§174C-7 Commission on water resource management. (a) There is established within the department a commission on water resource management consisting of seven members which shall have exclusive jurisdiction and final authority in all matters relating to implementation and administration of the state water code, except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter.

(b) Five members shall be appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the senate in the manner prescribed in subsection (d). Each member shall have substantial experience in the area of water resource management; provided that at least one member shall have substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage such as those preserved by section 174C-101. The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources shall be the chairperson of the commission. The director of health or the director's designee shall serve as an ex officio[,] voting member.

(c) The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.

(d) In appointing a member to the commission, the governor shall select from a list submitted by a nominating committee. The nominating committee shall be composed of four individuals chosen as follows: two persons appointed by the governor; one person appointed by the president of the senate; and one person appointed by the speaker of the house. The committee shall solicit applications and send to the governor the names of at least three individuals for each open position.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the commission shall be subject to sections 26-34, 26-35, and 26-36. L 1987, c 45, pt of §2; am L 2003, c 184, §1; am L 2016, c 54, §1

Note

Standardized water audits of public water systems; reports. L 2016, c 169.

Case Notes

Adverse party's due process right to fair tribunal in a contested case hearing before commission not violated by land and natural resources department chairperson also serving as chairperson of commission under subsection (b) where legislature deemed it appropriate for one person to serve in both capacities and could override common law doctrine of incompatible offices which prohibited a person from serving in a dual capacity. 94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.

Department of land and natural resources chairperson's dual status as chairperson of the commission and the department did not constitute a reversible due process violation where, although chairperson should have been precluded from presiding over the hearing, objecting party did not seek chairperson's disqualification, and where chairperson's disqualification would have prevented commission from acting on the case for lack of quorum, the "rule of necessity" demanded that chairperson preside over the hearing. 94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.

In denying permit application, commission did not wrongfully ignore and abridge petitioner's "ali‘i rights" where, to the extent that the ali‘i exercised sovereign authority over water, they received such authority by delegation from the sovereign; pursuant to constitutional and statutory mandate, final delegated authority presently resides in the commission, to be exercised for the benefit of the people of the State. 94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.

Where department of land and natural resources was a party in a contested case proceeding before the commission, constitutional mandate that tribunal be impartial precluded chairperson of the commission, who was also chairperson of the department, from presiding over the hearing. 94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.

Law Journals and Reviews

Where Justice Flows Like Water: The Moon Court's Role in Illuminating Hawai`i Water Law. 33 UH L. Rev. 537 (2011).