The Maui Clean Sky Ordinance

A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO BE ADDED INTO TITLE 20 OF THE MAUI COUNTY CODE, RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,i INTRODUCED AND PROPOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 4-2 OF THE CHARTER OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI.ii

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI:

Title. The rules and regulations of this Article shall be known as the “MAUI CLEAN SKY ORDINANCE.”

Authority. The rules herein are established pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-5iii of the Charter of the County and in accordance with Hawaii Constitution provisions, specifically Article XI, Section 1 on Conservation and Development of Resourcesiv and Article XI, Section 9 on Environmental Rights.v

Purpose. The preservation, protection, and conservation of the natural environment in the County of Maui, including but not limited to water, soil and air quality, is one of the greatest concerns of its government and its people.  Pollution and contamination of the land, air, and water supply is unacceptable because of the adverse effects on the health, safety and welfare of the people of the County and the natural environment, especially when the effects and reversibility are unknown.

Therefore, it is the purpose and intent of this ordinance to regulate the disbursement of aerosols, chemicals or any particulate matter into the skies above or around Maui, other than those byproducts and standard emissions of industry, agriculture, commerce and transportation that are both properly disclosed and approved by applicable governmental agencies. There is currently inadequate research on the collateral effects such disbursements may have on the health of the people and the environment.

Therefore, the purpose of this law is to require any person, firm, corporation, agency, or entity that intends on discharging or disbursing such aerosols, chemicals or any particulate matter, to file a complete Environmental Impact Statement with the County, in a form prescribed by the County, and obtain written and informed approval from the County prior to taking such action.

 

Findings.

A. The people of the County of Maui recognize that various organizations, both governmental and nongovernmental, propose the global disbursement of aerosols and other particulates into the atmosphere for the stated goal of countering the negative effects of global warming – a process labeled with various terms, including but not limited to: “geoengineering,” “climate engineering,” “climate remediation,” and/or “solar radiation management.”vi

 

B. The people of the County of Maui find that there is increasingly more information, studies, and reports indicating that such geoengineering efforts have been proposed and may be currently occurring.vii

 

C. The people of the County of Maui further find that studies show that disbursements from stratospheric aerosol geoengineering and other such programs may contain potentially harmful substances with many known and unknown health and environmental consequences, which may contaminate the air, water, soil and people of Maui County.viii

 

D. The people of the County of Maui conclude that any such program that may result in potentially adverse health and environmental implications must obtain the informed consent of the people of Maui County.  Such informed consent mush be legally obtained by filing an Environmental Impact Statement with, and receiving approval from, the Maui County Council.

 

Proposed Law:

A.  Prohibited Activities: 

Except as described under subsection B, it is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, agency, or entity to:

 

1)  Use any type of aircraft or other self-propelled or buoyant airborne object, or any other land-based, air-based, or water-based device or vehicle to disburse aerosols, chemicals, or any particulate matter into the airspace above or around Maui County that may enter the breathing atmosphere, the rain, or the soils of Maui County; or

 

2) Engage in any act of geoengineering, climate engineering, or any other act related to the climate manipulation of Maui County; or

 

3)Engage in any activity that is intended to alter the weather or the sunlight of Maui County.

 

B.  Exceptions:

1) Nothing in this chapter prohibits any act stated in Subsection A, so long as the person, firm, corporation, agency or entity has first submitted an Environmental Impact Statement to the Maui County Council, in a form prescribed by the County Council or its designee, and has received written informed approval from the Maui County Council; and

 

2)  Nothing in this chapter prohibits any act stated in Subsection A, so long as the disbursements are the byproducts and emissions of industry, agriculture, commerce and transportation that are both properly disclosed and approved by applicable governmental agencies.

 

Form Established.  The County Council is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to develop an Environmental Impact Statement Form to be used by persons, firms, corporations, agencies or entities wishing to perform any disbursements, climate altering activities, weather modification, or geoengineering, as discussed in this chapter.

 

Penalty.  Any person, firm, corporation, agency or entity who knowingly violates this Title shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both. The continuance of any such violation shall be deemed a new violation for each day of such continuance. In addition, the County Attorney may institute an action to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate any violation of this Title and seek such relief by way of injunction or otherwise, as may be proper under the facts and circumstances of the case, in order to fully effectuate the purposes of this Title.

