STAND. COM. REP. 3400

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.C.R. No. 147

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 147 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A MANAGEMENT AUDIT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF MARINE LIFE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to perform a management audit of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) in administering the marine life conservation districts.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from the DLNR.

The DLNR is authorized to administer a marine life conservation area pursuant to section 190-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), to establish marine life conservation districts (MLCDs) pursuant to section 190-2, HRS, and to adopt rules pursuant to sections 190-3 and 190-4.5, HRS. The DLNR has established eleven MLCDs pursuant to its statutory authority. Your Committee finds that in establishing the MLCDs, the DLNR has adopted rules concerning prohibited activities, permitted activities, exemptions, and permits that differ significantly from one district to another.

Your Committee further finds that the discrepancies in the rules are particularly apparent with regard to commercial activities, where, for instance, the Waiopae tidepools marine life conservation district prohibits all commercial activities, while all the other MLCDs permit some form of commercial activity based on apparently inconsistent criteria. Furthermore, commercial operations and activities in or near the State's marine waters have been proliferating at an astonishing rate and many of those operations and activities are being conducted by businesses without obtaining state permits.

A management audit of the DLNR's establishment and administration of the MLCDs would serve as an objective baseline for evaluating the impact that the DLNR's administrative practices have had on the natural and cultural resources found within the MLCDs. An audit of the DLNR would further serve to improve the manner in which the MLCDs are administered and provide clearer and more consistent guidelines for permissible activities in MLCDs for the general public and commercial users.

Your Committee has amended this measure to include in the audit the DLNR's stewardship of marine areas which have been designated as natural area reserves.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 147, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 147, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair