§ 2-1-21 - Approval of director.
SECTION 2-1-21
§ 2-1-21 Approval of director. – (a) No person, firm, industry, company, corporation, city, town, municipal orstate agency, fire district, club, nonprofit agency, or other individual orgroup may excavate; drain; fill; place trash, garbage, sewage, highway runoff,drainage ditch effluents, earth, rock, borrow, gravel, sand, clay, peat, orother materials or effluents upon; divert water flows into or out of; dike;dam; divert; change; add to or take from or otherwise alter the character ofany fresh water wetland as defined in § 2-1-20 without first obtaining theapproval of the director of the department of environmental management.
(2) Approval will be denied if in the opinion of the directorgranting of approval would not be in the best public interest. Approval shallnot be granted if the city council or town council of the municipality withinwhose borders the project lies disapproves within the forty-five (45) daysprovided for objections set forth in § 2-1-22. Disapproval does notpreclude the director of the department of environmental management fromgranting an approval of alterations of wetlands relating to a state highwayproject proposed by the department of transportation that passes through orcrosses two (2) or more municipalities.
(3) Appeal from a denial may be made to the superior court.
(4) In the event of any alteration by a city or town ofsurface water impoundments used for drinking water supply, limited tomaintenance within existing boundary perimeters of the impoundment, no approvalshall be required. The city or town advises the director at least twenty (20)days prior to commencing the maintenance work. The city or town shall advisethe director in writing, describing the location and nature of the work,anticipated times of commencement and completion, and methods to be used toreduce adverse impacts on the wetland. The director shall advise the city ortown of any concerns with the impact of the proposed maintenance on the wetlandand water quality.
(b) Whenever a landowner is denied approval to alter awetland by the director, or by the city or town within whose borders thewetland lies under subsection (a), the landowner may elect to have the state,or the city or town, acquire the land involved by petitioning to the superiorcourt. If the court determines that the proposed alteration would notessentially change the natural character of the land, would not be unsuited tothe land in the natural state, and would not injure the rights of others, thecourt shall, upon determining the fair market value of the wetland, based uponits value as a wetland, direct the state, if approval was denied by thedirector, or the city or town, if approval was denied by the city or town, orboth, if they concur in the disapproval, to pay to the landowner the fairmarket value of the wetland. If the state, or the city or town, or both, whereboth are ordered to pay, declines the acquisition, the landowner may proceed toalter the wetland as initially requested. Any amount paid by the state shall bepaid from any funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. If the directorof environmental management alone denied approval under subsection (a), thenthe state shall make payment. If the city or town alone denied approval undersubsection (a), then the city or town shall make payment. If both the state andthe city or town denied approval, then payment shall be shared equally by thestate and the city or town.