By Nancy Lavin — Says coastal regulators violated their own rules when they approved scaled-down scallop farm… The 48-page order from Associate Justice Joseph Montalbano reopens the longstanding battle between acclaimed restaurateur and oyster farmer Perry Raso and nearby property owners, remanding the case back to the council for additional public hearings and consideration. 

By Rob Smith — New legislation (H7996/S3082) proposes to merge the two entities, with CRMC — as the smaller of the two agencies — becoming a bureau within DEM. CRMC’s director would become a deputy director within DEM, and the politically appointed board that oversees the coastal agency would be transformed into an advisory body with little decision-making power.

By Nancy Lavin — Lawmakers keep their cool in marathon last day, mostly avoiding sweeping changes

By Nancy Lavin — 2 high-profile environmental bills get taken down a notch, or two, or three

By Alex Kuffner — When Catherine Robinson Hall was appointed to a seat on the Coastal Resources Management Council in 2022, she represented something different for the powerful state agency that controls development along the Rhode Island shoreline…

By Emily Brennan — Some state legislators want to restructure the council that oversees Rhode Island’s coastline, but there’s a debate over how it should be reformed.

By Alex Kuffner — Attorney General Peter Neronha and others are calling on General Assembly leaders to move forward with legislation that would reform the embattled state agency that regulates coastal development in Rhode Island. 

By Alex Kuffner — …Neronha’s office is working with lawmakers and environmental advocates to try to ensure that more questionable decisions aren’t made by the powerful state agency whose responsibilities range from offshore wind power permitting to climate change planning. 

By Alex Kuffner — Nearly two years ago, with criticism swirling around the Coastal Resources Management Council’s closed-door agreement to allow a contentious marina expansion on Block Island, state legislators had had enough.

By Jonathan Stone OPINION — The R.I. Supreme Court’s rejection of the “settlement” between Champlin’s Marina and the Coastal Resources Management Council should serve as a wake-up call to all Rhode Islanders. The decision makes it clear that the agency’s structure is fundamentally flawed and in need of immediate correction by the governor and General Assembly. Rhode Island’s coastal environment and Rhode Islanders themselves deserve nothing less.

By Rob Smith — Rhode Island residents believe reform is needed for the beleaguered Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), according to public comment solicited by the House study commission on the agency. Members of the public recently submitted more than a dozen oral comments and an avalanche of some 100 correspondences to the study commission, all in support of doing something to reorganize CRMC.

By Sofie Rudin — Rhode Island’s coastal agency followed the law when it went into mediation with a Block Island marina owner. That’s the decision released Thursday by Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear.