Gov. Josh Green has come under fire for vetoing a couple of bills that environmentalists say were needed to deter and respond to drinking water crises such as the one triggered by the Red Hill fuel leaks.
“It’s pretty disappointing that the governor would reject having the right tools to protect the public’s priorities when it comes to drinking water,” said Wayne Tanaka, Sierra Club of Hawaii executive director.
Green vetoed House Bill 153, which would add a minimum daily penalty of $50 and raise the maximum penalty to $60,000 from $5,000 per violation of the State Water Code for such things as pumping water beyond allowable limits.
“If enacted, these fines may curtail and discourage housing developments across Hawaii,” Green declared in a statement explaining his rationale. “Boards of water supply across all counties would
almost immediately apply such fines to developments guilty of over-pumping water. Without a graduated schedule or a set of guidelines for penalties and fines, this significant increase appears both arbitrary and discretionary.”
Green also vetoed HB 1088, which essentially grants
the Commission on Water
Resource Management authority to declare water shortages and emergencies.
“The existing powers of the (CWRM) are sufficient to address emergency situations,” Green said in his statement. “In addition, CWRM
is still developing a Water Shortage Plan, which is a
critical foundation for any future strategy concerning water shortage emergencies.”
House Speaker Scott Saiki said Monday there would be no special session for the House of Representatives to override any of Green’s 11 vetoes.
The Sierra Club of Hawaii was one of 43 groups and
institutions that signed a
letter last week urging the governor not to veto the two bills with “critical protections for our freshwater resources.” Green signed them anyway Friday.
Tanaka said HB 1088 would enable the Water Commission to better ensure public needs are prioritized during a water emergency.
Tanaka said that a state deputy attorney general
for the Water Commission earlier this year said the law needed amending in order to allow the commission to order reductions of nonessential water uses in a crisis, such as during a major drought or in the aftermath of a large storm.
Saying the emergency
authority already exists
ignores the months if not years of planning, rule-
making and other steps
current law requires before emergency action can be taken, he said.
In written testimony on HB 1088, Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager Ernie Lau called the current law “adequate” and said he was concerned that the proposal broadens the commission’s authority without enough notice and transparency provided by the rule adoption requirement for public input.
“If the Commission needs to take faster action, they can request the Governor to exercise his authority,” he wrote.
Tanaka said HB 153 would authorize the Water Commission to impose meaningful fines against those who illegally pump aquifers or drain streams dry. Currently, the law allows only a minuscule fine in comparison with how much water can be pumped.
The current $5,000 daily fine is simply insufficient to hold multinational corporations — or the Department of Defense — accountable if and when their water code violations affect public needs, including for affordable housing, Tanaka said.
Tanaka said the law would have ensured that even the deepest pockets can’t shrug off Water Commission fines or otherwise ignore the law.
Environmental law attorney David Kimo Frankel said he’s dumbfounded how Green could paint HB 153 with the brush of discouraging housing.
“It defies logic to understand how increasing the penalty for someone who is violating the law would in any shape or form affect affordable housing,” Frankel said. “It just seems like he was looking for a nice soundbite to reinforce his desire to do a lot of affordable housing. The bill has nothing to do with that.”
Without the increased fines, millions of gallons of water per day could be illegally taken for a fraction of a cent per gallon in penalties, Tanaka said.
Earthjustice attorney Marti Townsend said it is disingenuous for the Green administration to use housing to justify the veto of the penalty law. She said it appears instead to be a favor for luxury developers and the military.
“Who is first in line to be prosecuted for taking more than their fair share of water? It is either the U.S. military who has taken a million gallons of freshwater over their permitted limits, or the luxury developments with their exotic landscaping and lush golf courses in the middle of summer. It definitely is not the little county boards of water supply trying to make sure everyone has their basic water needs met,” Townsend said.
