RI Stormwater Management Rules & Guidance
Stormwater Management, Design, and Installation Rules (250-RICR-150-10-8) are now in effect. The purpose of these 2018 Rules is to recodify the Stormwater Manual into the Rhode Island Code of Regulations format as required by amendments to the Administrative Procedures Act (§ 42-35-5). This recodification followed a standard format used for all state regulations. The RI Stormwater Design and Installation Standards Manual was adopted in December 2010 following the standard rule-making process used by RI DEM and the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). However, the Manual was not written in typical rule format, and a great deal of the Manual is not regulatory and in fact acts as guidance. Only those parts of the original Manual that are regulatory are included in the recodified “RI Stormwater Management, Design and Installation Rules” (“Stormwater Rules”). Regulatory language describes actions that the regulated public must do or must not do. As a result, background information, diagrams, photos, and most of the Appendices are not included in the recodified Stormwater Rules. In recodifying the Manual, the Department preserved the full intent of the original Manual requirements such that there will be no difference in how a stormwater system is designed and installed under the recodified Stormwater Rules. The Stormwater Design and Installation Standards Manual will be maintained as guidance and can still be used to design stormwater systems.
Questions about the Stormwater Manual?
Contact Chuck Horbert at chuck.horbert@dem.ri.gov. For all other questions, email DEM.WaterResources@dem.ri.gov. To schedule a pre-application meeting to discuss a specific project, please contact the Office of Customer and Technical Assistance at (401) 222-6800
DEM and CRMC, in conjunction with the University of Rhode Island, held a series of public training sessions to help acquaint users with the new manual. Further information about the training sessions is available at web.uri.edu/riss/.
January 13, 2011 |
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March 24, 2011 |
In some cases, the certain elements of a Minimum Standard would not be applicable to the single-family residential project or the requirement would be an undue burden compared to the scale and impact of the project. In an effort to reduce the burden of the new regulations on single-family homeowners and encourage land use practices that meet RIDEM's stormwater treatment goals.
Accordingly, both DEM and CRMC have developed Rhode Island Stormwater Management Guidance for Individual Single-Family Residential Lot Development. All applicants may also elect to fully comply with all minimum standards and performance criteria outlined in the RISDISM if they wish, or utilize the RISDISM for further guidance.