STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2651

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2692

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 2692 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE NA WAI EHA WATERSHED,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate an amount to be determined out of the land conservation fund for the acquisition of eleven thousand twenty acres of the Na Wai Eha watershed in Wailuku, Maui.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; County of Maui, Office of the Mayor; one member from the Maui County Council; and County of Maui, Department of Water Supply.

Your Committee finds that the Na Wai Eha watershed in Wailuku, Maui, provides significant ecological, cultural, and hydrological value to the island of Maui. It is composed of native koa, ohia, and lama forests, hidden valleys and mountains reaching five thousand feet, the habitat for over forty-five endangered species, and the principal source of Maui's drinking water. A substantial portion of this critical watershed is up for sale, and it is a rare opportunity to preserve this enormous section of the West Maui mountains in perpetuity for public recreation and benefit. This measure will appropriate funds from the land conservation fund for the acquisition of the Na Wai Eha watershed in Wailuku, Maui, to protect its scenic, environmental, and cultural value.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the actual acreage of the watershed available is 8,898.7; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2692, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2692, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

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KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair