Bill Text: HI SR152 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Land And Natural Resources And Board Of Land And Natural Resources To Adopt Certain Procedures Relating To The Dam And Appurtenance Improvement Or Removal Grant Program To Assist Applicants In Obtaining Grants.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-04 - Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1). [SR152 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SR152-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
152 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO ADOPT CERTAIN PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE DAM AND APPURTENANCE IMPROVEMENT OR REMOVAL GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST APPLICANTS IN OBTAINING GRANTS.
WHEREAS, Hawaii's dams, reservoirs, and spillways are an integral part of the State's existing infrastructure and benefit the State by providing flood protection, viable water supply resources, hydropower, and irrigation access, yet some of these structures possess features that are considered deficient and not in compliance with current safety standards; and
WHEREAS, the majority of the dams and reservoirs in the State were constructed approximately one hundred years prior, when booming economic activity in the sugarcane and pineapple industries were a driving force in the construction and maintenance of these structures; and
WHEREAS, the sugarcane and pineapple industries have dwindled over the past decades, and now render these structures without a significant economic incentive for investment unless the State intervenes to ensure that further dilapidation and deterioration do not occur; and
WHEREAS, ensuring the safety of Hawaii's dams is one of the important functions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources; and
WHEREAS, Act 134, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023, codified as 179D-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, established a Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program to be developed and administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the improvement or removal of deficient dams in the State; and
WHEREAS, the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program provides funding to owners of private dams for plans, design, construction, and equipment to improve or remove deficient dams and appurtenances, as determined by the Department of Land and Natural Resources; and
WHEREAS, section 179D-31(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes, allows the Department of Land and Natural Resources to award grants from the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program based on criteria developed by the Department and the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and therefore, the applications to receive grants are subject to the discretion of and uneven application of criteria by the Department and the Board; and
WHEREAS, the stringent regulatory framework and muddled processes to improve and maintain dams, reservoirs, and spillways in the State often disincentivize investment, thereby rendering these structures dilapidated, abandoned, and vulnerable to natural disasters; and
WHEREAS, accessing existing funding mechanisms to improve and maintain these structures also prove challenging for dam and reservoir owners throughout the State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Land and Natural Resources are urged to adopt certain procedures relating to the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program to assist applicants in obtaining grants; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to make publicly available the criteria it develops for the award of grants from the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, when prescribing other requirements or conditions for compliance by an applicant of the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program pursuant to section 179D-91(d)(10), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Land and Natural Resources are urged to prescribe the requirements and conditions in a manner that is consistent with the principles of fairness and equal treatment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the requirements and conditions prescribed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources or Board of Land and Natural Resources pursuant to section 179D-91(d)(10), Hawaii Revised Statutes, are urged to be:
(1) Based on reasonable and justifiable grounds and relevant to the purpose for which the grant is awarded;
(2) Communicated to the applicant in a clear, transparent, and reasonable manner; and
(3) Readily available to the applicant in writing, with one copy submitted to the applicant and another made publicly available; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Land and Natural Resources are urged to allow applicants of the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program to:
(1) Seek clarification of the additional requirements or conditions prescribed; and
(2) Appeal the determination of their applications in accordance with section 179D-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Department of Land and Natural Resources; Board of Land and Natural Resources; Dam and Reservoir Safety; Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program
