REPORT TITLE:
Environmental Impact; Waikiki


DESCRIPTION:
Amends the "Waikiki trigger" in the environmental impact
statement law to require environmental assessments for only
"major uses" in Waikiki for which the city and county requires a
major permit.  Provides for concurrent processing, joint public
hearings, and reduced duplication to streamline processing.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1008
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS LAW.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to streamline the
 
 2 environmental review process in chapter 343, Hawaii Revised
 
 3 Statutes, with respect to proposed Waikiki developments, by
 
 4 amending that law to:
 
 5      (1)  Require the concurrent processing of environmental
 
 6           assessments and impact statements with permits to the
 
 7           extent practicable for Waikiki projects, including
 
 8           joint hearings, coordinated deadlines, and the
 
 9           incorporation of documents by reference, to streamline
 
10           the regulatory process, as long as sufficient time is
 
11           allotted for the review of environmental assessments or
 
12           impact statements to ensure that environmental concerns
 
13           are given appropriate consideration by the public and
 
14           in decisionmaking along with related considerations;
 
15      (2)  Require the preparation of master and focused
 
16           environmental impact statements for Waikiki.  Master
 
17           impact statements may provide baseline environmental
 
18           data for that district, which may produce cost savings
 
19           and prevent duplication of paperwork.  Focused impact
 

 
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 1           statements concentrate on a site-specific project,
 
 2           incorporating the master statement by reference without
 
 3           repeating the broad environmental and other
 
 4           considerations already addressed in the master
 
 5           statement;
 
 6      (3)  Establish a regional environmental impact database for
 
 7           Waikiki, in which data from previously prepared
 
 8           environmental impact statements and information from
 
 9           new statements are used to continuously update
 
10           environmental and land use information about that
 
11           district.  This database may assist in integrating the
 
12           environmental review process into the local land use
 
13           process and help policy analysts and decision makers in
 
14           determining cumulative impacts within Waikiki for
 
15           future policy and planning directions for that
 
16           district;
 
17      (4)  Provide for the use of functional equivalents with
 
18           respect to Waikiki to avoid duplicative review and
 
19           reduce time in the permitting process.  This issue
 
20           arises when a project subject to an environmental
 
21           impact statement is also subject to review under
 
22           equivalent environmental criteria contained in a
 
23           development permit statute, in which environmental
 

 
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 1           review under the permit statute may substitute as the
 
 2           functional equivalent of environmental review under the
 
 3           environmental impact statement process if certain
 
 4           criteria are established; and
 
 5      (5)  Amend the "Waikiki trigger" in section 343-5(a)(5),
 
 6           Hawaii Revised Statutes, by limiting its applicability
 
 7           to only proposed "major" uses in Waikiki, as defined by
 
 8           the city and county of Honolulu.  The legislature finds
 
 9           that this amendment appropriately balances the need for
 
10           the continued review of major projects that will
 
11           potentially have greater impact on Waikiki's
 
12           environment and require more substantial levels of
 
13           review, with the need to streamline the regulatory
 
14           process affecting proposed Waikiki developments by
 
15           eliminating the environmental impact statement process
 
16           for minor Waikiki projects that are essentially
 
17           ministerial in nature and can be processed with minimal
 
18           levels of review.
 
19      In addition, this Act requires the office of environmental
 
20 quality control to review the effectiveness of these streamlining
 
21 measures and the need for the continuation of the Waikiki
 
22 trigger, and to report back to the legislature.
 
