Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 2-1 – Agricultural Functions of Department of Environmental Management


Part 1	General Provisions
Part 2	Freshwater Wetlands
Part 3	Severability

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 2-1 - Agricultural Functions of Department of Environmental Management

Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
agency: means the Rhode Island department of business regulation. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-41-5.01
Airport corporation: means the Rhode Island airport corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 1-2-1
Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
Apprentice irrigator: as used in this chapter , means a person hired to perform all phases of an irrigation project under the supervision of a master irrigation licensee or a licensed journeyperson irrigator for a period of one year. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-4.1
Apprentice plumber: as used in this chapter , means any employee, whose principal occupation is service with a master plumber with a view to learning the art or trade of maintenance, installation, or repair of plumbing, as defined in § 5-20-2. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-5
approaches: means any airport land, airspace, and surfaces as set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration and Code of Federal Regulations in Title Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 77 — Safe, Efficient Use, and Preservation of the Navigable Airspace. See Rhode Island General Laws 1-2-3.1
Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
Bog: means a place where standing or slowly running water is near or at the surface during normal growing season and/or where a vegetational community has over fifty percent (50%) of the ground or water surface covered with sphagnum moss (Sphagnum) and/or where the vegetational community is made up of one or more of, but not limited to nor necessarily including all of, the following: blueberries, and cranberry (Vaccinium), leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), sundews (Droseraceae), orchids (Orchidaceae), white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), red maple (Acer rubrum), black spruce (Picae mariana), bog aster (Aster nemoralis), larch (Laris laricina), bogrosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), azaleas (Rhododendron), laurels (Kalmia), sedges (Caryx), and bog cotton (Eriophorum). See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Buffer: means an area of undeveloped vegetated land adjacent to a freshwater wetland that is to be retained in its natural undisturbed condition, or is to be created to resemble a naturally occurring vegetated area. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Buyer: means a person who buys or contracts to buy goods. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2-103
Commercial unit: means such a unit of goods as by commercial usage is a single whole for purposes of lease and division of which materially impairs its character or value on the market or in use. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
Consumer lease: means a lease that a lessor regularly engaged in the business of leasing or selling makes to a lessee who is an individual and who takes under the lease primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Contract for sale: includes both a present sale of goods and a contract to sell goods at a future time. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2-106
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
Department: means the department of environmental management (DEM). See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
Director: means the director of the department of environmental management or his or her duly authorized agent or agents. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Director: means the executive director of the Rhode Island airport corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 1-2-1
Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
Finance lease: means a lease with respect to which:

(i) The lessor does not select, manufacture, or supply the goods;

(ii) The lessor acquires the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods in connection with the lease; and

(iii) One of the following occurs:

(A) The lessee receives a copy of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods before signing the lease contract;

(B) The lessee's approval of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods is a condition to effectiveness of the lease contract;

(C) The lessee, before signing the lease contract, receives an accurate and complete statement designating the promises and warranties, and any disclaimers of warranties, limitations or modifications of remedies, or liquidated damages, including those of a third party, such as the manufacturer of the goods, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods; or

(D) If the lease is not a consumer lease, the lessor, before the lessee signs the lease contract, informs the lessee in writing (a) of the identity of the person supplying the goods to the lessor, unless the lessee has selected that person and directed the lessor to acquire the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods from that person, (b) that the lessee is entitled under this chapter to the promises and warranties, including those of any third party, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods, and (c) that the lessee may communicate with the person supplying the goods to the lessor and receive an accurate and complete statement of those promises and warranties, including any disclaimers and limitations of them or of remedies. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
Floodplain: means that land area adjacent to a river or stream or other body of flowing water which is, on the average, likely to be covered with flood waters resulting from a one-hundred (100) year frequency storm. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
Freshwater wetlands: includes , but is not limited to, those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration to support, and that under normal circumstances do support a prevalence of vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (§?6A-2. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
Installment lease contract: means a lease contract that authorizes or requires the delivery of goods in separate lots to be separately accepted, even though the lease contract contains a clause "each delivery is a separate lease" or its equivalent. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Journeyperson irrigator: as used in this chapter , means a person who has performed all phases of a project under the supervision of a master irrigation licensee for a period of not less than one year. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-5.1
Journeyperson plumber: as used in this chapter , means any employee, except an apprentice plumber as subsequently defined, whose principal occupation is the installation, maintenance, or repair of plumbing, as defined in § 5-20-2. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-4
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Jurisdictional area: means the following lands and waters, as defined herein except as provided for in § 2-1-22(k), that shall be subject to regulation under this chapter:

(i) Freshwater wetlands;

(ii) Buffers;

(iii) Floodplains;

