STAND. COM. REP. NO. 123-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2843
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to
which was referred H.B. No. 2843 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UTILITY LINES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to address the undergrounding of
overhead utility lines by, among other things:

     (1)  Valuing aesthetic benefits and making an appropriation
          to quantify the benefits of undergrounding;

     (2)  Requiring the independent preparation of environmental
          impact statements (EIS);

     (3)  Establishing an intervenor program;

     (4)  Requiring the use of alternative dispute resolution
          process prior to hearings;

     (5)  Establishing a conversion program and establishing a
          fund to pay for this program; and

     (6)  Establishing a one-call system to locate underground
          facilities.


 
 
 
 
 
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     The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Life of the Land, Na Leo
Pohai, Malama o Manoa, and an individual testified in support of
this bill.  The Consumer Advocate supported the intent of this
measure.  The Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Kauai Electric,
GTE, and the Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries,
Hawaii Electric Light Company and Maui Electric Company, opposed
passage of this bill.  The Judiciary, the Office of Environmental
Quality Control (OEQC), the University of Hawaii's Environmental
Center, and AT&T offered comments.

     With regard to each major portion of the bill, your
Committee makes the following observations/amendments:

PART I

     Part 1 requires that whenever a utility proposes a capital
project within the conservation district, the PUC must make a
determination of the need for the project prior to the issuance
of a conservation district use permit.

     Your Committee believes that this Part deserves further
discussion by subsequent committees.

PART II

     Part 2 states that with regard to the placement of utility
lines, the aesthetic benefits of the natural landscape are valued
above all other benefits.  Funds are appropriated to quantify the
benefits of underground high-voltage utility lines.

     This Part, too, deserves further discussion.  However, if
the policy statement in the bill is enacted, there may not be a
need for the Consumer Advocate to quantify the aesthetic benefits
of underground lines.

PART III

     Part 3 requires the independent preparation of EISs when the
applicant is a regulated utility.

     This Part was deleted.  Your Committee believes that a
utility should not be singled out for special EIS preparation.
It is the accepting agency's responsibility to ensure the
integrity of the environmental review process.  More
specifically, the accepting agency must ensure that the EIS
discloses the full impact of a project and is not a self-serving
document.  OEQC facilitates the review process and ensures that
the applicant complies with the requirements for content.


 
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                                 Page 3

 
     It is often perceived that an EIS is biased, because it is
prepared by the applicant.  This issue has occasionally surfaced
before this Committee.  However, this is not the appropriate
vehicle to amend the environmental review process affecting
projects not related to this bill's subject matter.

PART IV

     Part 4 establishes an intervenor program to assist consumers
who have significant information to contribute to PUC hearings
and other proceedings.

     Because this Part addresses a broader PUC issue, the
Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce is encouraged to
consider inserting this provision into a more appropriate bill.

     This Part was amended to clarify that an intervenor will be
compensated only if it is found that the information provided
contributes significantly to the PUC's final decision.

     Section 8 of this Part appropriates moneys from the general
fund for the PUC to create and maintain an information and
communication resource that is accessible through the world wide
web.  Since this section addresses a broader PUC issue, the
Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce is encouraged to
also consider inserting this provision into a more appropriate
bill.

PART V

     Part 5 authorizes the PUC to require the use of an
alternative dispute resolution process prior to a hearing.

     This Part also addresses a broader PUC issue that may be
more appropriately placed in another bill.

PART VI

     Part 6 directs the PUC to establish a program to convert
overhead utility lines to underground, and to administer the
Underground Conversion Fund (Fund) to pay for the program.

     Because your Committee supports the concept of conversion, a
policy statement on the undergrounding of utility lines was
inserted as a new section.  In part, it states that the
conversion of overhead utility lines to underground lines and the
initial underground installation of such lines are substantially
beneficial to the public safety and welfare.


 
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     The provisions regarding voluntary contributions to the Fund
may be a more feasible option than a "round-up" program.
Accordingly, language requiring a utility to participate in a
"round-up" program has been deleted.

PART VII

     Part 7 establishes a one-call system to identify the
location of underground facilities.  It requires all owners of
underground facilities to subscribe to the service.

     Additional language was inserted to establish treble damages
for failure to use the one-call system if such a failure results
in an outage or interrupted utility service.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached
to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 2843, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
2843, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer
Protection and Commerce.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Energy and
                                   Environmental Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   HERMINA M. MORITA, Chair