23      SECTION 2.  Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 

 
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 1 by adding five new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
 2 read as follows:
 
 3      "§343-    Waikiki projects; concurrent processing; joint
 
 4 public hearings; streamlining duplicative applications.  (a)
 
 5 This section shall apply only to Waikiki projects.  Except as
 
 6 otherwise prohibited by law, nothing in this chapter shall
 
 7 prohibit:
 
 8      (1)  The submission of an environmental assessment or an
 
 9           environmental impact statement concurrently with the
 
10           filing and processing of one or more permit
 
11           applications with one or more state or city and county
 
12           agencies, or both, with respect to a use within
 
13           Waikiki;
 
14      (2)  The holding of joint public hearings, or the holding of
 
15           consecutive public hearings within a short time period,
 
16           before one or more state or city and county agencies,
 
17           or both, regarding the subject matter of a draft
 
18           environmental assessment or a draft environmental
 
19           impact statement and one or more permit applications
 
20           with respect to a use within Waikiki; or
 
21      (3)  Where applicable, using an environmental assessment or
 
22           an environmental impact statement required by this
 
23           chapter as a permit application or as the basis for a
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1           permit application before one or more state or city and
 
 2           county agencies, or both;
 
 3 provided that a finding of no significant impact or acceptance of
 
 4 a required final statement under this chapter shall be a
 
 5 condition precedent to the approval of a permit and commencement
 
 6 of a proposed action within Waikiki.
 
 7      (b)  The use of concurrent processing, joint or consecutive
 
 8 public hearings, and other streamlining measures as provided in
 
 9 this section are encouraged for uses within Waikiki that require
 
10 multiple permits in order to streamline the processing of
 
11 duplicative documents and reduce permit processing time.
 
12      (c)  All state and city and county permitting agencies, to
 
13 the maximum extent feasible, shall:
 
14      (1)  Seek to integrate the requirements of this chapter with
 
15           planning and environmental review procedures otherwise
 
16           required by law or local practice, so that the
 
17           streamlining measures specified in this section run
 
18           concurrently, rather than consecutively; and
 
19      (2)  Devise methods by which the permitting process may be
 
20           further streamlined and simplified so as to avoid
 
21           duplication with the requirements of this chapter;
 
22 provided that state and city and county agencies shall allot
 
23 sufficient time for the review of environmental assessments and
 

 
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 1 environmental impact statements for Waikiki projects to ensure
 
 2 that decision makers and members of the public have the
 
 3 opportunity for the meaningful review of and input into those
 
 4 projects, including their environmental, economic, social, and
 
 5 other impacts as required by this chapter, and for ways to
 
 6 mitigate those impacts.
 
 7      (d)  It is the intent of the legislature that all persons
 
 8 and state and city and county agencies involved in the
 
 9 environmental review process relating to Waikiki shall be
 
10 responsible for carrying out the process in the most efficient
 
11 and expeditious manner possible in order to conserve available
 
12 financial, governmental, physical, and social resources with the
 
13 objective that those resources may be better applied toward the
 
14 mitigation of the actual significant effects on the environment
 
15 in Waikiki.
 
16      §343-    Waikiki projects; functional equivalents;
 
17 submission in lieu of environmental assessment or impact
 
18 statement.  (a)  This section shall apply only to Waikiki
 
19 projects.  Except as otherwise provided in this section or any
 
20 other law, when the regulatory program of a state or city and
 
21 county agency requires a plan or other written documentation,
 
22 containing environmental information and complying with
 
23 subsection (d)(3), to be submitted in support of any activity
 

 
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 1 listed in subsection (b), the plan or other written documentation
 
 2 may be submitted in lieu of the environmental assessment or
 
 3 environmental impact statement required by this chapter if the
 
 4 director has certified the regulatory program pursuant to this
 
 5 section.
 
 6      (b)  This section applies only to regulatory programs or
 
 7 portions thereof with respect to Waikiki projects that involve
 
 8 either of the following:
 
 9      (1)  The issuance to a person of a lease, permit, license,
 
10           certificate, or other entitlement for use; or
 
11      (2)  The adoption or approval of standards, rules, or plans
 
12           for use in the regulatory program.
 
13      (c)  A regulatory program certified pursuant to this section
 
14 is exempt from preparing an environmental assessment or
 
15 environmental impact statement, other than master environmental
 
16 impact statements as provided in section 343-  .
 
17      (d)  To qualify for certification pursuant to this section,
 
18 a regulatory program shall require the utilization of an
 
19 interdisciplinary approach that will ensure the integrated use of
 
20 the natural and social sciences in decisionmaking and which shall
 
21 meet all of the following criteria:
 
22      (1)  The enabling legislation of the regulatory program does
 
23           both of the following:
 

 
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 1           (A)  Includes protection of the environment among its
 
 2                principal purposes; and
 
 3           (B)  Contains authority for the administering agency to
 
 4                adopt rules for the protection of the environment,
 
 5                guided by standards set forth in the enabling
 
 6                legislation;
 
 7      (2)  The rules adopted by the administering agency for the
 
 8           regulatory program do all of the following:
 
 9           (A)  Require that an activity will not be approved or
 
10                adopted as proposed if there are feasible
 
11                alternatives or feasible mitigation measures
 
12                available which would substantially lessen any
 
13                significant adverse effect which the activity may
 
14                have on the environment;
 
15           (B)  Include guidelines for the orderly evaluation of
 
16                proposed activities and the preparation of the
 
17                plan or other written documentation in a manner
 
18                consistent with the environmental protection
 
19                purposes of the regulatory program;
 
20           (C)  Require the administering agency to consult with
 
21                all public agencies which have jurisdiction, by
 
22                law, with respect to the proposed activity;
 
23           (D)  Require that final action on the proposed activity
 

 
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 1                include the written responses of the issuing
 
 2                authority to significant environmental points
 
 3                raised during the evaluation process;
 
 4           (E)  Require the filing of a notice of the decision by
 
 5                the administering agency on the proposed activity
 
 6                with the director.  Those notices shall be
 
 7                available for public inspection, and a list of the
 
 8                notices shall be posted on a weekly basis in the
 
 9                office.  Each list shall remain posted for a
 
10                period of thirty days; and
 
11           (F)  Require notice of the filing of the plan or other
 
12                written documentation to be made to the public and
 
13                to any person who requests, in writing,
 
14                notification.  The notification shall be made in a
 
15                manner that will provide the public or any person
 
16                requesting notification with sufficient time to
 
17                review and comment on the filing; and
 
18      (3)  The plan or other written documentation required by the
 
19           regulatory program does both of the following:
 
20           (A)  Includes a description of the proposed activity
 
21                with alternatives to the activity, and mitigation
 
22                measures to minimize any significant adverse
 
23                effect on the environment of the activity; and
 

 
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 1           (B)  Is available for a reasonable time for review and
 
 2                comment by other public agencies and the general
 
 3                public.
 
 4      (e)  (1)  The director shall certify a regulatory program
 
 5           which the director determines meets all the
 
 6           qualifications for certification set forth in this
 
 7           section, and withdraw certification on determination
 
 8           that the regulatory program has been altered so that it
 
 9           no longer meets those qualifications.
 
10      (2)  In determining whether or not a regulatory program
 
11           meets the qualifications for certification set forth in
 
12           this section, the inquiry of the director shall extend
 
13           only the the question of whether the regulatory program
 
14           meets the generic requirements of subsection (d).  The
 
15           inquiry shall not extend to individual decisions to be
 
16           reached under the regulatory program, including the
 
17           nature of specific alternatives or mitigation measures
 
18           which might be proposed to lessen any significant
 
19           adverse effect on the environment of the activity.
 
20      (3)  If the director determines that the regulatory program
 
21           submitted for certification does not meet the
 
22           qualifications for certification set forth in this
 
23           section, the director shall adopt findings setting
 

 
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 1           forth the reasons for the determination.
 
 2      (f)  After a regulatory program has been certified pursuant
 
 3 to this section, any proposed change in the program which could
 
 4 affect compliance with the qualifications for certification
 
 5 specified in subsection (d) may be submitted to the director for
 
 6 review and comment.  The scope of the director's review shall
 
 7 extend only to the question of whether the regulatory program
 
 8 meets the generic requirements of subsection (d).  The review
 
 9 shall not extend to individual decisions to be reached under the
 
10 regulatory program, including specific alternatives or mitigation
 
11 measures which might be proposed to lessen any significant
 
12 adverse effect on the environment of the activity.  The director
 
13 shall have thirty days from the date of receipt of the proposed
 
14 change to notify the state or city and county agency whether the
 
15 proposed change will alter the regulatory program so that it no
 
16 longer meets the qualification for certification established in
 
17 this section and will result in a withdrawal of certification as
 
18 provided in this section.
 
19      (g)  Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside,
 
20 void, or annul a determination or decision of a state or city and
 
21 county agency approving or adopting a proposed activity under a
 
22 regulatory program which has been certified pursuant to this
 
23 section on the basis that the plan or other written documentation
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1 prepared pursuant to subsection (d)(3) does not comply with this
 
 2 section shall be commenced not later than thirty days from the
 
 3 date of the filing of notice of the approval or adoption of the
 
 4 activity.
 
 5      (h)  (1)  Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set
 
 6           aside, void, or annual determination of the director to
 
 7           certify a regulatory program pursuant to this section
 
 8           on the basis that the regulatory program does not
 
 9           comply with this section shall be commenced within
 
10           thirty days from the date of certification by the
 
11           secretary.
 
12      (2)  In any action brought pursuant to paragraph (1), the
 
13           inquiry shall extend only to whether there was a
 
14           prejudicial abuse of discretion by the director.  Abuse
 
15           of discretion is established if the director has not
 
16           proceeded in a manner required by law or if the
 
17           determination is not supported by substantial evidence.
 
18      §343-   Waikiki master environmental impact statement.  (a)
 
19 A Waikiki master environmental impact statement may be prepared
 
20 for any one of the following projects:
 
21      (1)  In conjunction with a development plan for Oahu's
 
22           primary urban center, an amendment to that plan
 
23           relating to Waikiki, or another specific master or
 

 
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 1           regional plan relating to Waikiki;
 
 2      (2)  A project that consists of smaller individual projects
 
 3           in Waikiki which will be carried out in phases;
 
 4      (3)  A rule which will be implemented by subsequent projects
 
 5           in Waikiki;
 
 6      (4)  Waikiki projects which will be carried out or approved
 
 7           pursuant to a development agreement;
 
 8      (5)  Public or private Waikiki projects which will be
 
 9           carried out or approved pursuant to, or in furtherance
 
10           of, a redevelopment plan for Waikiki;
 
11      (6)  A mass transit project for Waikiki which will be
 
12           subject to multiple stages of review or approval;
 
13      (7)  A regional transportation plan or congestion management
 
14           plan that includes Waikiki; or
 
15      (8)  Any other plan or project relating to Waikiki that the
 
16           office finds appropriate.
 
17      (b)  When a state or city and county agency prepares a
 
18 Waikiki master environmental impact statement, the document shall
 
19 include all of the following:
 
20      (1)  A detailed statement as required by this chapter and
 
21           rules adopted pursuant to this chapter;
 
22      (2)  A description of anticipated subsequent Waikiki
 
23           projects that would be within the scope of the Waikiki
 

 
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 1           master environmental impact statement, that contains
 
 2           sufficient information with regard to the kind, size,
 
 3           intensity, and location of the subsequent projects,
 
 4           including all of the following:
 
 5           (A)  The specific type of project anticipated to be
 
 6                undertaken;
 
 7           (B)  The maximum and minimum intensity of any
 
 8                anticipated subsequent project, such as the number
 
 9                of residences in a residential development, and,
 
10                with regard to a public works facility, its
 
11                anticipated capacity and service area;
 
12           (C)  The anticipated location and alternative locations
 
13                for any development projects; and
 
14           (D)  A capital outlay or capital improvement program,
 
15                or other scheduling or implementing device that
 
16                governs the submission and approval of subsequent
 
17                projects; and
 
18      (3)  A description of potential impacts of anticipated
 
19           subsequent projects for which there is not sufficient
 
20           information reasonably available to support a full
 
21           assessment of potential impacts in the Waikiki master
 
22           environmental impact statement.  This description shall
 
23           not be construed as a limitation on the impacts which
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1           may be considered in a Waikiki focused environmental
 
 2           impact statement.
 
 3      (c)  State and city and county agencies may develop and
 
 4 implement a fee program in accordance with applicable provisions
 
 5 of law to generate the revenue necessary to prepare a Waikiki
 
 6 master environmental impact statement.
 
 7      (d)  The preparation and certification of a Waikiki master
 
 8 environmental impact statement, if prepared and certified
 
 9 consistent with this section, may allow for the limited review of
 
10 subsequent projects that were described in the Waikiki master
 
11 environmental impact statement as being within the scope of the
 
12 statement, in accordance with the following requirements:
 
13      (1)  The lead agency for a subsequent project shall be the
 
14           lead agency or any responsible agency identified in the
 
15           Waikiki master environmental impact statement;
 
16      (2)  The lead agency shall prepare an initial study on any
 
17           proposed subsequent project.  This initial study shall
 
18           analyze whether the subsequent project may cause any
 
19           significant effect on the environment that was not
 
20           examined in the Waikiki master environmental impact
 
21           statement and whether the subsequent project was
 
22           described in the Waikiki master environmental impact
 
23           statement as being within the scope of the statement;
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1      (3)  If the lead agency, based on the initial study,
 
 2           determines that a proposed subsequent project will have
 
 3           no additional significant effect on the environment
 
 4           that was not identified in the Waikiki master
 
 5           environmental impact statement and that no new or
 
 6           additional mitigation measures or alternatives may be
 
 7           required, the lead agency shall make a written finding
 
 8           based upon the information contained in the initial
 
 9           study that the subsequent project is within the scope
 
10           of the project covered by the Waikiki master
 
11           environmental impact statement.  No new environmental
 
12           document nor findings shall be required.  Prior to
 
13           approving or carrying out the proposed subsequent
 
14           project, the lead agency shall provide notice of this
 
15           fact and incorporate all feasible mitigation measures
 
16           or feasible alternatives set forth in the Waikiki
 
17           master environmental impact statement which are
 
18           appropriate to the project.  Whenever a lead agency
 
19           approves or determines to carry out any subsequent
 
20           project pursuant to this section, it shall file a
 
21           notice pursuant to section 343-3; and
 
22      (4)  Where a lead agency cannot make the findings required
 
23           in paragraph (3), the lead agency shall prepare either
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1           a mitigated finding of no significant impact or
 
 2           environmental impact statement pursuant to subsection
 
 3           (e).
 
 4      (e)  A proposed mitigated finding of no significant impact
 
 5 shall be prepared for any proposed subsequent project if both of
 
 6 the following occur:
 
 7      (1)  An initial study has identified potentially new or
 
 8           additional significant effects on the environment that
 
 9           were not analyzed in the Waikiki master environmental
 
10           impact statement; and
 
11      (2)  Feasible mitigation measures or alternatives will be
 
12           incorporated to revise the proposed subsequent project,
 
13           before the finding of no significant impact is released
 
14           for public review, in order to avoid the effects or
 
15           mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no
 
16           significant effect on the environment will occur.
 
17 If there is substantial evidence in light of the whole record
 
18 before the lead agency that the proposed subsequent project may
 
19 have a significant effect on the environment and a mitigated
 
20 finding of no significant impact is not prepared, the lead agency
 
21 shall prepare an environmental impact statement or a Waikiki
 
22 focused environmental impact statement pursuant to section
 
23 343-  .
 

