January 1974 Home   Newsletters

Spring 1974

Summer 1974

Environmental News (Jackie Parnell)
Hawaii's Land Use Boundary Review
Which Is What? Environmental Council / Quality Commission
What's an EIS?
How's the Quality of Your Air?
Hawaii Receives Coastal Zone Planning Funds
Do You Need a Water Permit ? !!! ###
FRESH - Facilities Requirements Evaluation, State of Hawaii
What Is the League Doing?
Kauai LWV Take a Bow

What's an EIS?

EIS IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL IKPACT STATEMENT which is a description of all foreseeable environmental impacts of a proposed project. The main misconception concerns "acceptance" of a statement. Draft statements are reviewed by all interested parties. Comments and criticisms must all be addressed in the final statement. For projects involving State or County lands or funds, the Governor or mayor accepts the statement when he is assured that it is a completely factual disclosure of all aspects of the project. Acceptance of the statement does not mean approval of the project. If a statement is not accepted by an agency, the applicant may appeal this decision to the Environmental Quality Commission.

The Commission is required to inform the public of the status of the impact statements. The office of EQC has published a twice-monthly newsletter welling what statements are expected, when they are available and when there is a decision on acceptance or non-acceptance. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS PUBLICATION BECAUSE:

  1. If an agency rules that an impact statement is not required for a project, there is a 60-day period in which that decision may be challenged.

  2. Once a final statement has been accepted as an adequate disclosure of the expected impact, there is a 60-day period to challenge that acceptance. Only parties that have participated in the review process may challenge and only on these matters that they criticized in their original comments.

For further information, contact the office of Environmental Quality Control, 550 Halekauwila St. Honolulu 96813, 548-6915

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