Coastal agency urges investment in dredge disposal cells, flags staff limits for rising offshore work

The director of the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) told the Senate Finance Committee that rising sea levels, more frequent storms and pending navigation projects require the state to invest in new confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cells to manage contaminated dredge material.

Director Wills explained the Army Corps’ planned Providence River dredging will produce material with chemical contaminants unsuitable for open‑water disposal; the preferred long‑term management approach is to place those materials into engineered CAD cells near Fields Point. The state would cost‑share construction and then manage the site for future disposal needs, the director said.

CRMC uses NOAA’s intermediate sea‑level projections and a suite of mapping tools to require applicants to evaluate future flood and storm impacts at the end of a 30‑year mortgage horizon. Wills walked senators through the agency’s “storm tools” visuals and said applicants are asked to consider long‑term erosion and higher storm frequency when proposing shore development.

Offshore wind and fisheries: Wills told the committee CRMC reviews projects in federal waters when those projects could affect Rhode Island coastal resources — particularly commercial fishing and habitat. When impacts cannot be avoided, CRMC requires mitigation or compensation; the council works with the fishing community on how compensation funds are administered.

Advisory board and staffing strain: Wills also said the council’s Fishermen’s Advisory Board resigned en masse following the Ørsted Sunrise project reviews at the end of 2023; CRMC spent 2024 recruiting replacements and will ratify a new advisory board at its next full meeting. The director said CRMC currently has three to four staff assigned to offshore wind project review but ideally would assign that team to a single project at a time; multiple concurrent federal project reviews are stretching agency capacity.

Dredging and Port Edgewood: Wills said upper‑bay CAD cells have reached capacity and the state’s capital budget request includes funds to help design and build replacement capacity; the material expected for disposal is distinct from cleaner port sediments that can be used to cap contaminated fills over time. The director emphasized that the Army Corps will implement the dredge but that CRMC’s cost share and long‑term management role are central to ensuring safe disposal and future port uses.

Committee questions focused on CRMC’s review timeline for emergency projects — such as replacement of the Washington Bridge — and on the health of the Fishermen’s Advisory Board. Wills said emergency permitting priorities have been assigned to expedite DOT coordination and that the new advisory board nominations would be brought to the council for ratification the following week.

CRMC asked senators to consider staff capacity and capital funding tied to dredge disposal as part of the FY26 deliberations. Several witnesses who followed the director’s presentation later urged the committee to increase CRMC staffing to address permitting backlogs and permit review times.

Speakers quoted in this account are listed in the article registry below; direct quotes are verbatim from CRMC testimony.