 

Administrative rules.  The Director of Environmental Management may adopt administrative rules to implement this chapter, pursuant to Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

 

Administrative enforcement.  In lieu of or in addition to, enforcement by criminal prosecution, the Director of Environmental Management may enforce this chapter pursuant to section 19.530.030ix of this code, relating to administrative enforcement.

 

Severability. If any portion of this code, or its application to any person or circumstance, shall be held unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder of this code and the application of such portion to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

 

Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect 10 days after recorded with the Maui County Clerk.

 

APPROVED AS TO FORM AND  LEGALITY:

 

Deputy Corporation Counsel County of Maui

 

DATED AT WAILUKU, MAUI, HAWAII, this ___________________.

 

_________________, CHAIR of the Council of the County of Maui

 

_________________, COUNTY CLERK, County of Maui

 

WE HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing BILL NO. __________)

 

REFERENCES

i Maui County, Hawaii, Code of Ordinances, Title 20 – Environmental Protection.

ii “Section 4-2. Introduction, Consideration and Passage of Ordinances and Resolutions.

  1. Every proposed ordinance shall be initiated as a bill and shall be passed after two readings on separate days.
  2. Except as otherwise provided by law, resolutions may be adopted on one reading.
  3.  Upon the request of three members of the council, a public hearing shall be held on any proposed ordinance or resolution.
  4. Digests of all bills which pass first reading and the votes thereon shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least three (3) days before final reading.
  5. After passage all bills shall be promptly advertised once by title only in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, with the ayes and noes.
  6. Should the council find by a two-thirds vote of its entire membership the existence of an emergency threatening life, health, or property due to a public calamity, the council may waive all of the requirements of this section pertaining to procedure, except all votes shall be recorded. Every emergency ordinance, including any amendments made therein after its adoption, shall automatically stand repealed on the ninety-first (91st) day following the date on which it became effective. The council may prescribe by rule procedures for emergency meetings of its membership to be held by conference telephone or similar communication equipment in the event of public calamity.
  7. Resolutions authorizing proceedings in eminent domain shall be adopted as provided by law.
  8.  Bills and resolutions may be passed on first reading by council members and passed on second reading by their successors.”

 

iii “Section 4-5. Codification of Ordinances.

  1. The council shall cause any codification of all of the ordinances of the county heretofore prepared and published to be revised and updated at least biennially.
  2. Prior to passage of a bill providing for the adoption of a uniform code not less than three copies of the uniform code shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the county clerk at least sixty (60) days prior to passage thereof.”

 

iv “For the benefit of present and future generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaii’s natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the State.”

v “Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment, as defined by laws relating to environmental quality, including control of pollution and conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources. Any person may enforce this right against any party, public or private, through appropriate legal proceedings, subject to reasonable limitations and regulation as provided by law.”

vi See David Victor, et al., Geoengineering: Workshop on Unilateral Planetary Scale Geoengineering (Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2008), archived online at:

http://www.cfr.org/projects/world/geoengineering-workshop-on-unilateral-planetaryscale-geoengineering/pr1364

See also David Victor, et al., The Geoengineering Option: A Last Resort Against Global Warming (Foreign Affairs Magazine. Council on Foreign Relations, March/April 2009), archived online at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64829/david-g-victor-mgranger-morgan-jay-apt-john-steinbruner-and-kat/the-geoengineering-option

See also Stop Emitting CO2 or Geoengineering Could Be Our Only Hope (Royal Institute, August 28, 2009), archived online at: http://royalsociety.org/Stop-emittingCO2-or-geoengineering-could-be-our-only-hope/

See also Geoengineering the Climate: Science Governance and Uncertainty (Royal Society, September 1, 2009), archived online at:

http://royalsociety.org/policy/publications/2009/geoengineering-climate/

See also Geoengineering – Taking Control of Our Planet’s Climate (Royal Institute, November 8-9, 2010), archived online at:

http://royalsociety.org/events/2010/geoengineering/

See also Lee Lane, et al., Workshop Report on Managing Solar Radiation (NASA, April 2007), archived online at:

http://event.arc.nasa.gov/main/home/reports/SolarRadiationCP.pdf

See also Vergano, Dan, Can Geoengineering Put the Freeze on Global Warming? (USA Today, February 25, 2011), archived online at:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2011-02-25geoengineering25_CV_N.htm

