Bill Text: HI HR158 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Exempting Maintenance and Dredging in Existing Hawaii Harbors from the Coral Reef Conservation Act

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-12 - Referred to TRN, WAL, referral sheet 33 [HR158 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HR158-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	158
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the president of the united states to amend executive order 13089 to exempt maintenance and dredging activities and requirements in existing small boat and commercial harbors within the state of hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the geographic isolation of the State of Hawaii results in its residents' crucial dependence on ocean surface transportation for the importing of goods through the State's commercial harbors; and

 

     WHEREAS, 80 percent of goods consumed in the State are imported, and nearly 99 percent of those imported goods are maintained, received, and processed through the commercial harbor system; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State's commercial harbor system, and by extension, ocean transportation, is the State's connection to national and international economies, supporting every facet of the State's local economy, including tourism, construction, national defense, agriculture, and all other industries; and

 

     WHEREAS, one purpose of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 16 U.S.C. Section 6401, et seq., is to preserve, sustain, and restore the condition of coral reef ecosystems and to facilitate funding of local coral conservation efforts; and

 

     WHEREAS, Executive Orders 13089, 13178, and 13196, issued by the President of the United States set forth requirements for the protection of coral reef ecosystems; and

 

     WHEREAS, Executive Order 13089 requires federal agencies that take or authorize actions affecting United States coral reef ecosystems to identify those actions, utilize programs and authorities to protect and enhance the coral reef ecosystems, and ensure that those actions do not degrade the conditions of the coral reef ecosystems; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Land and Natural Resources have a duty to maintain the harbors of Hawaii by dredging the floors of the harbors and performing other maintenance to remove coral growth before it damages the hulls of small boats and commercial marine vessels or otherwise impedes vessel traffic; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Land and Natural Resources have a duty to conduct such harbor maintenance in a timely manner to prevent risk of damage to the State's residents, property, and economy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the requirement that the Department of Transportation and the Department of Land and Natural Resources comply with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and Executive Order 13089 when removing coral in the course of maintaining Hawaii's harbors has become burdensome for the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the President of the United States is requested to amend Executive Order 13089 to exempt activities involving maintenance and dredging of existing small and commercial harbors within the State of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior; Hawaii's congressional delegation; the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and the Director of Transportation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Exempting Maintenance and Dredging in Existing Hawaii Harbors from the Coral Reef Conservation Act