Report Title:

Cave Law, Task Force

 

Description:

Establishes a Hawaii caves task force. Appropriates funds for task force.

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

964

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE HAWAII CAVES TASK FORCE.

 

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

SECTION 1. Hawaii's natural beauty is derived from its volcanic heritage. The same forces that produced her majestic craters and stunning vistas created an underlying network of complex volcanic tubes that are as unique as Hawaii's external beauty. Some of these caves are home to singular forms of life that have adapted that environment. Some caves were also used by pre-contact Hawaiians as burial caves, or are marked with petroglyphs and show evidence of cultural uses.

Hawaii has no statutes regarding cave law, as some other states do. In the absence of any such laws, common law applies, which states that each landowner owns his or her land from the surface down to the center of the earth. This means that any segment of a cave that runs beneath a landowner's property belongs to the landowner. While in theory this means that the landowner could blast or dig a hole into the cave, as a practical, cultural, and ecologically sensitive matter, this is not an appropriate use of a cave. Creating artificial entrances into existing caves can destroy the delicately-balanced flora and fauna inside by drying out the cave, or, conversely, flooding it. Artificial entrances can also permit more wild animals into the cave, leading to destruction of the cave-dwelling animals. Artificial entrances can destroy a cave's cultural features as well. These actions can harm not only that landowner's section of the cave, but the cave environment belonging to surrounding landowners.

These competing concerns need to be resolved. It is the purpose of this bill to create a task force of stakeholders who can devise a workable statutory plan for ownership and use of Hawaii's caves.

SECTION 2. There is hereby established the Hawaii caves task force, to be placed in the department of land and natural resources for administrative purposes. The task force shall include the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources or the chairperson's designee, an environmentalist from the department of land and natural resources staff, a member from the island burial councils from each island, at least one landowner of land overlying a cave, and other stakeholders as chosen by the chairperson.

The chairperson or chairperson's designee shall convene the first task force meeting no later than thirty days after the effective date of this Act.

The task force shall travel to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to seek public input on appropriate cave law for Hawaii. The task force shall report to the legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2002 on its recommendations on statutory cave law for Hawaii.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002, for the purpose of funding travel and per diem expenses of the members of the Hawaii caves task force.

SECTION 4. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

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