Neronha: CRMC Expedited Jamestown Boatyard Expansion Plan

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has written a sharp letter to the Coastal Resources Management Council alleging that the agency improperly expedited approval of a boatyard expansion plan in Jamestown.

The CRMC on Dec. 31 issued what it called a "final agency decision" authorizing the boatyard's plans, triggering a 30-day appeal period. However, under state law, the permit should have been issued as a draft decision, Nehrona wrote.

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The April 12 letter ripped into the CRMC, charging that its actions "confused and frustrated the public's trust in the structured and formal agency decision-making process designed to protect our environment." Nehrona suggested that the agency seemed eager to OK the expansion of the Jamestown Boatyard while ignoring a law that gives procedural rights to objectors.

The council in various ways ignored the Administrative Procedures Act, Nehrona stated. He opined that the agency rushed things in part because of "a narrow dredging window (Oct. 15-Jan. 31) for the applicant that was closing fast."

Neronha further alleged that the agency failed to support its findings with facts.

Monday's letter sent by Atty. Tricia K. Jedele, Chief of the Environment and Energy Unit, was directed to CRMC chair Jennifer Cervenka via Jeffrey Willis, the agency's executive director.

The CRMC meets Tuesday night. The letter warns the agency to "thoroughly evaluate" their New Year's Eve decision about the Jamestown Boatyard before ratifying it as a final agency order.

Neronha issued a statement to the media saying the process by which regulatory agencies arrive at decisions — and the manner in which they support them — is critical.

"The process must be transparent," he wrote. "The findings of fact underlying an agency decision must be clearly stated in the decision and supported by the record. The failure to do any of these things erodes public trust and confidence, hinders the ability of a court to review agency decisions, and potentially leads to poor decision-making that can irreparably harm Rhode Island’s natural resources."

Nehrona expressed that he is "concerned" by the CRMC's act to allow for the expansion of the Jamestown Boatyard.