As Tiverton continues to debate the right of oyster farmers versus the use of open waters for recreational purposes, Sakonnet-area legislators have submitted a bill that would make aquaculture off limits within 1,000 feet of the median high tide line.

House of Representatives bill H8244 was submitted at the request of the Tiverton Town Council by Rep. John G. Edwards (District 70), and is co-sponsored by Rep. Michelle McGaw (District 71), Terri Cortvriend (District 72) and Marvin Abney (District 73). It was expected to be heard by the House Corporations Committee Tuesday.

If passed into law, the bill would create a 1,000-foot shoreline setback, or buffer zone, where aquaculture operations such as oyster farms would be prohibited.

The issue is pertinent to Tiverton, where Rep. Edwards resides. For the past year, opponents of a proposed oyster farm at Seapowet Avenue have vocally protested a plan by Little Compton brothers Patrick and John Bowen, who have applied to the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to lease a small area just southwest of the Seapowet bridge.

Save Seapowet, a grassroots organization formed last summer, sent out an e-mail blast this week informing members that the bill was coming to committee:

"We thank (the signors) for sponsoring this bill," Save Seapowet wrote. It "is a first step to prevent situations like the proposed oyster farm from being placed in locations like the Seapowet Marsh, where there is extensive recreational use by the public."

On Monday, the Bowens said they have multiple issues with the bill, and its "arbitrary" 1,000-foot setback requirement "begs the question of whom the intended beneficiaries of this legislation would be."

"It seems only to benefit waterfront property owners," they wrote. "It does not seem to be based on any scientific data or research."

Of the 84 aquaculture leases in Rhode Island waters, they noted, only two would comply with the proposed legislation.

"This bill would be a self-inflicted wound" that would limit economic development and negate the environmental benefits of oyster farming, the Bowens wrote in an e-mail to the Times.

"This bill is anti-farming, anti-working waterfront and runs contrary to the traditional and historic use of much of Rhode Island's coastal waters."

There is still some uncertainty whether the bill, if passed into law, would affect pre-existing farms and those that are currently before the CRMC. On Monday, Rep. McGaw said that's a question she wants answered, and "I have asked for clarification as to what will happen with current applications. I expect some of that will be discussed."

The legislation was submitted following the passage of a resolution by the Tiverton Town Council in late April. That resolution, written by councilor Donna Cook, states that while the Town of Tiverton "understands the needs to accommodate aquaculture and other uses of Tiverton's coastal waters," the town nevertheless "wishes to reduce conflicting use of public waters, protect the rights of the public to access and use the state's waters as guaranteed by the Public Trust, and protect the rights of riparian landowners."

Therefore, the resolution reads, Tiverton asks the legislature "to develop and pass legislation that minimizes conflicting uses of Narragansett Bay coastal waters but still allows for aquaculture" outside of the 1,000-foot buffer zone.

"This approach will help Tiverton and other Narragansett Bay communities to balance public waters with commercial use and create more specific guidelines for the CRMC and future aquaculture farms."

In their note to the Times, the Bowens said they believe that multiple interests "can coexist" on the waterfront, and there is room enough for both commercial and recreational interests.

"We hope the General Assembly and the State of Rhode Island will realize the short-sighted nature of this proposed legislation," they wrote.

In the meantime, "we look forward to the opportunity to express our disappointment with Representatives Edwards, McGaw, Cortrivriend and Abney, and to question the constituency they serve; seasonal waterfront property owners or hard working Rhode Island farmers."