolution says another possible remedy would be dune stabilization techniques that include importing dredged sand from offshore to build up dunes, planting grasses to secure the sand, and installing fencing.