 
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 1      (f)  The Waikiki master environmental impact statement shall
 
 2 not be used for the purposes of this chapter if the certification
 
 3 of the report occurred more than five years prior to the filing
 
 4 of an application for the subsequent project, or if the approval
 
 5 of a project that was not described in the report may affect the
 
 6 adequacy of the environmental review in the report for any
 
 7 subsequent project, unless the lead agency reviews the adequacy
 
 8 of the Waikiki master environmental impact statement and does
 
 9 either of the following:
 
10      (1)  Finds that no substantial changes have occurred with
 
11           respect to the circumstances under which the Waikiki
 
12           master environmental impact statement was certified or
 
13           that no new information, which was not known and could
 
14           not have been known at the time that the Waikiki master
 
15           environmental impact statement was certified as
 
16           complete, has become available; or
 
17      (2)  Certifies a subsequent or supplemental environmental
 
18           impact statement which has been either incorporated
 
19           into the previously certified Waikiki master
 
20           environmental impact statement or references any
 
21           deletions, additions, or any other modifications to the
 
22           previously certified Waikiki master environmental
 
23           impact statement.
 

 
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 1      §343-    Waikiki focused environmental impact statement.
 
 2 (a)  A Waikiki focused environmental impact statement is an
 
 3 environmental impact statement on a subsequent project identified
 
 4 in the Waikiki master environmental impact statement.  A focused
 
 5 environmental impact statement may be utilized only if the lead
 
 6 agency finds that the analysis in the master environmental impact
 
 7 statement of cumulative impacts, growth inducing impacts, and
 
 8 irreversible significant effects on the environment is adequate
 
 9 for the subsequent project.  The Waikiki focused environmental
 
10 impact statement shall incorporate, by reference, the Waikiki
 
11 master environmental impact statement and analyze only the
 
12 subsequent project's additional significant effects on the
 
13 environment, as defined in subdivision (d), and any new or
 
14 additional mitigation measures or alternatives that were not
 
15 identified and analyzed by the Waikiki master environmental
 
16 impact statement.
 
17      (b)  The Waikiki focused environmental impact statement need
 
18 not examine those effects which the lead agency finds were one of
 
19 the following:
 
20      (1)  Mitigated or avoided as a result of mitigation measures
 
21           identified in the Waikiki master environmental impact
 
22           statement which will be required as part of the
 
23           approval of the subsequent project; or
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1      (2)  Examined at a sufficient level of detail in the Waikiki
 
 2           master environmental impact statement to enable those
 
 3           significant environmental effects to be mitigated or
 
 4           avoided by specific revisions to the project, the
 
 5           imposition of conditions, or by other means in
 
 6           connection with the approval of the subsequent project.
 
 7      (c)  A Waikiki focused environmental impact statement on any
 
 8 subsequent project shall analyze any significant effects on the
 
 9 environment where substantial new or additional information shows
 
10 that the adverse environmental impact may be more significant
 
11 than was described in the Waikiki master environmental impact
 
12 statement.  The substantial new or additional information may
 
13 also show that mitigation measures or alternatives identified in
 
14 the Waikiki master environmental impact statement, which were
 
15 previously determined to be infeasible, are feasible and will
 
16 avoid or reduce the significant effects on the environment of the
 
17 subsequent project to a level of insignificance.
 
18      (d)  Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit or abridge
 
19 the ability of a lead agency to focus upon the issues that are
 
20 ripe for decision at each level of environmental review, or to
 
21 exclude duplicative analysis of environmental effects examined in
 
22 previous environmental impact statements.
 
23      §343-   Waikiki environmental impact database.  The office,
 

 
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 1 in cooperation with the city and county department of planning
 
 2 and permitting, shall establish and continuously update a
 
 3 database for Waikiki projects that incorporates all relevant
 
 4 environmental and land use information relating to Waikiki
 
 5 derived from both new and previously prepared environmental
 
 6 impact statements and findings of no significant impact relating
 
 7 to Waikiki projects in order to:
 
 8      (1)  Reduce delay and duplication in the preparation of
 
 9           subsequent environmental impact statements relating to
 
10           Waikiki; or
 
11      (2)  Make subsequent or supplemental environmental
 
12           determinations regarding Waikiki."
 
