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residents of the district about procedures for proper maintenance and operation of dams; to caution residents about the implications for failing to meet accepted dam safety practices; and to
raise funds for the expenses associated with the operation of the DMD. Two DMDs have been created in Rhode Island since the enactment of the statute. The
Boone Lake DMD was created by Exeter in 2007 to collect money for the costs of maintaining and repairing State Dam No. 219 Town of Exeter 2007. The Pascoag ReservoirEcho Lake
DMD was created by Burrillville and Glocester in 2009 to apportion the costs of maintenance and repair among the owners of property within the DMD, which includes Pascoag
ReservoirEcho Lake and the properties which have direct access to the lake Pascoag ReservoirEcho Lake Dam Management District 2010.
4.3.2 Soil Erosion Ordinances
Rhode Island’s Soil Erosion and Sediment Control law § 45-46-5 includes a model ordinance that may be adopted by municipalities where “excessive quantities of soil are eroding
from certain areas that are undergoing development for non-agricultural uses such as housing dev
elopments, industrial areas, recreational facilities, and roads.” When adopted as written, the model ordinance requires a building permit for any activity that disturbs existing vegetation,
grades, and contours of land in a way that increases the potential for soil erosion. To obtain the permit, a project developer must file an erosion and sediment control plan, which includes
proposed measures to control erosion and sediments while the activity is conducted. When approving a plan, a building official may attach conditions which are reasonably necessary to
prevent soil erosion, such as erecting walls, drains, and dams. South Kingstown, Providence, Cranston and Cumberland have passed soil erosion and sediment control ordinances based on the
state model ordinance South Kingston, R.I., Code § 20-58; Providence, R.I., Code § 5-104; Cranston, R.I., Code § 15.28.040; Cumberland, R.I., Code § 20-107. Hydropower construction
activities taking place within these towns require a building permit if they are expected to result in erosion of sediments.
4.4 Non-Governmental Organization Certification: Low Impact Hydropower Institute S
ECTION
S
UMMARY
The Low Impact Hydropower Institute LIHI Hydropower Certification Program is a voluntary nationwide certification program designed to reward and promote
environmentally responsible hydropower facilities. LIHI certification criteria include streamflow, water quality, fish passage and
protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, and recreational resources protection.
The Low Impact Hydropower Institute LIHI Hydropower Certification Program is a voluntary nationwide certification program designed to reward and promote environmentally
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responsible hydropower facilities. LIHI accomplishes this goal by granting a certification to facilities that meet its criteria for low-impact hydropower. As a credible, widely-accepted
standard of hydropower design and operation, the LIHI certification is meant encourage conscientious energy consumers to purchase energy from these facilities in preference over
others. LIHI awards its certification only to those hydropower facilities that have “environmental impacts that are low compared to other hydropower facilities based on objective environmental
criteria LIHI 2011.” Criteria include streamflow, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection,
and recreation resources protection. Facilities that are eligible to apply for LIHI certification include existing hydropower
facilities defined as those facilities operating prior to 1998 and “new” hydropower facilities defined as existing dams that have added or increased power generation capacity after August of
1998. New hydropower facilities are eligible only if their construction did not involve creation of a new dam or impoundment, lead to any adverse changes in water flow, or take place in spite
of a prior recommendation by relevant resource agencies that the dam be removed exceptions are considered if the added or increased capacity resulted in specific measures to improve fish,
wildlife, or water quality protection at the existing dam. In many states, LIHI certification is a requirement to participate in Renewable Energy
Certificate REC markets and there is therefore an economic incentive for facilities to become certified CLF 2010. The only LIHI-certified project currently in Rhode Island is the Pawtucket
No. 2 Small Hydroelectric Project on the Blackstone River, a 1.3-MW facility owned by Pawtucket Hydropower, LLC. The facility has been LIHI-certified since 2004 LIHI 2012.
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5. RESP
