STAND. COM. REP. NO. 550

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 560
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, to
which was referred S.B. No. 560 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to define the term
"substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect" in order
to ensure that the long-term incremental degradation of natural
resources is halted.

     The measure also establishes definitions of "baseline",
"resource", and "scenic resource" to further clarify the intent
of Chapter 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to coastal
zone management.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure
from Hawaii's Thousand Friends.  The Department of Business,
Economic Development, and Tourism's Office of Planning and the
Department of Health supported the intent of the measure with
reservations.

     Testimony in opposition to the measure was received from the
City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and
Permitting, the County of Hawaii's Planning Department, and the
Land Use Research Foundation.  The University of Hawaii's
Environmental Center submitted comments.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 550
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     Your Committee finds that the measure proposes to define
"substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect" to
include:

     (1)  Damage or degradation of a unique resource;

     (2)  Damage, degradation to, or loss of, five percent or
          more of a specific resource found in an ahupua`a;

     (3)  Damage, degradation to, or loss of, five percent or
          more of a specific marine resource found within an area
          with a one hundred meter radius; or

     (4)  A five percent increase to the baseline in levels of
          any of the water pollutants, water quality parameters,
          air pollutants, or noise decibel levels as identified
          in administrative rules.

     Based on the testimony from the Department of Health, your
Committee finds that although the concept of clarifying the
State's Coastal Zone Management law is laudable, unilaterally
imposing such specific degradation and percentage classification
standards are unrealistic from an enforcement standpoint.

     Based on this concern, your Committee has amended the
measure by amending the definition of "substantial adverse
environmental or ecological effect" from the specific degradation
and percentage classifications to a determination that public
health or ecological risk assessment methodologies resulted in
actual or predicted findings of significant risk to public health
or ecological resources in specified cases.

     Your Committee believes that the amended measure will
provide more guidance in interpreting and enforcing the state
laws and policies on coastal zone management.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached
to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 560, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 560, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 550
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Water, Land, and
                                   Hawaiian Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair

 
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