Hawaii Administrative Code

Within thirty days after the filing of a petition for mediation any affected state or county agency (other than the commission or the division of water and land development) may file with the commission a statement of position with a summary of reasons in support or opposition, o…

Upon receipt of an appropriate request, the commission may request petitioner and any affected persons identified as necessary to the resolution of the dispute to participate in mediation. All appropriate requests shall be consolidated in a single mediation conference. The commis…

Within fifteen days after the deadline for filing of the position statements the commission shall appoint a qualified mediator from a list maintained by the commission for such purposes. No person shall serve as a mediator in any dispute in which that person has any financial or …

The initial mediation session shall be held within 15 days after the appointment of the mediator. The mediator shall fix the time and place of each subsequent mediation session. The conference shall be held within the affected county unless all parties and the mediator agree othe…

The mediator shall attempt to help the parties reach a satisfactory resolution of their dispute, but shall not have authority to impose a settlement upon the parties. The mediator may conduct joint and separate meeting with the parties and make oral and written recommendations fo…

Mediation sessions shall be private. The parties and their representatives shall have the right to attend the joint mediation sessions. Other persons may attend only with the permission of all parties to the mediation and the consent of the mediator. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-167-8…

(a) All public records shall be available for inspection in the office of the commission, Honolulu, Hawaii, during established office hours unless such inspection of these records is contrary to any state or federal law. Where the records are open under any rule of court, the att…

(a) Confidential information disclosed to a mediator by any party in the course of the mediation shall not be divulged by the mediator to anyone including other parties to the mediation. All records, reports, or other documents received by a mediator while serving in such capacit…

The mediator shall submit a written report containing recommendations to the commission, based upon any mediation agreement reached between the parties or stating that no agreement was reached, for consideration by the commission in its final decision. The written report of the m…

The parties shall each bear their respective costs, fees and expenses. The cost to administer the mediation, including any fees, required travel and other expenses of the mediator, shall be borne by the department. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-167-92 [Eff. MAY 27, 1988] (Auth: HRS § 1…

The primary purpose of this chapter is to carry out the intent of the State Water Code to assure maximum beneficial use of ground and surface waters of the state by establishing rules for reporting and gathering meaningful data on all water uses and sources. The rules in this cha…

(a) Within one year from the effective date of these rules, the owner or operator of any well in existence on the effective date of these rules shall register the well with the commission on forms provided by the commission. The owner or operator shall disclose the location of su…

(a) No well shall be constructed, altered, or repaired and no pump or pumping equipment shall be installed, replaced, or repaired without an appropriate permit from the commission. An application for a well construction or pump installation permit shall be accompanied by a non-re…

Within thirty days after the completion of any well, the well driller or pump installation contractor, as the case may be, shall file with the commission on forms provided by the commission a well completion report containing as appropriate: (1) State well number; (2) Date of com…

(a) The minimum standards referenced in this section, shall be such as to ensure the safe and sanitary maintenance and operation of wells, the prevention of waste, and the prevention of contamination of ground water aquifers. The standards for well construction specified in The H…

Any authorized representative or employee of the department shall have free access to all wells and their appurtenances at any reasonable time to inspect, test, obtain data, or investigate any matter connected with the intent and purposes of these rules. However, the department s…

(a) The owner or operator of any well which has been determined by the commission or voluntarily declared by the owner or operator to be abandoned as defined in § 13-168-2, after written notification, shall be required, at owner's or operator's expense, to re-case, cement, plug b…

As used in this chapter: "Abandoned well" means any well that has been permanently discontinued. Any well shall be deemed abandoned which has been allowed to become unsealed, leaking, polluting, deteriorating in quality, uncontrollable, buried, or which is in such a state of disr…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any permit condition or who fails to comply with any order of the commission may be subject to a fine imposed by the commission. Such fine shall not exceed $1,000 per violation. For a continuing offense, each day's cont…

Within one year from the effective date of these rules, the owner or operator of any stream diversion works in any area of the state shall register such facility with the commission. Registration shall be on the forms provided by the commission and shall include information such …

(a) No person shall construct or alter a stream diversion works, other than in the course of normal maintenance, without first obtaining a stream diversion permit from the commission. The commission may impose such reasonable conditions as are necessary to assure that the constru…

Within thirty days after the completion of construction or alteration of any stream diversion work, the permittee shall file a written statement of completion with the commission. The report shall describe the nature and extent of the work performed, including relevant maps and d…

Any authorized representative or employee of the department shall have free access to all stream diversion works and appurtenances at any reasonable time to inspect, obtain data, or investigate any matter connected with the intent and purposes of these rules. However, the departm…

(a) The owner of any stream diversion works wishing to abandon or remove such works shall first obtain a stream diversion permit issued or caused to be issued by the commission. No abandonment work shall be undertaken by the applicant until such a permit is issued by the commissi…

(a) Any person making a use of water from a well or stream diversion works in existence on the effective date of these rules in any area of the state shall file a declaration of the person's use with the commission within one year from the effective date of these rules. (b) The c…

(a) When a declaration has been filed in accordance with this chapter and the commission has determined that the use declared is a reasonable and beneficial use, the commission shall issue or cause to be issued a certificate describing the use. The certificate shall be deemed to …

(a) The owner or operator of any well or stream diversion works from which water is being used shall provide and maintain an approved meter or other appropriate device or means for measuring and reporting total water usage on a monthly (calendar or work schedule) basis. If a well…

The Interim Instream Flow Standard for all streams on Windward Oahu, as adopted by the commission on water resource management on April 19, 1989, shall be that amount of water flowing in each stream on the effective date of this standard, and as that flow may naturally vary throu…

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: "Baseline research" means the gathering of data of a primary nature which is used to create a base or foundation of knowledge for understanding some subject, such as the stream water of a particular stream in the sta…

The protection of instream uses statewide shall be guided by the following general principles: (1) The quality of the stream systems statewide shall be protected and enhanced where practicable. Accordingly, where practicable, streams should be maintained with water sufficient to …

The general administration of this chapter shall rest with the commission on water resource management. In addition to its other powers and duties, the commission: (1) Shall establish instream flow standards for the protection of instream uses and shall require that such flow sta…

An instream use protection program designed to protect, enhance, and reestablish, where practicable, beneficial instream uses of water statewide shall be established. The program shall include the: (1) Conducting of baseline research and the undertaking of hydrologic investigatio…

A continuing comprehensive program of baseline research for the state's streams and stream systems shall be initiated as part of the program to protect instream uses. Data from this research shall be used in developing the instream flow standards required under this chapter. When…

The baseline research required in § 13-169-23 shall include: (1) Field surveys to identify and document instream and non-instream uses of stream water; (2) The collection of hydrologic data and assessments of streamflow characteristics and stream ecosystems; and (3) Determination…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any permit condition or who fails to comply with any order of the commission may be subject to a fine imposed by the commission. Such fine shall not exceed $1,000 per violation. For a continuing offense, each day's cont…

(a) The commission may initiate proceedings for the establishment of an instream flow standard for any stream(s) or stream reach(es) in the state. In acting upon the establishment of instream flow standards, the commission shall set forth in writing its conclusion that the public…

(a) Upon the commission's decision to initiate proceedings to establish or modify an instream flow standard, the department shall publish a notice of the commission's intention to set the instream flow standard, setting forth: (1) The affected stream(s) or stream reach (es) there…

(a) After giving notice and before any proposed instream flow standard is established by the commission, the department under the directive of the commission shall conduct whatever investigation is deemed necessary for the commission to reach a decision. During the investigation …

(a) Each candidate stream or stream reach shall be assessed for the instream uses as defined in this chapter. (b) In assessing instream uses, the department may employ various methods to determine the significance of each use and its associated stream water requirements. Instream…

(a) Upon the drafting of a proposed instream flow standard and prior to its adoption, the commission shall hold a public hearing and shall publish a notice of the hearing, setting forth the: (1) Affected stream(s) or stream reach(es) thereof; (2) Purpose of the public hearing; an…

After the required public hearing and after necessary investigations have been completed, the deputy shall make a recommendation to the commission for its decision. The commission shall cause a notice of its decision concerning the adoption of the instream flow standard to be pub…

The modification of an existing instream flow standard by the commission may be initiated by the commission or by a petition to the commission by any interested person. The petition for modifying instream flow standards shall be made on forms provided by the department. The proce…

Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by an order or action of the commission pertaining to any provision of this chapter may seek administrative and judicial review in accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statute. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-169-4 [Eff. MAY 27, 198…

(a) Pending the establishment of an instream flow standard for any stream(s) or stream reach(es), any person, with proper standing, may petition the commission to adopt an interim instream flow standard for such stream(s) or reach(es). (b) The petition to adopt an interim instrea…

The commission shall grant or reject a petition to adopt an interim instream flow standard under this chapter within one hundred eighty days of the date the petition is filed. The one hundred eighty days may be extended a maximum of one hundred eighty days at the request of the p…

The commission shall adopt interim instream flow standards as follows: (1) Windward Oahu by July 31, 1987; (2) East Maui and Kauai by December 31, 1987; (3) Hawaii and Molokai by July 1, 1988; and (4) West Maui and Leeward Oahu by December 31, 1988. The commission may alter prior…

(a) Any interim instream flow standard adopted under this subchapter shall terminate upon the establishment of an instream flow standard for the stream(s) or stream reach(es) for which the interim instream flow standard was adopted. (b) Interim instream flow standards are by thei…