REPORT TITLE:
Habitat conservation 


DESCRIPTION:
Amends habitat conservation law to conform to federal
regulations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2719
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO HABITAT CONSERVATION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that amendments to chapter
 
 2 195D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, are needed to bring the Hawaii
 
 3 state law closer into conformity with current federal regulations
 
 4 regarding habitat conservation plans and safe harbor agreements.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Section 195D-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
 
 7      "(d)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
 
 8 board shall suspend or revoke the approval of any habitat
 
 9 conservation plan approved under this section if the board
 
10 determines that:
 
11      (1)  Any parties to the plan, or their successors, have
 
12           breached their obligations under the plan or under any
 
13           agreement implementing the plan and have failed to cure
 
14           the breach in a timely manner, and the effect of the
 
15           breach is to diminish the likelihood that the plan will
 
16           achieve its goals within the time frames or in the
 
17           manner set forth in the plan; [or]
 
18      (2)  The plan no longer has the funding source specified in
 
19           subsection (a) or another sufficient funding source to
 

 
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 1           ensure the measures or actions specified in subsection
 
 2           (b) are undertaken in accordance with this section[.];
 
 3           or
 
 4      (3)  Continuation of the permitted activity is likely to
 
 5           appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival or
 
 6           recovery in the wild of any threatened or endangered
 
 7           species."
 
 8      SECTION 3.  Section 195D-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
10      "(c)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
 
11 board shall suspend or rescind any safe harbor agreement approved
 
12 under this section if the board determines that:
 
13      (1)  Any parties to the safe harbor agreement, or their
 
14           successors, have breached their obligations under the
 
15           safe harbor agreement or under any other agreement
 
16           implementing the safe harbor agreement and have failed
 
17           to cure the breach in a timely manner, and the effect
 
18           of the breach is to diminish the likelihood that the
 
19           agreement will achieve its goals within the time frames
 
20           or in the manner set forth in the agreement; [or]
 
21      (2)  To the extent that funding is or will be required, the
 
22           funding source specified in subsection (b) no longer
 
23           exists and is not replaced by another sufficient
 

 
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 1           funding source to ensure that the measures or actions
 
 2           specified in subsection (b) are undertaken in
 
 3           accordance with this section[.]; or
 
 4      (3)  Continuation of the permitted activity is likely to
 
 5           appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival or
 
 6           recovery in the wild of any threatened or endangered
 
 7           species."
 
 8      SECTION 4.  Section 195D-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
10      "(a)  After approval of a habitat conservation plan or safe
 
11 harbor agreement, or issuance of an incidental take license
 
12 pursuant to this chapter, no agencies or departments of the
 
13 State, in order to protect a threatened or endangered species,
 
14 may impose any new requirements or conditions on, or modify any
 
15 existing requirements or conditions applicable to, a landowner or
 
16 successor to the landowner, to mitigate or compensate for changes
 
17 in the conditions or circumstances of any species or ecosystem,
 
18 natural community, or habitat covered by the plan, agreement, or
 
19 license unless:
 
20      (1)  The landowner, or the landowner's successor, expressly
 
21           consents to the requirement, condition, or
 
22           modification;
 
23      (2)  The board has found, in accordance with those special
 

 
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 1           procedures agreed to by the board and the landowner, or
 
 2           in the absence of any special procedures, in accordance
 
 3           with those procedures that govern the findings
 
 4           generally, that:
 
 5           (A)  The requirement, condition, or modification does
 
 6                not impose any additional restriction on any
 
 7                parcel of land or body of water available for use
 
 8                or development under the plan or agreement; and
 
 9           (B)  The requirement, condition, or modification will
 
10                not increase the cost to the landowner or other
 
11                parties to the plan or agreement of implementing
 
12                the plan or agreement;
 
13      (3)  The department is prepared to exercise its authority
 
14           to:
 
15           (A)  Pay the landowner for the costs of any new
 
16                requirement or condition or any modification of
 
17                any existing requirement or condition, which costs
 
18                may be determined through binding arbitration; and
 
19           (B)  Take any other action to ensure that any party to
 
20                the plan or agreement is not, without the party's
 
21                consent, unduly burdened by the requirement,
 
22                condition, or modification, in which case the
 
23                department shall implement that necessary
 

 
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 1                requirement, condition, or modification upon
 
 2                committing to pay the costs, mitigate the actions,
 
 3                or undertake the action; or
 
 4      (4)  The board has revoked the approval of the plan or
 
 5           rescinded the agreement in accordance with section
 
 6           195D-21(d) or 195D-22(c)[; or
 
 7      (5)  Extraordinary new circumstances or information indicate
 
 8           that failure to modify the plan or agreement is likely
 
 9           to appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival or
 
10           recovery of any threatened or endangered species in its
 
11           natural habitat.  If additional mitigation measures are
 
12           subsequently deemed necessary to provide for the
 
13           conservation of a species that was otherwise adequately
 
14           covered under the terms of a habitat conservation plan,
 
15           safe harbor agreement, or incidental take license as a
 
16           result of extraordinary circumstances, the primary
 
17           obligation for executing mitigation measures shall rest
 
18           with the State, or the federal government with its
 
19           consent, and not with the landowner]."
 
20      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
21 New statutory material is underscored.
 
22      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
23 
 
24                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________
 

 
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