The process for the preparation of a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) is established by state law pursuant to Chapter 343, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, as amended, and the governing rules as presented in Chapter 11-200, Hawai‘i Administrative Rules. A summary of the SEIS process can be found here.
More simply, an SEIS is designed to help agencies and decision-makers understand the possible environmental impacts of a proposed project that has changed in size, scope, location, intensity, use or timing as compared to the project analyzed by the original environmental impact statement. Turtle Bay Resort will undertake this SEIS in three stages, within the guidelines provided by the State of Hawai‘i. These stages are:
The SEIS Preparation Notice (SEISPN) announces Turtle Bay Resort’s intent to prepare the SEIS. It also presents a detailed description of the project and summarizes some, but not all, of the anticipated impacts. Some of the topics covered by the SEISPN are: Archeology, Culture, Socio-economic factors, Water Management, Ocean/Marine biology, Flora/Fauna, Traffic, Air Quality, View/Visual factors and Infrastructure.
The Draft SEIS is an exhaustive document that includes all of the studies and analyses that have been conducted, a rigorous alternatives analysis and all written comments received in response to the SEISPN, together with Turtle Bay Resort’s written responses. We are targeting early 2012 for this. Notification of the availability of the Draft SEIS will be published in the Office of Environmental Quality Control’s Environmental Notice. The Notice is a twice monthly bulletin published on the 8th and 23rd of every month. The Draft SEIS will be available on this website.
The Final SEIS results from revisions to the Draft SEIS after reviewing comments from all interested parties. If additional studies are needed, they will be conducted and their results added. When completed, it will be available on this website and submitted to the City’s Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) for a formal determination. The DPP will have 30 calendar days to determine if it meets all requirements. The DPP’s determination will then be published in the Environmental Notice.
Anyone can participate in the process, and we encourage you to do so. You will have two opportunities to participate. You can provide written comments during the 30-calendar day period following the publication of the SEISPN in the Environmental Notice, and during the 45-calendar day comment period following the publication of the Draft SEIS. If the DPP accepts the Final SEIS, that decision may also be challenged in court.
We invite your participation and anticipate that the entire process should be completed by mid-2012. You can click on our News & Events section under the Community heading at any time to look for anticipated or final dates for the stages as they progress.