Bill Text: HI HB2770 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Bill 2770 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Environmental Review Process; Environmental Justice; Precautionary Principle

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-04 - The committee(s) on EEP recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB2770 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HB2770-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2770
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to the environmental review process.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding four new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§343-A Principles for considering environmental justice; application to the preparation of environmental impact statements and environmental assessments. (a) In preparing an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment, an agency or applicant shall consider the impacts on the natural and physical environment and related social, cultural, and economic impacts from the perspective of the five principles of environmental justice, as follows:

(1) The demographic composition of the affected area shall be considered in determining whether under-represented populations such as native Hawaiians, minorities, or low-income persons will be significantly impacted by the proposed action. If impacts are identified, the agency or applicant shall determine whether there is a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effect on that population;

(2) The interrelated cultural, social, occupational, historical, and economic factors that may amplify the natural and physical environmental effects of the proposed action shall be considered. These factors include:

(A) The physical sensitivity of the affected community or population to particular impacts;

(B) The effects of any disruption on the community structure associated with the proposed action; and

(3) Relevant public health data shall be considered with regard to the potential for multiple or cumulative exposure to human health or environmental hazards in the affected population. Historical patterns of exposure to environmental hazards shall be taken into account, to the extent that the information is reasonably available. Multiple or cumulative effects shall be considered, even if they are not within the control of the agency or the applicant proposing the action;

(4) Effective public participation strategies shall be developed, by acknowledging and seeking to overcome linguistic, cultural, institutional, geographic, and other barriers to meaningful participation, and by incorporating active outreach to affected groups; and

(5) There shall be early and meaningful community representation through all phases of the environmental review process that reflect on an awareness of the diverse constituencies within any particular community and efforts to have complete representation throughout the process.

§343-B Precautionary principle; adopted. (a) In addition to the requirements of section 343-A, an agency or applicant shall apply the precautionary principle in the environmental review process.

(b) The agency or applicant shall bear the burden of proof in showing that:

(1) All potential affected parties were included in the environmental review process; and

(2) The full range of alternatives was examined, including the alternative of no action.

(c) For the purpose of this section, "precautionary principle" means the taking of precautionary measures when it is determined that a proposed action poses a threat of harm to human health or the environment, regardless of whether causation between the proposed action and the threatened harm is fully established scientifically.

§343-C Factors under the principles of environmental justice. In any analysis of environmental justice for the environmental review process under this chapter, the agency or applicant shall consider that:

(1) The prevailing legal thresholds, statutory interpretations of this chapter, and existing case law shall not be affected;

(2) The identification of a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effect on under-represented groups may not preclude a proposed action from proceeding to completion or require a conclusion that a proposed action is environmentally unsatisfactory; provided that the agency or applicant gives heightened attention to alternatives, mitigating strategies, monitoring needs, and preferences expressed by the affected community or population; and

(3) No specific format shall be required for incorporating environmental justice into an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment.

§343-D Guidelines for considering environmental justice in specific phases of an environmental review process. (a) If an environmental justice screening analysis is conducted before the scoping phase, an agency or applicant shall:

(1) Identify any under-represented population in the proposed action area; and

(2) Determine the likelihood of disproportionate impacts upon the under-represented populations.

(b) If an agency or applicant identifies any potentially affected under-represented population, the agency or applicant may develop a strategy for effective public participation after the environmental justice screening analysis is complete and before the scoping phase begins.

(c) The agency or applicant may form a local assessment committee to interact with facility proponents and opponents early in the planning process to provide an opportunity for minority and low-income community members to understand technical issues and have meaningful involvement in the environmental review process.

(d) The agency or applicant may enter into community benefits agreements with community organizations that enable community organizations to negotiate for environmental benefits and mitigations beyond the requirements of this chapter.

(e) Environmental justice concerns shall be incorporated into environmental assessment planning as follows:

(1) If the environmental justice screening analysis does not identify minority or low-income communities and does not suggest disproportionately high and adverse impacts on those communities, the agency or applicant may describe the analysis and note the conclusion in the environmental analysis; or

(2) If the environmental justice screening analysis identifies an affected under-represented community or a disproportionately high and adverse impact upon a minority or low-income community, the agency or applicant may conduct a smaller-scale scoping analysis; provided that the agency or applicant may also design and implement a public participation plan to solicit community input to develop alternatives and mitigation measures.

(f) Environmental justice concerns shall be incorporated into the preparation of an environmental impact statement as follows:

(1) If the environmental impacts of a proposed action are deemed significant, the agency or applicant may include a description of the environmental justice screening results in the scoping notices; provided that the agency or applicant may also design and implement a public participation plan to solicit community input and to develop alternatives and mitigation measures;

(2) If the environmental justice screening analysis concludes that there is a potential for disproportionately high and adverse impacts, the agency or applicant shall ensure that the environmental impact statement scoping process raises the environmental justice concerns and collects sufficient data and information to evaluate the potential impacts; or

(3) If the results of the environmental justice screening analysis are negative, the agency or applicant may state this finding in the scoping notice and solicit information from the community on whether there may be disproportionately high and adverse effects that were not addressed during the screening analysis.

(g) An agency or applicant may identify geographic areas from which to obtain demographic information to determine whether a proposed action is likely to have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on under-represented groups. If the agency or applicant determines that a proposed action will not cause any adverse environmental impacts, a specific demographic analysis is not required.

(h) If an agency or applicant identifies a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental impact on an under-represented group, the agency or applicant may analyze how the distribution of environmental and health impacts affects the community.

(i) If an agency or applicant has identified a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental impact on under-represented groups from either the proposed action or alternatives, the agency or applicant may deem the distribution as well as the magnitude of the disproportionate impacts in these communities as factors in determining environmentally preferable alternatives. The agency or applicant may consider the views that the agency or applicant received from the affected communities and the magnitude of environmental impacts associated with alternatives that have a less disproportionate and adverse effect on under-represented groups.

Reasonable alternatives shall be those alternative actions deemed by the agency or applicant to meet program goals and avoid or reduce the environmental, socioeconomic, human health, or ecological effects associated with the preferred action.

(j) An agency or applicant may find that the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on under-represented groups constitutes a significant effect.

(k) The agency or applicant may develop mitigation measures to specifically address potential disproportionately high and adverse impacts of a proposed action on under-represented populations. When identifying and developing potential mitigation measures to address environmental justice concerns, the agency or applicant may consult members of the affected communities. Mitigation measures may include a variety of approaches for addressing potential effects and for balancing the needs and concerns of the affected community with the requirements of the proposed action."

SECTION 2. Section 343-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding four new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Community benefits agreement" means a legally binding agreement between an agency or applicant and a community organization in which the agency or applicant agrees to shape the proposed project in a manner to provide specified benefits to the community and the community organization agrees to support the proposed project before any government bodies are required to approve any necessary permits and subsidies.

"Environmental justice" means:

(1) The right of every person in the State to live in a clean and healthy environment, to be treated fairly, and to have meaningful involvement in decisions that affect that person's environment and health;

(2) The duty of every person in the State to uphold traditional and customary native Hawaiian practices that preserve, protect, and restore the natural environment for present and future generations; and

(3) The recognition that no segment of the population or a geographic area should be disproportionately burdened with environmental or health impacts resulting from the development, construction, operation, or use of natural resources.

"Local assessment committee" means a committee that consists of a representative sampling of minority, low-income, and other members of a community that would be impacted by a proposed action.

"Planning" and "scoping" mean identifying impacts, alternatives, and actions that will be considered in completing an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement, respectively."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 4. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Environmental Review Process; Environmental Justice; Precautionary Principle

Description:

Incorporates the principles of environmental justice and the precautionary principle into the environmental review process.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.