256
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER TO
    CONVENE AN ADVISORY TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE VARIOUS
    PROPOSALS INTRODUCED DURING THE REGULAR SESSION OF 1999,
    TO REMEDY PERCEIVED DEFICIENCIES IN THE REQUIREMENTS AND
    PROCEDURES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS LAW.



 1        WHEREAS, the requirements and procedures for performing
 2   environmental assessments and environmental impact statements,
 3   which are established in chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes
 4   (environmental impact statements), are essential for preserving
 5   Hawaii's unique natural environment and cultural resources; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, several proposals were introduced during the
 8   Regular Session of 1999, which attempted to remedy perceived
 9   deficiencies in these requirements and procedures, including
10   proposals to:
11   
12        (1)  Repeal the individual actions described in section
13             343-5(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which presently
14             trigger the preparation of an environmental
15             assessment; and require the preparation of an
16             environmental assessment for the issuance of any
17             state or county permit not otherwise declared exempt
18             under section 343-6(a)(7), Hawaii Revised Statutes;
19   
20        (2)  Extend the amount of time available for public review
21             of and comment on environmental assessments for which
22             a finding of no significant impact is anticipated;
23             and extend the amount of time available for public
24             review of and comment on environmental impact
25             statements, whether for agency or applicant proposed
26             actions (House Bill No. 942, H.D. 1);
27   
28        (3)  Require environmental assessments and environmental
29             impact statements to consider the adverse effects of
30             proposed actions on cultural practices within a
31             community and the State (House Bill No. 577, Proposed
32             H.D. 1); and
33   
34        (4)  Require the preparation of an environmental
35             assessment for any proposed use of land when the use

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        


 1             is subject to discretionary approval by a state or
 2             county agency (House Bill No. 207);
 3   
 4   and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that more deliberate
 7   discussions among the interested parties during the interim
 8   period would help the Legislature and these parties to fully
 9   understand the implications of these and other proposals; and
10   
11        WHEREAS, section 341-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires
12   the University of Hawaii Environmental Center to stimulate,
13   expand, and coordinate education, research, and service efforts
14   of the university related to ecological relationships, natural
15   resources, and environmental quality, with special relation to
16   human needs and social institutions, particularly with regard
17   to the State; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii Environmental Center has
20   already performed two comprehensive and extremely useful
21   reviews of chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, involving
22   parties who represent--at times--competing and antagonistic
23   interests with respect to environmental concerns and human
24   impacts on environmental quality; now, therefore,
25   
26        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
27   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
28   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii
29   Environmental Center is requested to convene an advisory task
30   force to study the various proposals introduced during the
31   Regular Session of 1999, to remedy perceived deficiencies in
32   the requirements and procedures of the environmental impact
33   statements law; and
34   
35        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this advisory task force is
36   requested to include representatives from the Office of
37   Environmental Quality Control, the Environmental Council, the
38   Department of Health, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the
39   Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Land Use Research Foundation,
40   the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, environmental
41   organizations, and community groups; county, state, and federal
42   agencies; the Chairperson of the Energy and Environmental
43   Protection Committee of the House of Representatives; the

 
 
 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        


 1   Chairperson of the Labor and Environment Committee of the
 2   Senate; and other persons selected at the discretion of the
 3   Director of the Environmental Center; and
 4   
 5        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii
 6   Environmental Center is requested to submit its findings and
 7   recommendations to the Legislature not less than twenty days
 8   prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
 9   
10        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
11   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
12   Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, the President of
13   the University of Hawaii, and the Director of the Environmental
14   Center.
15 
16 
17 
18                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________