For Immediate Release
Media Inquiries To:
Juan Espinoza
401-272-3540 x136 (O); 401-203-3184 (C)
jespinoza@savebay.org
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – May 12, 2026 – Save The Bay welcomes Attorney General Neronha’s lawsuit against Quidnessett Country Club and its contractors for illegally installing a 600-foot unauthorized rock wall in public tidelands without the required state or federal permits. Quidnessett’s unlawful construction, in and along the tidelands of Narragansett Bay, blocks public access and continues to present a significant threat to the coastal ecosystem. Save The Bay applauds the Attorney General’s Office for aggressively seeking not only restoration of the coastal environment, but also punitive damages on behalf of all Rhode Islanders for the harm to the state’s public resources, including increasing coastal erosion, impairing the water quality and impeding access to the shore.
“Quidnessett Country Club thought it was above the law when it buried a portion of our state’s coastal resources under a pile of rocks the length of two football fields. Rhode Island’s coastal laws are for all Rhode Islanders – there is no special exception for Quidnessett Country Club,” stated Topher Hamblett, Executive Director of Save The Bay. “The Attorney General‘s lawsuit rightly and fairly aims to hold the Club and its contractors accountable for its knowing and unlawful violation.”
Despite voting last June to order Quidnessett Country Club to restore the shoreline to its prior condition, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council has failed to vigorously defend its order to restore the coastal environment. The Council has allowed the case to languish in the courts and, as a result, has allowed damage to the shoreline to continue unabated. The CRMC Council’s indifferent approach to resolving an ongoing, blatant violation by a private party that believes it is above the law, undermines the public’s trust in our state government to protect our coastal resources.
“The Council’s failures on Quidnessett only amplify the urgency for the General Assembly to pass legislation, this session, that merges CRMC into the Department of Environmental Management and abolishes the Council once and for all,” added Hamblett.
Bills introduced by Senator Mark McKenney and Representative Jay Edwards (S3082/H7996) will improve transparency, accountability and fairness in Rhode Island’s coastal program.
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About Save The Bay
Founded in 1970, the Rhode Island-based nonprofit Save The Bay seeks to protect and improve Narragansett Bay and its 1,705-square-mile watershed. The organization works to achieve its vision of a fully swimmable, fishable Narragansett Bay, accessible to all, through its advocacy, education, and habitat restoration and adaptation work. Learn more about Save The Bay at www.savebay.org.