A Review of the Hawaii Environmental Impact Assessment Process

This paper reports on the review of Hawaii's environmental impact assessment process undertaken by the University of Hawaii Environmental Center. The purpose of the review was to: 1) Examine provisions of Hawaii's EIA law and amendments made since 1978; 2) Evaluate the efficacy of the present process in achieving its intended objectives; 3) Analyze EIA processes in other states; 4) Make recommendations for improvements if necessary. As a result of the review, suggestions for improving the Hawaii state EIA process were developed covering the following areas: 1) Management of the EIA process; 2) Action coverage and criteria for triggering the EIA process; 3) Formal review for findings of no significant impact; and 4) EIS preparation responsibility.