Tear down this wall
By Topher Hamblett, Rhode Island Current
Rhode Islanders, do not buy what Quidnessett Country Club is trying to sell you.
The fact is, the North Kingstown country club knowingly and flagrantly broke the law. Now, they are trying to change the rules by asking the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to downgrade protections for Narragansett Bay to keep their illegal wall.
Council members are not required to have expertise in coastal matters, yet seem willing to accommodate the country club despite the recommendations of CRMC’s professional staff to deny their request. In a Sept. 20 memo to the politically appointed council, CRMC’s staff warned of the “potential negative impacts to shoreline lateral access, coastal habitat and marine resources” of such a decision.
CRMC’s professional staff has also taken enforcement actions, including fines and requiring that Quidnessett remove its 600-foot-long rock wall and restore the shoreline and coastal habitats wrecked by the wall. It has been over 400 days since they were issued an order to remove the wall.
Meanwhile, the federal Army Corps of Engineers has issued a notice of violation against the club for illegally filling the intertidal zone of Narragansett Bay.