See also Kunzig, Robert. Geoengineering: How To Cool Earth—At A Price Scientific American. October 20, 2008), archived online at:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=geoengineering-how-to-cool-earth

?See also Erika Engelhaupt, Engineering a Cooler Earth: Researchers brainstorm a radical ways to counter climate change (Science News, June 5, 2010, pp 16-20) archived online at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/78635966/Engineering-a-Cooler-Earth??See also The Regulation of Geoengineering (UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, Fifth Report Session 2009-2010), archived online at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmsctech/221/221.pdf??See also Us House of Representitives and UK Parliament House of Commons Joint Statement on Geoengineering 2010, archived online at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmsctech/221/22111.htm??See also J. J. Blackstock et al., Climate Engineering Responses to Climate Emergencies (Novim, 2009), archived online at: http://arxiv.org/pdf/0907.5140

?vii See Task Force on Climate Remediation Research (The Bipartisan Policy Center, October 2011), archived online at:

http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20Climate%20Remediation%20 Final%20Report.pdf

See also International Consortium of NGOs Calls for Coordinated Action on Geoengineering Research (Royal Institute, December 2, 2011), archived online at:

http://royalsociety.org/news/srmgi-report-2011/

See also Zabarenko, Deborah, Geo-engineering: A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come? (Reuters, December 9, 2011), archived online at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/us-climate-geoengineeringidUSTRE7B81Y820111209

viiiSee What In The World Are They Spraying? (Truth Media Productions, 2010), archived online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0khstYDLA

See also Climate Change 2007: Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007), archived online at:

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/spmsspm-c.html

(“Geo-engineering options, such as ocean fertilization to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, or blocking sunlight by bringing material into the upper atmosphere, remain largely speculative and unproven, and with the risk of unknown side-effects.”)

ix “19.530.030 -Administrative enforcement. In lieu of, or in addition to, enforcement by criminal prosecution, if the director of public works, the director of environmental management, the director of water supply, or the planning director determines that any persons are violating any provision of titles 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19 and 20 of this code, any rules adopted thereunder, or any permit issued thereto, the director may have the person served, by mail or personal delivery, with a notice of violation and order pursuant to this chapter and such administrative rules as the director may adopt.

A. Contents of the notice of violation. The notice shall include at least the following information:

  1. Date of the notice;
  2. The name and address of the person noticed;
  3. The section number of the provision or rule, or the number of the permit which has been violated;
  4. The nature of the violation; and
  5. The location and time of the violation.

 

B. Contents of the order.

1. The order may require the person to do any or all of the following:

  1.             a. Cease and desist from the violation;
  2.             b. Correct the violation at the person’s own expense before a date specified in the order;
  3.             c. Pay a civil fine not to exceed $1,000.00 in the manner, at the place, and before the date specified in the order;
  4.             d. Pay a civil fine not to exceed $1,000.00 per day for each day in which the violation persists, in the manner and at the time and place specified in the order; and
  5.             e. Pay a civil fine not to exceed one percent of the project cost as provided in Section 20.08.260.E.2 of this code.

 

2. The order shall advise the person that the order shall become final thirty days after the date of its mailing or delivery. The order shall also advise that the director’s action may be appealed to the board of variances and appeals.

C. Effects of order; right to appeal. The provisions of the order issued by the director of public works, the director of environmental management, the director of water supply, or the planning director under this section shall become final thirty days after the date of the mailing or delivery of the order. The person may appeal the order to the board of variances and appeals as provided for in this article. However, an appeal to the board of variances and appeals shall not stay any provision of the order.

D. Collection of unpaid civil fines. In addition to any other procedures for the collection of civil fines available to the County by law or rules of the court, the County may add unpaid civil fines as herein defined to any County taxes, fees or charges except for residential water or sewer charges.

E. Judicial enforcement of order. The director of public works, the director of environmental management, the director of water supply, or the planning director may institute a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of any order issued pursuant to this section. Where the civil action has been instituted to enforce the civil fine imposed by said order, the director or agency need only show that the notice of violation and order were served, that a civil fine was imposed, the amount of the civil fine imposed, and that the fine imposed has not been appealed in a timely manner nor paid.”