STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1363

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1893

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1893 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to protect conservation-zoned land by:

(1) Allowing a private or public landowner to apply for a site plan approval permit for the removal of noxious trees located within the landowner's conservation-zoned property; and

(2) Establishing that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement shall not be required for the application for a site plan approval permit, unless the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) determines that the removal of noxious trees will have a significant effect on the environment.

A member of the Maui County Council and the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii supported this bill. The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii and the Environmental Center of the University of Hawaii supported the intent of this measure. DLNR opposed this bill.

 

Your Committees find that an expedited permitting process is essential in dealing with fast-spreading and harmful alien plant species that are devastating Hawaii's environment. Furthermore, your Committees find that the term "noxious trees" may cause confusion and limit the effectiveness of this bill in combating alien plant species.

Upon careful consideration, your Committees have amended this measure by deleting its contents and inserting the substance of H.B. No. 1237, H.D. 1, with additional amendments. As amended, this bill:

(1) Allows a landowner participating in the Watershed Partnership Program to use the more expeditious permit and site plan approval process to remove alien plant species located within the landowner's conservation-zoned property;

(2) Establishes that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement shall not be required for the application for the permit and site plan approval, unless DLNR determines that the removal of alien plant species will have a significant effect on the environment; and

(3) Contains an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Energy & Environmental Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1893, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1893, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Energy & Environmental Protection,

 

____________________________

HERMINA MORITA, Chair

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EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair