HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

368

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to recovery of indigenous wildlife.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  Section 195D-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

     "(a)  The department may enter into a planning process with any landowner for the purpose of preparing and implementing a habitat conservation plan.  An agreement may include multiple landowners.  Applications to enter into a planning process shall identify:

     (1)  The geographic area encompassed by the plan;

     (2)  The ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area that are the focus of the plan;

     (3)  The endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species known or reasonably expected to occur in the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types in the plan area;

     (4)  The measures or actions to be undertaken to respond to individuals of the candidate species affected by take;

    [(4)] (5)  The measures or actions to be undertaken to protect, maintain, restore, or enhance those ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area;

    [(5)] (6)  A schedule for implementation of the proposed measures and actions; and

    [(6)] (7)  An adequate funding source to ensure that the proposed measures and actions are undertaken in accordance with the schedule.

After a habitat conservation plan is prepared, the board shall notify the public of the proposed habitat conservation plan through the periodic bulletin of the office of environmental quality control and make the proposed plan and the application available for public review and comment not less than sixty days prior to approval.  The notice shall include, but not be limited to, identification of the area encompassed by the plan, the proposed activity, and the ecosystems, natural communities, and habitat types within the plan area.  The notice shall solicit public input and relevant data.

     (b)  (1)  Except as otherwise provided by law, the board, upon recommendation from the department, in cooperation with other state, federal, county, or private organizations and landowners, after a public hearing on the island affected, and upon an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of its authorized membership, may enter into a habitat conservation plan, if it determines that:

         (A)  The plan will further the purposes of this chapter by protecting, maintaining, restoring, or enhancing identified ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types upon which endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species depend within the area covered by the plan;

         (B)  The plan will increase the likelihood of recovery of the endangered or threatened species that are the focus of the plan; and

         (C)  The plan satisfies all the requirements of this chapter.

          [In the event] If the board votes to enter into a habitat conservation plan for which the majority of the endangered species recovery committee recommended disapproval, the board [may] shall not enter into the habitat conservation plan unless the plan is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of both houses of the legislature.  Habitat conservation plans may allow conservation rental agreements, habitat banking, and direct payments.  Any habitat conservation plan approved pursuant to this section shall be based on the best available scientific and other reliable data available at the time the plan is approved.

     (2)  Each habitat conservation plan shall:

         (A)  Identify the geographic area encompassed by the plan; the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area that are the focus of the plan; and the endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species known or reasonably expected to be present in those ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types in the plan area;

         (B)  Describe the activities contemplated to be undertaken within the plan area with sufficient detail to allow the department to evaluate the impact of the activities on the particular ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area that are the focus of the plan;

         (C)  Identify [the]:

              (i)  The steps that will be taken to minimize and mitigate all negative impacts, including without limitation the impact of any authorized incidental take, with consideration of the full range of the species on the island so that cumulative impacts associated with the take can be adequately assessed;

             (ii)  The steps to work with a permitted entity or entities to respond to any of the candidate species in the area affected by authorized incidental take; and [the]

            (iii)  The funding that will be available to implement those steps;

         (D)  Identify those measures or actions to be undertaken to protect, maintain, restore, or enhance the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area; a schedule for implementation of the measures or actions; and an adequate funding source to ensure that the actions or measures, including monitoring, are undertaken in accordance with the schedule;

         (E)  Be consistent with the goals and objectives of any approved recovery plan for any endangered species or threatened species known or reasonably expected to occur in the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types in the plan area;

         (F)  Provide reasonable certainty that the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types will be maintained in the plan area, throughout the life of the plan, in sufficient quality, distribution, and extent to support within the plan area those species typically associated with the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types, including any endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species known or reasonably expected to be present in the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types within the plan area;

         (G)  Contain objective, measurable goals, the achievement of which will contribute significantly to the protection, maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of the ecosystems, natural communities, or habitat types; time frames within which the goals are to be achieved; provisions for monitoring (such as field sampling techniques), including periodic monitoring by representatives of the department or the endangered species recovery committee, or both; and provisions for evaluating progress in achieving the goals quantitatively and qualitatively; and

         (H)  Provide for an adaptive management strategy that specifies the actions to be taken periodically if the plan is not achieving its goals."

     SECTION 2.  Section 195D-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  A safe harbor agreement may authorize the take of an endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species incidental to an otherwise lawful activity in or affecting the created, restored, maintained, or improved habitat; provided that based on the best scientific and other reliable data available at the time the safe harbor agreement is approved, if these data are applicable:

     (1)  The take would not jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species;

     (2)  The take would not reduce the population of endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species below the number found on the property prior to entering into the agreement;

     (3)  The agreement proposes to create, restore, maintain, or improve significant amounts of habitat for a minimum of five years for private lands and for a minimum of fifteen years for public lands;

     (4)  The agreement contains the measures or actions to be undertaken to respond to individuals of the candidate species affected by the take;

    [(4)] (5)  There is adequate funding for the agreement and the source of that funding is identified;

    [(5)] (6)  The safe harbor agreement increases the likelihood that the endangered or threatened species for which a take is authorized will recover;

    [(6)] (7)  Any take authorized pursuant to this subsection shall occur only in the habitat created, restored, maintained, or improved; and

    [(7)] (8)  The cumulative impact of the activity, which is permitted and facilitated by the take, provides net environmental benefits."

     SECTION 3.  Section 195D-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  There is established within the state treasury a trust fund to be known as the endangered species trust fund to be administered by the department to implement the purposes of this chapter.

     The fund shall consist of moneys from the following sources:

     (1)  Moneys accrued from the sale of retail items officially sponsored by the department for the fund;

     (2)  Private contributions for the management and recovery of Hawaii's unique plants and animals;

     (3)  Fees and assessments charged for the commercial use of public land and waters and designated for the fund;

     (4)  Penalties, fines, or auctions resulting from enforcement violations;

     (5)  Legislative appropriations; [and]

     (6)  Moneys deposited to implement the obligations of a habitat conservation plan[,] and safe harbor agreement, as security for habitat conservation plan funding, or technical assistance program fees and payment for costs incurred for use of the technical assistance program as set forth in section 195D-23(d)[.]; and

     (7)  Other funding sources."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Habitat Conservation Plans; State Harbor Agreements; Endangered Species; Indigenous Wildlife

 

Description:

Requires habitat conservation plans and safe harbor agreements to include the measures or actions to be undertaken to respond to individuals of the candidate species affected by take.  Authorizes other funds to be deposited into the Endangered Species Trust Fund.

 

 

 

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