June 2018 PDF
June 2018
Group Sues Kaua`i County, Grove Farm Over Water Line Tied to Blue Hole Diversion
If the state Board of Land and Natural Resources grants permission to one entity to divert water from a stream for a particular use, can that diverted water then be used for other things by other entities that don’t have … Continued
City Climate Change Commission Drafts ‘Revolutionary and Inconvenient’ Rules
State legislators haven’t been alone in their efforts to codify recommendations from the December 2017 Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report (SLR report) prepared for the Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission in accordance with Acts 83 and … Continued
Sea Level Rise Report Spawns Many Bills, But Legislators Let Nearly All of Them Die
The state Legislature tried to make great strides to address the flooding projections in the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report (SLR report) issued just before the session began, but wound up taking a baby step. Armed with the … Continued
Environmental Planning Office Closes, Victim of Cuts to Federal EPA Budget
Without so much as a news release, the Hawai`i Department of Health has shuttered its Environmental Planning Office. Effective May 2, the office – which was instrumental in coordinating the Department of Health’s strategic plans, reviewing land use and environmental … Continued
New & Noteworthy: Waikoloa, False Killer Whales, a Correction
Waikoloa Woes: The long-stalled rural development known as Waikoloa Highlands, just outside of Waikoloa Village in the Big Island district of South Kohala, is in jeopardy of losing its development rights granted by the Land Use Commission. In 2008, the … Continued
North O`ahu Wind Farm Wins License To Incidentally Kill Protected Bats, Birds
On May 18, the majority of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources rejected its hearing officer’s recommendation to deny a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take License (ITL) for the proposed 25-megawatt Na Pua Makani (NPM) wind … Continued
Early Developers of Leilani Estates Ignored the Eruption in Their Back Yard
On May 26, 1959, representatives of the Hawai`i Land Hui, a group of three Honolulu businessmen, met with Hiroshi Kasamoto, director of the Hawai`i County Planning and Traffic Commission. As their attorney, Masanori Kushi, later described the encounter, the investors … Continued