HB1657 HD1.DOC

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that public review and participation are a key and indispensable part of achieving the goal of Hawaii's environmental review law, which is to ensure that environmental concerns are identified and accorded appropriate consideration in government actions and decisionmaking. Given the limited resources and institutional knowledge of government agencies and decisionmakers, public review and input can provide critical information on the full range and extent of potential environmental impacts and help to ensure that decisions are fully transparent and informed. Public input at an early stage may also serve to minimize any unnecessary adverse impacts of planned actions, thus avoiding waste, conflict, and the degradation of the State's natural and cultural sites and resources.

However, while the environmental review process outlined in chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, clearly contemplates public review and input, current statutory notice requirements do not ensure that the full benefits of public participation are realized. For example, members of the public may not be provided with review or input opportunities prior to the drafting of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement preparation notice, when proposed actions may already be well-developed, and when substantial adjustments to environmental review and other planning documents may be difficult and costly to make. In addition, notice requirements do not necessarily inform or target members of the local community surrounding a proposed action site, although those community members may be particularly knowledgeable about, and disproportionately impacted by, the wide range of potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. Unfortunately, the lack of more meaningful notice mechanisms may have resulted in past failures to adequately consider the full range and extent of the environmental impacts of particular actions, and may have led to project delays as well as distrust by the public.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot program to require the office of Hawaiian affairs to ensure that a notice of preparation is posted in a conspicuous place and manner at any particular site or sites that may be directly impacted by an action, at an early planning stage prior to the drafting of an environmental assessment or impact statement preparation notice, for projects commenced by itself or in partnership with another agency of the State or any of its counties.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established the notice of preparation pilot program to be placed with the office of Hawaiian affairs for administrative purposes. Under the pilot program, the office of Hawaiian affairs shall post a notice of preparation, in a conspicuous place and manner clearly visible to the public, at any particular site or sites that will be directly impacted by an action:

(1) Being proposed by the office of Hawaiian affairs, by itself or in partnership with another agency of the State or any of its counties; and

(2) Requiring an environmental assessment pursuant to section 343-5(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, other than feasibility or planning studies for possible future programs or projects that the agency has not approved, adopted, or funded, or other than the use of state or county funds for the acquisition of unimproved real property that is not a specific type of action declared exempt under section 343-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The notice of preparation required for actions pursuant to this subsection shall be in addition to all of the requirements of chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

(b) The office of Hawaiian affairs shall:

(1) Post the notice of preparation at the earliest practicable time prior to the preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement notice for the action; and

(2) Include information about:

(A) The proposed action;

(B) The preparation of the proposed environmental assessment or environmental impact statement; and

(c) A copy of the notice or notices and information regarding the location or locations of the notice or notices shall be filed with the office of environmental quality control.

(d) No earlier than thirty days after the posting of any notice of preparation, the office of Hawaiian affairs shall prepare an environmental assessment for the action at the earliest practicable time to determine whether an environmental impact statement shall be required; provided that if the office of Hawaiian affairs determines, through its judgment and experience, that an environmental impact statement is likely to be required, the office of Hawaiian affairs may choose not to prepare an environmental assessment and instead shall prepare an environmental impact statement that begins with the preparation of an environmental impact statement preparation notice as provided by rules adopted in accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

(e) As used in this section:

"Notice of preparation" means a notice posted at the location of a site-specific proposed action by the initiating agency or applicant, informing members of the public of the proposed action.

"Pilot program" means the notice of preparation pilot program established by this section.

SECTION 3. No later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2020, the office of Hawaiian affairs shall submit to the legislature a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, regarding the pilot program established in section 2 of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1657
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII