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Chapter 3. Hydropower Rhode Island Renewable Energy Siting Partnership
4.2 Rhode Island Regulations S
ECTION
S
UMMARY
Rhode Island Water Quality Regulations require new uses of stream water and groundwater to obtain a permit from RIDEM if they include withdrawals of more
than 10,000 gallons of water per day. The R.I. Freshwater Wetlands Act may apply to hydropower projects located near
wetlands, particularly where a wetland is present as a result of the impoundment created by the dam that will support hydropower. This Act requires project
owners to solicit a wetlands permit from RIDEM. Rhode Island Fish and Wildlife legislation authorizes RIDEM to construct
fishways around and through existing dams in the state. Dam owners are required to cooperate with RIDEM in this endeavor.
Rhode Island legislation on Inspection of Dams and Reservoirs authorizes RIDEM to inspect every dam in Rhode Island for safety. If RIDEM finds a dam to
be unsafe i.e., if there is reasonable cause to believe it poses a danger to life or property, then RIDEM has the authority to require alterations to the dam to
minimize risk.
New hydropower facilities fall under the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council CRMC if they are within 200 ft 61 meters of
any coastal feature or if they produce over 40 MW of electricity anywhere within the state. Facilities in these categories must comply with the Coastal Resource
Management Program also known as the “Redbook” and any applicable Special Area Management Plans SAMPs.
In recent years, the state of Rhode Island has established a variety of incentives to spur the development of renewable energy in the state. The most significant is the
Renewable Energy Standard, which guarantees a market for renewable energy by requiring electrical distribution companies to purchase a certain percentage of
energy from renewable sources each year.
4.2.1 RIDEM Water Diversion Permit
RIDEM authority over projects involving water diversions stems from the Water Pollution Control Act R.I. Gen. Laws 46-12 and its associated Water Quality Regulations, and
from the Freshwater Wetlands Act R.I. Gen. Laws 2-1-18 et seq.. The Water Pollution Control Act is the enabling legislation for State authority over water resources with regards to pollution,
and designates RIDEM as the permit-granting authority overseeing discharge of pollutants as regulated by the Clean Water Act 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island
Water Quality Regulations of 2006 “provide for the protection of the surface waters from pollutants so that the waters shall, where attainable, be fishable and swimmable, be available for
all designated uses, taking into consideration their use and value for public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, recreational purposes, and also taking into consideration their
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Chapter 3. Hydropower Rhode Island Renewable Energy Siting Partnership
use and value for navigation, and thus assure protection of the public health, safety, welfare, a healthy economy and the environment.”
RIDEM evaluates applications for water diversion permits by using a Streamflow Depletion Methodology SDM. The SDM is a tool that calculates “the volume of water that can
be extracted from a stream whether as direct stream withdrawals or indirect groundwater withdrawals while still leaving sufficient flow to maintain habitat conditions essential to a
healthy aquatic ecosystem RIDEM 2010b.” Under this methodology, RIDEM calculates allowable water depletions from streams and groundwater according to the natural and human
needs and influences within each watershed. New uses of stream water and groundwater are required to consult with RIDEM about obtaining a permit if they represent withdrawals of more
than 10,000 gallons of water per day. RIDEM issues a permit only if the project is determined to leave “enough remaining capacity in the net available streamflow depletion to accommodate the
proposed withdrawal.” Permit requirements for hydropower projects will vary on a case by case basis and depend on both the size of the streamflow diversion resulting from a project and the
streamflow requirements of the watershed.
4.2.2 Wetlands Permit
