Sustainable Fisheries & Coastal Zoning in Montserrat: Legal & Institutional Assessment of Authorities & Approaches

In February 2015, the Government of Montserrat and the Waitt Institute signed a memorandum of understanding to launch Blue Halo Montserrat, a comprehensive ocean and coastal management project with a goal of sustainable management of Montserrat's ocean and coastal waters. BHM seeks to develop a Montserrat Sustainable Ocean Policy that will ensure long-term health of Montserrat's waters through ocean zoning, protected areas, and fisheries reforms. This Report is an evaluation of Montserrat's laws and institutions to support the design and implementation of a comprehensive ocean zoning and management system in the country as part of the Blue Halo Initiative. The Report identifies existing authorities to achieve a comprehensive ocean zoning system in the waters surrounding Montserrat, evaluates potential options for ocean planning and management implementation, and provides recommendations for ways to develop a comprehensive ocean management system for Montserrat. The Report recognizes that comprehensive ocean management should build from the existing legal system, take pragmatic steps given anticipated capacity and funding, and provide effective incentives and requirements to ensure compliance and long-term sustainability of ocean resources

Climate Change and Dam Owner Liability in Rhode Island

Increasing precipitation associated with climate change is affecting dam operation and hazards in Rhode Island. Flooding caused by increased precipitation or extreme weather events can cause dam failure or upstream or downstream flooding, resulting in loss of life and property. These losses can result in liability, which may vary based on the dam owner and its purpose. This study assists dam owners and the public in understanding the potential liabilities that may arise as a result of flooding from extreme weather events. Section one provides a background of dam hazards in Rhode Island in the context of climate change. Section two introduces the statutory, common law, and constitutional claims that may be brought against a dam owner after a flood. Section three applies these potential liabilities to illustrate how they may apply to different types of dams and dam owners. Section four evaluates Rhode Island law in the context of state laws from the northeast region, focusing on the application of statutory liability, strict liability and negligence standards, and liability for drawdown

Municipal Options to Address Nuisance Flooding of Coastal Highways in Rhode Island

Sea level rise and more powerful storm surges and erosion have increased flooding in low-lying coastal areas of Rhode Island. These impacts affect coastal highways, requiring municipalities to make difficult choices about whether and how to maintain or abandon their infrastructure. This fact sheet helps cities and towns understand their legal duties, options, and potential liabilities when considering the future of threatened coastal infrastructure. By using the information in this fact sheet, municipalities can make informed decisions about the consequences of their infrastructure investments. After providing background on nuisance flooding associated with sea level rise, this fact sheet describes Rhode Island law governing responsibility for maintaining public roads. It then describes law and policy considerations related to the two primary options for addressing highway flooding in the state: elevation and abandonment. Considering the legal issues associated with each of these strategies can help municipalities decide the appropriate course of action in the context of a particular location

Legal Issues Affecting Blue Carbon Projects on Publicly-Owned Coastal Wetlands

Coastal wetlands play an important role in sequestering atmospheric carbon, but these ecosystems are under threat from sea level rise, land use conversion, and other causes. Restoration projects in coastal wetlands can provide a range of benefits for habitat and ecosystems, including by increasing sequestration of “blue carbon.” Coastal wetland restoration projects that effectively sequester carbon and meet the requirements of the voluntary carbon market can generate tradeable carbon offsets, which have a monetary value and can be used to finance all or part of the restoration needed to generate them. Blue carbon offsets thus represent a promising tool to promote effective restoration and maintenance projects on threatened and degraded coastal wetlands. Agencies must be confident that they will not violate the law before they commit to deployment of blue carbon offset projects on public coastal wetlands. Federal, state, and tribal agencies are critical partners in wetlands restoration projects because they control a substantial portion of the nation’s coastal wetlands. However, land management agencies may justifiably worry about violating their legal mandates if they participate in wetland restoration projects funded through blue carbon offsets. In the absence of past models of successful blue carbon offset projects on public lands, and without explicit authorization for this activity, agency staff can benefit from an analytical framework to understand what legal issues may occur in a blue carbon offset project and how to design projects to avoid legal problems to the extent possible. This study begins to provide that framework by identifying legal considerations for blue carbon offset projects on public coastal wetlands. Agencies are faced with the difficult challenge of both complying with all relevant laws and satisfying the conditions necessary to qualify projects for offsets under voluntary standards. Key conditions for offset markets with legal implications include: (i) additionality – the project must actually sequester carbon; (ii) permanence – the project must provide the promised sequestration benefit over a long time period; and (iii) unambiguous ownership – the entity registering the carbon offset must be the only one able to reasonably claim it. Each of these three core conditions may result in potential legal issues when applied to blue carbon-financed restoration projects on public coastal wetlands. Based on an evaluation of representative federal, state, and tribal law, this study divides these legal issues into two broad categories: (i) title and property rights; and (ii) legal authority