Report Title:

Hamakua Ditch

 

Description:

Authorizes emergency appropriation of unspecified amount for Lower Hamakua Ditch.

 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1598

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE LOWER HAMAKUA DITCH.

 

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

SECTION 1. The Lower Hamakua Ditch is now operated and maintained by the department of agriculture, which established the Honokaa-Paauilo irrigation system, pursuant chapter 167, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Although this provides authority to the board of agriculture to set charges and collect water tolls, improvements to repair the deteriorated ditch facilities are funded through normal capital improvement program (CIP) legislative appropriations. As the CIP appropriation process takes time and legislative funds may be limited to ditch facilities that need more urgent attention, many of the flumes are in advanced stages of failure. The primary reason is that the ditch is the sole source of irrigation water for former Hamakua Sugar Company lands now being actively cultivated by the unemployed sugar workers. If the ditch flumes fail and are not repaired, resulting in interrupted water flow, these new start-up farming operations will sustain losses from which they could not recover.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds for the emergency replacement of the Lower Hamakua Ditch flumes. Nine wooden flumes have been identified as candidates for failure as the structural elements of these flumes have dry rot and are in deteriorated condition beyond repair.

SECTION 2. 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, to be used for emergency replacement of the Lower Hamakua Ditch flumes.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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