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2023 Legislative Bills
GOOD BILLSB 507 RELATING TO WETLAND PRESERVATIONSThe purpose of SB 507 is to protect waterways and wetlandsfrom mauka to makai.HEARING: Friday February 3 at 2:05 pmSENATE COMMITTEES ON AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT & WATER AND LANDSB 507 RELATING TO WETLAND PRESERVATIONSSigners on the bill: GABBARD, Kidani, ShimabukuroSB 507 adds new definitions to the State Environmental Impact Statements law HRS 343 to encourage the preservation of wetlands.
- “Floodway” means the channel of a river or stream, including any adjacent floodplain areas.
- “Natural stormwater infrastructure” means all naturally occurring streams, ephemeral streams, gulches, drainage corridors, wetlands, floodways, and other areas where water naturally collects or drains to the ocean.
- “Wetlands” are defined as land that is transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated animal and plant life, where for any duration of time, including non-consecutive years, the water table is at or near the surface and the land is covered by water or saturated by: subsurface water, well or ditch influent water, marsh, peatland, marine water, riparian zone, coastal zones adjacent to wetlands,
Including these definitions in HRS 343 means that anyone conducting an EIS must consider impacts from the proposed development on floodways, natural stormwater ways, and wetlands.Statewide, more than 31% of coastal wetlands have been lost.Wetlands protect beaches against erosion, recharge aquifers, protect against flooding, provide habitat for endangered species, filter sediment and nutrients from stormwater runoff before reaching the ocean and coral reefs. Surface water, ground water, floodplains, and wetlands do not function as separate isolated components of a watershed but is a single, integrated natural system.__________To submit testimony on proposed bills and access information on the legislature, go to https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov. The website is self-explanatory and has labeled bars you can click on to “Participate” or “Submit Testimony,” read hearing notices, track measures, find info on legislators, and contact the Public Access Room.
- For lists of Senators and Representatives and lists of House and Senate committee chairs and members, click the far-left bar on the first website page.
- To submit testimony on a proposed bill, click on the Participate bar on the first page of the website, or the Submit Testimony bar on the second website page. Then click a button at top right to register (if it’s your first time on the website) or sign in (if you are already registered). Then fill in the bill number in the space provided and follow the instructions to submit testimony on it.
- Contact the Public Access Room at https://lrb.hawaii.gov/par/
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