Implementation

FEDERAL ADOPTION PROCESS

The Ocean SAMP sets out policies and recommendations for the protection and management of the state’s natural wildlife and human activities (including offshore renewable energy), based on an extensive body of research. Because the Ocean SAMP study area extends into federal waters, Rhode Island applied the federal consistency provisions within the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (16 USC SS 1451-1465) to extend the applicability of the Ocean SAMP to activities in federal waters and neighboring state waters as well. Federal consistency is the CZMA provision that federal actions that have reasonably foreseeable effects on any land or water use or natural resource of the coastal zone should be consistent with the enforceable policies of a coastal state’s federally approved program. To ensure that the Ocean SAMP is the principle management document for the entire study area, Rhode Island, with leadership from CRMC and technical support from URI, completed the following steps:

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For more detail on the federal adoption process see: http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/oceansamp/pdf/documents/about_adoptionprocess.pdf.