(iv) Areas subject to storm flowage;

(v) Areas subject to flooding; and

(vi) Contiguous areas that extend outward:

(A) Two hundred feet (200?) from the edge of a river or stream;

(B) Two hundred feet (200?) from the edge of a drinking water supply reservoir; and

(C) One hundred feet (100?) from the edge of all other freshwater wetlands. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
landing field: means any area of land designed and set aside for the approach, landing, and taking off of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the interest of the public for those purposes. See Rhode Island General Laws 1-2-3.1
Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Lease agreement: means the bargain, with respect to the lease, of the lessor and the lessee in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or usage of trade or course of performance as provided in this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this chapter and any other applicable rules of law. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
Lot: means a parcel or a single chapter that is the subject matter of a separate lease or delivery, whether or not it is sufficient to perform the lease contract. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Marsh: means a place wholly or partly within the state where a vegetational community exists in standing or running water during the growing season and/or is made up of one or more of, but not limited to nor necessarily including all of, the following plants or groups of plants: hydrophytic reeds (Phragmites), grasses (Cramineae), mannagrasses (Glyceria), cutgrasses (Leersia), pickerelwoods (Pontederiaceae), sedges (Cyperaceae), rushes (Juncaceae), cattails (Typha), water plantains (Alismataceae), bur-reeds (Sparganiazceae), pondweeds (Zosteraceae), frog's bits (Hydrocharitaceae), arums (Araceae), duckweeds (Lemmaceae), water lilies (Nymphaeceae), water-milfoils (Haloragaceae), water-starworts (Callitrichaeceae), bladder-worts (Utricularia), pipeworts (Eriocaulon), sweet gale (Myrica gale), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Master irrigator: as used in this chapter , means a person who has performed in the capacity of a journeyperson irrigator as defined in Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-3.1
Master plumber: as used in this chapter , means any person who, as an independent contractor, engages in this state in the business of installation, maintenance, or repair of plumbing in the building or upon the premises where that plumbing, as defined in § 5-20-2, is or is to be located, either by contract or agreement with the owner, lessee, tenant, or agent of those premises or building, or who employs one or more journeyperson plumbers, one or more plumber's apprentices or other persons to assist in that installation, maintenance, or repair work or who performs any acts specified in this chapter for performance by a "master plumber. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-3
Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
Plumbing: means :

(i) All fittings, fixtures, appliances, and connections that are located within a building or a structure, or within five feet (5?) of the outer walls of a building or structure and that connect said building or structure, where a person or persons live, work, or assemble, with the source of public or private water supply used or intended for domestic or personal use, as well as any interconnecting piping between buildings or structures;

(ii) All piping, fittings, fixtures, and appliances for a sanitary drainage and related ventilation system, direct or indirect, within that building; and

(iii) Air piping, medical, and laboratory gas systems including, but not limited to, oxygen and nitrous oxide. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20-2
Pond: means a place natural or man-made, wholly or partly within the state, where open-standing or slowly moving water is present for at least six (6) months a year. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
Present value: means the amount as of a date certain of one or more sums payable in the future, discounted to the date certain. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
Purchase: includes taking by sale, lease, mortgage, security interest, pledge, gift, or any other voluntary transaction creating an interest in goods. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
River: means a body of water designated as a perennial stream by the United States Department of Interior geologic survey on 7. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Runway: means that portion of an airport or landing field designed or set aside for use by aircraft in landing, taking off, or taxiing or moving of aircraft on the ground. See Rhode Island General Laws 1-2-3.1
Seller: means a person who sells or contracts to sell goods. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2-103
Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
Stream: means any flowing body of water or watercourse that flows long enough each year to develop and maintain a channel and that may carry groundwater discharge or surface runoff. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See Rhode Island General Laws 6A-2.1-103
Swamp: means a place, wholly or partly within the state, where ground water is near or at the surface of the ground for a significant part of the growing season or runoff water from surface drainage collects frequently and/or where a vegetational community is made up of a significant portion of one or more of, but not limited to nor necessarily including all of, the following: red maple (Acer rubum), elm (Ulmus americana), black spruce (Picea mariana), white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), ashes (Fraximus), poison sumac (Rhus vernix), larch (Larix laricina), spice bush (Lindera benzoin), alders (Alnus), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), hellebore (Veratrum viride), hemlock (Thuja canadensis), sphagnums (Sphagnum), azaleas (Rhododendron), black alder (Ilex verticillata), coast pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), blueberries (Vaccinium), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), willow (Salicaceae), water willow (Decodon verticillatus), tupelo (Nyssa sylbatica), laurels (Kalmia), swamp white oak (Quercus biscolor), or species indicative of marsh. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-1-20
Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.