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News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: September 17, 2009
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402

SHELLFISH AREA ‘A’ IN UPPER NARRAGANSETT BAY TO RE-OPEN THREE DAYS EARLY AS A RESULT OF ACCEPTABLE POST-STORM MONITORING DATA
Shellfishing Area Will Re-open at Sunrise on Friday, September 18

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that Conditional Area A in upper Narragansett Bay will re-open to shellfishing beginning at sunrise Friday, September 18, three days earlier than the scheduled September 21st re-opening. The area has been closed to shellfishing since noon on Saturday, September 12 following the rain that fell beginning late Friday night into Sunday. Conditional Area B has remained open due to the fact that the threshold of one inch of rain within a 24-hour period was not exceeded.

The "early" opening is possible due to operation of Narragansett Bay Commission's Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) tunnel, which went on line in November 2008, and an agreement reached between DEM and US FDA which allows DEM to re-open Conditional Areas A & B to shellfish harvesting as soon as post storm monitoring data demonstrates it is safe to do so. DEM developed this plan to expedite the benefits associated with the tremendous investment in construction of NBC's Phase I CSO storage tunnel.

Under this plan, DEM continues to enact a seven-day closure of the shellfish Conditional Area A after a half-inch of rainfall and Conditional Area B after an inch of rainfall; however, as conditions allow, DEM uses post-storm monitoring data and operational information to determine whether these areas can be opened earlier.

DEM maintains a 24-hour shellfishing hotline with recorded updated information on shellfish closure areas. That number is 222-2900.

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