LIHU’E — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing to remove motorized boat operations and reduce the number of commercial boat operations in the Hanalei Estuary. DLNR Boating and Ocean Recreation Division rules currently allow up to
LIHU’E — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing to
remove motorized boat operations and reduce the number of commercial boat
operations in the Hanalei Estuary.
DLNR Boating and Ocean Recreation
Division rules currently allow up to 15 commercial permits for motorized and
non-motorized boat operations on the estuary.
The agency is now proposing
to allow only two permits for kayak operations and other permit conditions for
commercial operations at Anini Beach.
The DLNR is proposing the rule change
in response to residents who have asked for less intensive use of the estuary,
said Howard Gehring, Acting Administrator of the DLNR Boating and Recreation
Division.
But, he said, the proposal could be revised to allow for more
boat operations and continued motorized use on the estuary if community
response merits it.
“It depends on what we hear from the public and what
is acceptable and justified,” he said. Ray Chuan, of the Limu Coalition,
which advocated the removal of unpermitted boat operators from the estuary,
supports the proposal. “It is good,” Chuan said. “It meets what the people in
Hanalei have asked the government to do.”
On Nov. 19, the Board of Land and
Natural Resources approved a request from the boating division to seek
approval from Gov. Ben Cayetano to conduct public hearings on the proposed rule
changes for commercial uses in the estuary.
If the governor approves the
request, the DLNR, Gehring said, will initiate this process:
* Have a small
business impact statement done to determine effects from the rule change.
The governor will review the report and will send it and the proposed rule
changes to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
for review.
* The Small Business Regulatory Review Board will review the
proposal and will make recommendations to DBEDT and to the governor on
potential impacts.
* The state Department of Budget and Finance will go
over the proposal.
* Hearings will be held to solicit public comment on the
proposal. If the public proposes significant changes, the DLNR will hold
another round of public hearings. This might lead to a rule change that calls
for more permits and continued motorized boat use on the estuary, Gehring
said.
* When disputed issues are resolved, the proposed rule will go to Lt.
Gov. Hirono, who will authorize the boating division to publish the rule
change. Within 10 days after action by Hirono, the rule becomes
law.
Should Cayetano give his blessings to the hearings, it wouldn’t signal
whether he supports the change or not, Gehring said. “He is just moving the
process along.”
Gehring said the DLNR has not put forth the proposal in
response to a lawsuit by Hanalei Sport Fishing and Tours and Whitey’s Boat
Cruises who are challenging the state’s authority to stop processing
permits.
The plaintiffs contend the DLNR has to go through a rule-making
process to stop them from using motorized boats on the estuary. The DLNR has
taken the stand state rules exist to require the plaintiffs to change over to
sailboats to be eligible for the permits.
“There is no connection,” Gehring
said. “We had to move the rules ahead to reflect ongoing
practices.”
Related to the court case, state Judge Clifford Nakea issued
an injunction allowing the boaters to resume tours pending the final ruling in
the case. A court ruling on a request for a summary judgment by the plaintiffs
is pending.
The lawsuit was filed after Cayetano took a stand this summer
to shut down motorized tour operations in the estuary.