13      SECTION 3.  Section 343-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended by adding six new definitions to be appropriately
 
15 inserted and to read as follows:
 
16      ""Additional significant effects on the environment" means
 
17 those project specific effects on the environment which were not
 
18 addressed as significant effects on the environment in the
 
19 Waikiki master environmental impact statement.
 
20      "City and county" means the city and county of Honolulu.
 
21      "Director" means the director of environmental quality
 
22 control.
 
23      "Major use" means any use in Waikiki for which the city and
 

 
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 1 county of Honolulu requires a major permit as provided by
 
 2 ordinance.
 
 3      "Waikiki" means the area of Oahu whose boundaries are
 
 4 delineated in the city and county of Honolulu land use ordinance
 
 5 establishing the Waikiki Special District.
 
 6      "Waikiki project" means any proposed development, project,
 
 7 activity, or other use in Waikiki for which one or more permits
 
 8 may be necessary from the State or city and county."
 
 9      SECTION 4.  Section 343-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
11      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided, an environmental
 
12 assessment shall be required for actions which:
 
13      (1)  Propose the use of state or county lands or the use of
 
14           state or county funds, other than funds to be used for
 
15           feasibility or planning studies for possible future
 
16           programs or projects which the agency has not approved,
 
17           adopted, or funded, or funds to be used for the
 
18           acquisition of unimproved real property; provided that
 
19           the agency shall consider environmental factors and
 
20           available alternatives in its feasibility or planning
 
21           studies;
 
22      (2)  Propose any use within any land classified as
 
23           conservation district by the state land use commission
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1           under chapter 205;
 
 2      (3)  Propose any use within the shoreline area as defined in
 
 3           section 205A-41;
 
 4      (4)  Propose any use within any historic site as designated
 
 5           in the National Register or Hawaii Register as provided
 
 6           for in the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Public
 
 7           Law 89-665, or chapter 6E;
 
 8      (5)  Propose any major use within [the] Waikiki [area of
 
 9           Oahu, the boundaries of which are delineated in the
 
10           land use ordinance as amended, establishing the
 
11           "Waikiki Special District"];
 
12      (6)  Propose any amendments to existing county general plans
 
13           where such amendment would result in designations other
 
14           than agriculture, conservation, or preservation, except
 
15           actions proposing any new county general plan or
 
16           amendments to any existing county general plan
 
17           initiated by a county;
 
18      (7)  Propose any reclassification of any land classified as
 
19           conservation district by the state land use commission
 
20           under chapter 205; and
 
21 [[](8)[]] Propose the construction of new, or the expansion or
 
22           modification of existing helicopter facilities within
 
23           the State which by way of their activities may affect
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1           any land classified as conservation district by the
 
 2           state land use commission under chapter 205; the
 
 3           shoreline area as defined in section 205A-41; or, any
 
 4           historic site as designated in the National Register or
 
 5           Hawaii Register as provided for in the Historic
 
 6           Preservation Act of 1966, Public Law 89-665, or chapter
 
 7           6E; or, until the statewide historic places inventory
 
 8           is completed, any historic site found by a field
 
 9           reconnaissance of the area affected by the helicopter
 
10           facility and which is under consideration for placement
 
11           on the National Register or the Hawaii Register of
 
12           Historic Places."
 
13      SECTION 5.  The office of environmental quality control
 
14 shall study the changes made by this Act to the environmental
 
15 impact statement law as it applies to proposed developments in
 
16 Waikiki, including recommendations regarding whether to retain
 
17 the "Waikiki trigger" in section 343-5(a)(5), Hawaii Revised
 
18 Statutes, and report its findings and recommendations, including
 
19 any proposed implementing legislation, to the legislature no
 
20 later than twenty days before the convening of the regular
 
21 session of 2004.
 
22      SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
23 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1008
                                                        
                                                        


 1 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, for
 
 2 the purposes of this Act, including the establishment and
 
 3 maintenance of a Waikiki environmental impact database as
 
 4 provided in this Act.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by
 
 5 the office of environmental quality control for the purposes of
 
 6 this Act.
 
 7      SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 8 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
10 
 
11                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________