T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation4.14 Coastal ResourcesThis section describes coastal resources within the T.F. Green Airport Project Area.4.14.1 MethodologyCoastal areas have been evaluated through the analyses performed under other resource categories discussedpreviously (Section 4.9, Wetlands and Waterways, Section 4.10, Water Quality, Section 4.11 Fish, Wildlife and Plants,Section 4.12, Federal Threatened and Endangered Species, and Section 4.13, Floodplains).4.14.1.1 Coastal Resources Study AreaCoastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) jurisdiction extends beyond the Study Area. Figure 4-31 depicts theProject and Study Areas, federally designated Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS) resources, and the RhodeIsland Coastal Resources Management Council (RICRMC) Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs)boundaries.4.14.2 Affected EnvironmentThis section describes coastal barriers and zones within the Project Area.4.14.2.1 Coastal BarriersUnder the Coastal Barriers Resource Act (CBRA), the USFWS was tasked with the preparation of maps depictingareas designated for protection. The John H. Chafee CBRS includes all areas designated for protection under theCBRA. The Project Area does not contain any coastal barriers mapped in the John H. Chafee CBRS.Five coastal areas included in the John H. Chafee CBRS and designated for protection under the CBRA occuroutside of the Project Area (Figure 4-31). Bakers Creek, Brush Neck/Buttonwoods Cove, Mill Cove,Occupasstuxet Cove and Passeonkquis Cove are designated CBRS areas. 245 Two of these, Buttonwoods Coveand Mill Cove, are down gradient of the Airport.4.14.2.2 Rhode Island Coastal ZoneRhode Island’s Coastal Zone includes the entire state; however, the inland extent of the regulatory authority ofthe RICRMC is 200 feet inland from any coastal feature. 246 RICRMC defines the Coastal Zone as “the areaencompassed within the state’s seaward jurisdiction (three miles) to the inland boundaries of the state’s21 coastal communities.” Within these communities, RICRMC exercises its federal consistency requirement overdirect federal activities or federally sponsored activities which are reasonably likely to affect any coastal use orresource within the RICRMC’s jurisdictional area (Figure 4-32).In some areas, RICRMC jurisdiction is expanded to include those areas within the watershed boundaries ofcertain coastal estuaries. These watershed areas are regulated under SAMPs. RICRMC SAMPs have beenprepared for the Salt Pond Region, Providence Harbor, Metro Bay, Pawcatuck River, Narrow River, Aquidneck245 Map of the Prudence Island Complex Unit D02B. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. October 24, 1990, revised July 12, 1996.246 U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean and Coastal Resource Management,www.coastalmanagement.noaa.gov.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-70 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc