Report Title:

Environmental Assessments; Exemptions

 

Description:

Exempts from environmental assessments, state or county lands that include the use of existing streets, roads, highways, or trails or bikeways for limited purposes, or a modification or disposal of highway access rights or use, occupancy, or work within a public highway right-of-way to serve private development outside the highway right-of-way, under certain conditions.  (SD2)

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2808

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated to read as follows;

     "§343-    Environmental assessment not required; when.  (a)  For purposes of section 343-5(a), an environmental assessment shall not be required for:

     (1)  An action that proposes the use of state or county lands or the use of state or county funds, if the use of the state or county land or the expenditure of state or county funds is limited to an existing public street, road, or highway, as defined in section 291‑1, for an easement, drainage, waterlines, access improvements, utility right of way, or the like; or

     (2)  A modification or disposal of highway access rights or use, occupancy, or work within a public highway right-of-way to serve private development outside the highway right-of-way; provided that the proposed development outside the highway right-of-way does not involve:

         (A)  Any action by the state land use commission or board of land and natural resources;

         (B)  Use of five or more acres of land that has not been disturbed by intensive human uses since 1840; or

         (C)  Any use of plants or animals that are not, but potentially could become established in Hawaii.

     (b)  This section shall not be interpreted as exempting the entirety of a development project from this chapter.

     (c)  All exemptions under this section shall be inapplicable when the cumulative impact of planned successive actions in the same place, over time, is significant, or when an action that is normally insignificant in its impact on the environment may be significant in a particularly sensitive environment."

     SECTION 2.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect July 1, 2050; provided that this Act shall be repealed one year after the effective date of this Act.