THE SENATE S.B. NO. 1456 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 H.D. 1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RESTORATION OF BEACH LANDS. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
THE SENATE S.B. NO. 1456
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
1456
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO RESTORATION OF BEACH LANDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's leading authority on climate science, in its Assessment Report 6 (2021) stated that it has high confidence that global sea level will continue to rise for centuries to millennia, regardless of whether humans slow carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The legislature also finds that the state climate change mitigation and adaptation commission, created by Act 32, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, stated in its 2022 report to the legislature that Hawaii is projected to likely experience between 3.9 and 5.9 feet of sea level rise by the year 2100. The legislature finds that sea level rise poses a serious and imminent threat to Hawaii's coastal communities and residents and to Hawaii's natural resources, primarily beaches and coastal ecosystems. The legislature recognizes that the State has an affirmative duty to preserve beaches as a public trust resource for the people of Hawaii, and that beaches are both culturally important and provide natural resilience to sea level rise and associated coastal flooding. The legislature further finds that initiating beach restoration pilot projects, such as a project to address costal erosion in Kahana bay on the island of Maui, will further the State's goals of preserving the State's beaches for the people of Hawaii. In 2017, the owners of units in the nine condominium projects and one residential parcel on Kahana bay formed and funded the Kahana Bay Steering Committee to develop and implement a regional project to restore eroded beaches in the bay. The Kahana Bay Steering Committee retained Oceanit in 2018 to assist in the engineering, planning, permitting, and implementation of the project. Oceanit engaged in extensive community and agency consultation and, in 2021, published the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project Second Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which estimated that the project would cost between $26,000,000 and $40,000,000 and require the creation of several rock groins. The Kahana Bay Steering Committee proposed to fund the projected cost of the project through community facilities district financing pursuant to chapter 3.75, Maui County Code, which would require that the rock groins required to hold the replenished sand in place be publicly owned. For various reasons, this project has stalled. The legislature additionally finds that another pilot project that would advance the State's goals of beach restoration would be to restore the dunes at Hanakaoo beach park, which will build resilience and infrastructure protection from high wave events and function as a natural buffer against the effects of sea level rise. In addition to cultural practices and community gatherings, Hanakaoo beach is a prime location for Hawaiian outrigger canoeing and is the home for all west Maui canoe clubs. Dune restoration is a nature-based, low-impact solution that balances environmental sustainability with cultural and recreational needs. However, further technical guidance and assistance in using the tools of dune restoration is needed to create a productive dune habitat and restore dunes and ecosystem services. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to: (1) Amend the definition of "beach restoration" to expand the types of activities the State recognizes as restorative and beneficial to beach lands in response to increasing threats of sea level rise and beach loss; and (2) Appropriate funds for a Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project and a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project on the island of Maui. SECTION 2. Section 171-151, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "beach restoration" to read as follows: ""Beach restoration" means [the placement of sand, with or without stabilizing structures, on an eroded beach from an outside source such as offshore sand deposits, streams, channels or harbor mouths, or an upland sand quarry.] an activity undertaken to: (1) Maintain and improve beaches and dune systems through management of sand and native dune vegetation; (2) Place sand on an eroded beach from an approved outside or adjacent source, with or without stabilizing structures; or (3) Remove abandoned remnant materials from beaches and dunes that pose a risk to public health and coastal ecosystems." SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for a Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project to be undertaken seaward of the parcels located at and between tax map key numbers 2-4-3-010:001 at the southern end and 2-4-3-005:029 on the northern end, on the island of Maui; provided that the Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project shall not include the creation of any t-groins; provided further that the department of land and natural resources shall consult with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding a path forward for the Kahana bay beach restoration project; provided further that the sums appropriated shall be provided in the following ratios: (1) Twenty-five per cent to be paid out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii; (2) Twenty-five per cent to be paid by the county of Maui; and (3) Fifty per cent to be paid by residents living or owning property in the parcels located and between tax map key numbers 2-4-3-010:001 at the southern end and 2-4-3-005:029 on the northern end, on the island of Maui. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act. SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project to be undertaken seaward of Hanakaoo Park on the island of Maui; provided that the sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project shall not include the construction of any t-groins; provided further that that sums appropriated shall be provided in the following ratios: (1) Twenty-five per cent to be paid out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii; (2) Twenty-five per cent to be paid by the county of Maui; and (3) Fifty per cent to be paid by residents living or owning property in the area surrounding Hanakaoo Park. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act. SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored. SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's leading authority on climate science, in its Assessment Report 6 (2021) stated that it has high confidence that global sea level will continue to rise for centuries to millennia, regardless of whether humans slow carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
The legislature also finds that the state climate change mitigation and adaptation commission, created by Act 32, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, stated in its 2022 report to the legislature that Hawaii is projected to likely experience between 3.9 and 5.9 feet of sea level rise by the year 2100. The legislature finds that sea level rise poses a serious and imminent threat to Hawaii's coastal communities and residents and to Hawaii's natural resources, primarily beaches and coastal ecosystems. The legislature recognizes that the State has an affirmative duty to preserve beaches as a public trust resource for the people of Hawaii, and that beaches are both culturally important and provide natural resilience to sea level rise and associated coastal flooding.
The legislature further finds that initiating beach restoration pilot projects, such as a project to address costal erosion in Kahana bay on the island of Maui, will further the State's goals of preserving the State's beaches for the people of Hawaii. In 2017, the owners of units in the nine condominium projects and one residential parcel on Kahana bay formed and funded the Kahana Bay Steering Committee to develop and implement a regional project to restore eroded beaches in the bay. The Kahana Bay Steering Committee retained Oceanit in 2018 to assist in the engineering, planning, permitting, and implementation of the project. Oceanit engaged in extensive community and agency consultation and, in 2021, published the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project Second Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which estimated that the project would cost between $26,000,000 and $40,000,000 and require the creation of several rock groins. The Kahana Bay Steering Committee proposed to fund the projected cost of the project through community facilities district financing pursuant to chapter 3.75, Maui County Code, which would require that the rock groins required to hold the replenished sand in place be publicly owned. For various reasons, this project has stalled.
The legislature additionally finds that another pilot project that would advance the State's goals of beach restoration would be to restore the dunes at Hanakaoo beach park, which will build resilience and infrastructure protection from high wave events and function as a natural buffer against the effects of sea level rise. In addition to cultural practices and community gatherings, Hanakaoo beach is a prime location for Hawaiian outrigger canoeing and is the home for all west Maui canoe clubs. Dune restoration is a nature-based, low-impact solution that balances environmental sustainability with cultural and recreational needs. However, further technical guidance and assistance in using the tools of dune restoration is needed to create a productive dune habitat and restore dunes and ecosystem services.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Amend the definition of "beach restoration" to expand the types of activities the State recognizes as restorative and beneficial to beach lands in response to increasing threats of sea level rise and beach loss; and
(2) Appropriate funds for a Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project and a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project on the island of Maui.
SECTION 2. Section 171-151, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "beach restoration" to read as follows:
""Beach restoration" means [the placement of sand, with or without stabilizing structures, on an eroded beach from an outside source such as offshore sand deposits, streams, channels or harbor mouths, or an upland sand quarry.] an activity undertaken to:
(1) Maintain and improve beaches and dune systems through management of sand and native dune vegetation;
(2) Place sand on an eroded beach from an approved outside or adjacent source, with or without stabilizing structures; or
(3) Remove abandoned remnant materials from beaches and dunes that pose a risk to public health and coastal ecosystems."
SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for a Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project to be undertaken seaward of the parcels located at and between tax map key numbers 2-4-3-010:001 at the southern end and 2-4-3-005:029 on the northern end, on the island of Maui; provided that the Kahana bay beach restoration pilot project shall not include the creation of any t-groins; provided further that the department of land and natural resources shall consult with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding a path forward for the Kahana bay beach restoration project; provided further that the sums appropriated shall be provided in the following ratios:
(1) Twenty-five per cent to be paid out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii;
(2) Twenty-five per cent to be paid by the county of Maui; and
(3) Fifty per cent to be paid by residents living or owning property in the parcels located and between tax map key numbers 2-4-3-010:001 at the southern end and 2-4-3-005:029 on the northern end, on the island of Maui.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project to be undertaken seaward of Hanakaoo Park on the island of Maui; provided that the sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project shall not include the construction of any t-groins; provided further that that sums appropriated shall be provided in the following ratios:
(1) Twenty-five per cent to be paid out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii;
(2) Twenty-five per cent to be paid by the county of Maui; and
(3) Fifty per cent to be paid by residents living or owning property in the area surrounding Hanakaoo Park.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.
Report Title: Restoration of Beach Lands; Kahana Bay Beach Restoration Pilot Project; Sand Restoration and Dune Replenishment Pilot Project; Appropriation Description: Amends the definition of "beach restoration" to include activities undertaken to maintain and improve eroded beaches and degraded dune systems through the management of sand and native vegetation, place sand on an eroded beach, and remove abandoned remnant materials that pose a risk to public and ecosystem health. Appropriates funds for a Kahana Bay beach restoration pilot project and a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project on the island of Maui. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1) The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
Report Title:
Restoration of Beach Lands; Kahana Bay Beach Restoration Pilot Project; Sand Restoration and Dune Replenishment Pilot Project; Appropriation
Description:
Amends the definition of "beach restoration" to include activities undertaken to maintain and improve eroded beaches and degraded dune systems through the management of sand and native vegetation, place sand on an eroded beach, and remove abandoned remnant materials that pose a risk to public and ecosystem health. Appropriates funds for a Kahana Bay beach restoration pilot project and a sand restoration and dune replenishment pilot project on the island of Maui. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.