PROVIDENCE — Gov. Dan McKee has chosen Barrington resident Michael Reuter to become the latest member of the public to serve on the Coastal Resources Management Council.

If confirmed by the Senate, Reuter would occupy the seat on the council formerly held by Catherine Robinson Hall, a former attorney for the Department of Environmental Management and a coastal policy professor, who resigned last year.

Reuter is a board-certified podiatric surgeon and instructor at Rhode Island and Miriam hospitals, according to a short bio featured on the Brown University Health website. He earned his degree from New York College of Podiatric Medicine and completed his residency at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence.

Reuter is also listed as vice commodore on the board of directors for the Barrington Yacht Club.

Compared to Robinson Hall, Reuter’s environmental background is slim. In his testimony Wednesday evening to members of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee, Reuter cited his years of experience serving on the Barrington Harbor Commission, which deals with shoreline access issues and dock placement.

“I learned a tremendous amount about the rights of way and building around the water,” Reuter said.

Reuter first volunteered to serve on the Harbor Commission in 2014, according to a Barrington Patch article. His resignation from the commission was accepted by the Barrington Town Council on Jan. 8, 2024.

Reuter also told senators he had firsthand experience dealing with coastal regulations. In August 2021, Reuter and his wife bought waterfront property along Mathewson Road in Barrington. A burst heating pipe on the second floor of the home resulted in a flood that required reconstruction of the house.

“I then became a self-educated expert in building rules around the water,” Reuter said. “I had to go before CRMC, and my permit was held up. Not only did I have a displaced family, I was trying to get back into a home which should have been a pretty simple thing, but it got held up for an additional four to six months.”

Committee members voted 8-0 to move Reuter’s nomination for a full vote of the Senate.

If approved by the Senate, Reuter would be the governor’s first appointment to CRMC this year, and the first since longtime council member Donald Gomez resigned in December. CRMC is in desperate need of people to serve on the council, which is the agency’s decision-making body.

Unlike DEM, which empowers a single, appointed executive director to make final decisions, CRMC gives that power to the 10-member council, whose members are free to act as they please, even if it means overriding agency staff.

But the council hasn’t filled its 10-person roster since 2019, and total membership has varied between six and eight council members on average. Since the council is a public body with quorum requirements, a minimum of six members must show up to every meeting for the council to vote final approval on anything.

Quorum issues have plagued the council in recent years, holding up numerous decisions, ranging from final approval of applications to designating new rights of way. The turnaround time for even simple applications can stretch out for years. In 2022 the six-member council didn’t meet for almost three months, from April to late June, leaving half a dozen projects on hold.

It’s one among many issues that have galvanized environmental groups, shoreline access enthusiasts, and lawmakers to push for a complete overhaul of the agency, one that transforms it into a regular state department like DEM with an executive director that makes the final calls on applications.

Save The Bay and the New England chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers emphasized the need for reform during Reuter’s committee hearing. Neither group took a stance on the appointment. Instead, protesting the short turnaround time between Reuter’s nomination and hearing, giving outside groups little time to learn about a new CRMC member.

“I do think that is somewhat of a flaw in the nomination process,” said Jed Thorp, director of advocacy at Save The Bay. “CRMC’s work and these appointments to the council are extremely important.”

The Senate is scheduled to vote on Reuter’s confirmation March 20. The next full meeting of CRMC’s executive body is scheduled for March 25.