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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
848 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO PROTECTION OF STREAMS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Ola i ka wai. The legislature finds that the board of land and natural resources lacks rules for rendering decisions on dispositions of water. The legislature recognizes that public trust principles must guide these decisions and must supersede commercial interests. The legislature further recognizes that impacts of climate change are not sufficiently clear to allow for any disposition lasting more than fifteen years.
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Prohibit the board from approving any disposition that authorizes the diversion of water from streams unless certain conditions are met to maintain the natural resources in public trust;
(2) Require moneys collected through such dispositions to be deposited into the forest stewardship fund; provided that the department of Hawaiian home lands and office of Hawaiian affairs each receive their constitutionally-entitled share.
SECTION 2. Chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§171- Dispositions that authorize the diversion
of water from streams. (a) The board shall not approve any disposition
that authorizes or has the effect of authorizing the diversion of water from
streams, unless:
(1) The authorization is for no more than
fifteen years;
(2) The board has accurate information regarding
the amount of water that flows through the subject stream and the amount of
water proposed to be removed from the stream;
(3) The amount of consideration is at least
ninety per cent of the avoided cost to the applicant of obtaining the water
from an alternative source;
(4) No more than fifty per cent of the water in
a stream, as measured near the diversion, may be removed from the
stream at any time;
(5) The board determines that the diversion
will not adversely impact the ecological, cultural, recreational, and aesthetic
values of the stream; and
(6) All other legal requirements are met.
(b) Subsection (a)
shall not apply to any authorization for taro cultivation.
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Water Diversion; Land Disposition; Forest Stewardship Fund; DLNR
Description:
Prohibits dispositions authorizing the diversion of water from streams unless certain conditions are met. Requires moneys collected through such dispositions to be deposited into the Forest Stewardship Fund, provided that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Office of Hawaiian Affairs each receive their constitutionally-entitled share.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.