2010 Rhode Island Code
Title 20 Fish and Wildlife
CHAPTER 20-8.1 Shellfish Grounds
§ 20-8.1-4 Factors considered in determining polluted areas.

§ 20-8.1-4 Factors considered in determining polluted areas. – In making a determination that an area is polluted, the director shall take into consideration one or more of the following matters as they apply: the volume of sewage that may affect the area; the dilution of that sewage by clean water; the distance of the area from sources of pollution; the "most probable number" of fecal coliform bacteria found upon examining the water from the area in accordance with the national shellfish sanitation programs manual of operations exceeds 14 per one hundred milliliters (100 ml) of water, for a 3-tube decimal dilution test or exceeds 49 per 100 ml of water for a 3-tube decimal dilution test for more than ten percent (10%) of the samples. The director may declare an area to be polluted in the absence of a "most probable number" of fecal coliforms if the director has evidence that significant volumes of raw sewage or inadequately purified sewage may reach the area. A review of the status of all the area in the state shall be made by the director on at least an annual basis.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 263, § 1; P.L. 1994, ch. 59, § 1.)