THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            190
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  EXPRESSING SUPPORT BY THE LEGISLATURE FOR THE COASTAL EROSION
    MANAGEMENT PLAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL
    RESOURCES.
 


 1        WHEREAS, coastal erosion in Hawaii has reached alarming
 2   proportions, with many shorelines losing an excess of a foot
 3   per year; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the historical use of seawalls and other
 6   shoreline hardening devices to mitigate coastal erosion and
 7   stop land loss has, in many cases, had the additional impact of
 8   causing beaches to erode by impounding sand behind the wall and
 9   by increasing wave energy in front of the wall and otherwise
10   generally changing the natural environmental character of the
11   shoreline; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, in the past seventy years, almost one fourth of
14   Oahu's natural sandy beaches have been lost or narrowed due to
15   shoreline hardening, and similar losses have occurred on Maui
16   and Kauai; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, given the current trends of rising global sea
19   levels, increased coastal development and continual human
20   impacts to beaches, coastal erosion is expected to continue to
21   be an environmental, societal, cultural, and economic concern
22   in the foreseeable future; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, inappropriate shoreline development has
25   accelerated coastal erosion and beach loss; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, there are a number of alternatives to manage
28   erosion, such as greater shoreline setbacks, purchase by the
29   State of coastal lands, prohibiting coastal developments within
30   known erosion hazard zones, restoring beaches, and controlling
31   erosion by adaptation or strategic redevelopment, or sand
32   nourishment; and
33   
34        WHEREAS, Hawaii needs to find ways to preserve the beaches

 
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 1   and protect public access to the shorelines, as well as
 2   protecting property from erosion, flooding, and wave damage;
 3   and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources
 6   (DLNR) has statutory jurisdiction over coastal areas under
 7   section 171-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the DLNR has a Coastal Lands Program that has
10   developed a coastal erosion management plan (COEMAP) in
11   collaboration with the University of Hawaii Coastal Geology
12   Group; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, COEMAP is constantly being revised to provide a
15   selection of beach management options, erosion management
16   alternatives; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, the Coastal Lands Program continuously solicits
19   public input for COEMAP and goes out into communities to
20   educate the public about beach erosion; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, COEMAP should be adopted by all coastal zone
23   management program agencies and authorities of the counties for
24   beaches under their jurisdiction, and by the State for beaches
25   under its jurisdiction; now, therefore,
26   
27        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
28   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
29   Representatives concurring, that the Legislature expresses its
30   support for COEMAP; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and
33   Natural Resources, be provided with sufficient administrative
34   support and resources to effectively facilitate implementation
35   of COEMAP, including the following activities:
36   
37        (1)  Continue to develop COEMAP;
38   
39        (2)  Educate the public about beach erosion control;
40   
41        (3)  Advise the appropriate county agencies about beach
42             erosion control and coordinate erosion activities

 
 
 
 
 
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 1             with the counties; and
 2   
 3        (4)  Continue to conduct research, along with the
 4             University of Hawaii, in coastal erosion management,
 5             beach restoration, collecting data on erosion
 6             hazards, developing plans to improve degraded coastal
 7             beaches, and identifying sand sources for beach
 8             restoration;
 9   
10   and
11   
12        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
13   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of
14   the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Director of the Office
15   of Planning, and President of the University of Hawaii.
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19                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________