DLNR CLARIFIES OCEAN COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTING STATUS
News release from DLNR, April 15, 2025
HONOLULU – After being made aware of misinformation circulated by commercial boating interests, the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is clarifying the status of Commercial Use Permits (CUPs) following a series of judicial actions.
At this time, no new CUPs will be issued, pursuant to the court’s order in Nā Papaʻi Wawae ʻUlaʻula, et al. v. DLNR, Case No. 2CC-17-1-000483. Existing permits in good standing will continue to be renewed and at this time, permittees will only be allowed to maintain current activity and/or passenger capacity levels, or reduce existing levels. DOBOR will continue to allow vessel substitutions, but will not authorize increases in passenger capacity levels, regardless of vessel size.
Permittees planning to upgrade their vessels are advised to ensure that Certificates of Inspection show a passenger carrying capacity that is the same as, or lower than, what is permitted as of December 4, 2024, the date that the court issued its order. The department’s stance on maintaining current activity and/or passenger capacity levels is to ensure that the department does not take any actions that can be construed as contrary to the court’s order.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2017, and after a series of legal proceedings, culminated in the December ruling by the Second Circuit Court prohibiting DOBOR from issuing or renewing CUPs for activities in Kāʻanapali ocean waters off West Maui until what’s known as a Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343 environmental review is completed, or until a determination is made that the activities are exempt from environmental review.
Following the court’s ruling last December, DLNR filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision, informing the court that some commercial operators would be immediately and unfairly impacted if unable to renew their CUPs.
As a result, the court stayed its prohibition on renewing CUPs until a reconsideration hearing takes place. The court also maintained its prohibition on new CUPs. The reconsideration hearing, initially scheduled for February, has been rescheduled a number of times at the request of the plaintiffs, and DLNR did not object. Most recently, a continuation was approved until September of this year.
In a March 27 letter from DLNR Chair Dawn Chang to the Chairs of the House Water & Land and Energy & Environmental Protection Committees, she explained, “The initial scope of the litigation targeted six CUPs issued by DOBOR, but the court’s immediate decision also affects the renewal of over 30 active DOBOR CUPs for Kāʻanapali ocean waters. The department believes that the court’s ruling has broad implications beyond commercial activities in Kāʻanapali ocean waters and could have statewide implications to other commercial activities permitted or authorized by the department as a whole.”
DLNR is aware that some people accused the department of delaying settlement talks. In her letter, Chang wrote, “This is not true.” DLNR received a settlement offer in early March and rejected it before the end of the month because it was determined that the settlement terms were outside of the state’s jurisdiction.
DLNR intends to fully comply with HRS Chapter 343 requirements and will continue working toward properly managing commercial activities while remaining in compliance with the law. Depending on which environmental review may be required, or which activities may be exempted, an Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or a programmatic environmental review, could take six months for an exemption, to as long as six years for an EIS.
Chang added, “We realize the potential impacts of the court’s decision could have significant economic impacts on many permittees and businesses, however the DLNR needs to comply with the law.”
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SB1074 Save Kaanapali Boat Tours But Maintain the Eco-Laws that Killed Them
IM March 29, 2025: … The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs heard SB1074 relating to Environmental Impact Statements on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
The bill would allow activities to continue while environmental reviews take place.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources supported the bill but stressed it wasn’t their bill but was advanced by Commercial Vessel operators. West Maui businesses and ocean companies testified in favor of the bill.
League of Women Voters of Hawaii testified, "In April 2024, the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) ruled that Chapter 343 required a formal determination as to whether an environmental assessment (EA) must be prepared prior to DLNR approval of 6 permit applications for commercial thrill craft at Kaanapali.
“Since the ICA ruling the DLNR has not determined whether an EA is required for either new boating permits or renewal of several dozen existing boating permits at Kaanapali. DLNR inaction has jeopardized permit renewal and threatened the livelihood of commercial boating employees."
"The purpose of SB 1074, SD2, HD1 is to allow existing Kaanapali boating businesses to renew permits and temporarily continue existing commercial activity regardless of whether the DLNR decides to require an EA However, legislation is unnecessary because Sections 11-200.1-15(c)(1) and 11-200.1-17(a), Hawaii Administrative rules already allow the DLNR to determine that an EA is not required for renewal of noncontroversial permits for existing commercial boating."....
Chair David Tarnas proposed amendments.
“I want to ensure that this is a temporary thing. I want to include a sunset date of two years, that`s it. Two years, that`s it. I want to recommend that we put this new language into session law rather than into Hawaii Revised Statutes so it would only be effective for two years.
“I would like to really admonish the department to move forward expeditiously on this matter specifically for the ocean recreation businesses off Kaanapali.
“I hear what you`re saying about wanting to expand it, but we`re not going to. We are going to keep it just to Chapter 200 and we are going to limit it in terms of the time period, two years sunset and in session law.
“When you talk about fisheries and other things that could be brought in as activities that need to have 343 analysis, Ka Paʻakai analysis….”
HPR: Lawmakers still weighing temporary exemption for tour boat environmental reviews | Hawai'i Public Radio
MN: DLNR clarifies Ocean Commercial Use Permitting following series of judicial actions : Maui Now
read … House Advances Session Law to Allow Commercial Activities During EIS Process
SB1074: Text, Status