hawaiioceanlaw.com

Upcoming Seminar on Coastal Engineering and Land Use Issues in Hawaii

Shoreline construction and land use will be the topic of an upcoming seminar entitled, "Coastal Engineering and Land Use Issues in Hawaii".  The date is August 14, 2008.  I will specifically present materials and information on construction in the shoreline area.

The seminar reservation information is available here.

Let me know if you can attend - hope to see you there.

White House Mulls Use of Antiquities Act to Preserve Ocean Resources

Heard this report on NPR yesterday and thought it worthy of posting. 

Environmental groups announced that the White House is considering use of the Antiquities Act to declare several ocean zones as "monuments," which are tantamount to federal "parks."  The White House Council on Environmental Quality did not confirm the report, but did say that it was considering the intiative.  The scale (in terms of acreage protected by such an act) is, excuse the pun, monumental.

The protected areas would be the waters in the Central Pacific, centering on the Howland-Baker atolls.  Rose Atoll in American Samoa, the Mariana Trench near Guam, as well as waters in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Southeastern coast of the U.S.  The Central Pacific area alone is 600,000 square miles.

The Antiquities Act predates the National Environmental Policy Act by more than six decades.  Federal law provides for the creation of marine sanctuaries (the National Marine Sanctuaries Act), but the process is lengthy, some taking a decade to create and implement (owing to the public comment and input).

I doubt you'll see an Environmental Assessment for this or litigation to compel the government to do such a study.  But, the NPR report does mention some concerns about ensuring public input to this "process".

Hearings on Coast Guard's Marine Casualty Investigation Program

Congress held hearings yesterday to review the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board's marine casualty investigation program.  Concerns were expressed about training, tour lengths and dissemination of information and recommendations.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office provided testimony. 

The NTSB provided comment denoting some bureaucratic wrangling in the wake of the Cosco Busan incident, discussed earlier here with more links if you want to drill down to them.  NTSB investigates the significant marine accidents but its testimony sounds like they seek some statutory amendments to clarify roles and responsibilities.

The Coast Guard also provided testimony.

Thanks to Dennis Bryant, Esq. for the tip.

Coast Guard Proposes Implementation of Vessel Security Officer Standards

The Coast Guard issued an interim rule with a request for comments by July 21, 2008. 

The rule intends to implement the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers qualification requirements for vessel security officers.

Supreme Court Review of Ninth Circuit Parasailing Case Sought

I had earlier posted about the UFO Chuting v. Smith case.  The Ninth Circuit held that the State of Hawaii's partial ban on parasailing off the coast of Maui did not violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and was not preempted by federal law.

The parasail operator filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review. 

Two questions are presented for review:  first, "Does Hawaii's five-month seasonal ban on parasailing in navigable (federal) waters off Maui's coast violate the Supremacy Clause because it furthers neither the purposes nor the objectives of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1379(a), the predominant federal regime enacted by Congress in 1972 for the safety and well being of humpback whales?" and second, "Does the enactment of legislation mooting a judgment which granted all of the relief sought, including a permanent injunction, deprive the prevailing party, here petitioners, of the right to attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. s. 1988?"

Presentation on Federal and State Regulation of Hawaii Waters

On Monday, May 19, 2008, I will be giving a presentation to the Hawaii State Bar Association's Admiralty Section.  The title is "Federal and State Regulation of Hawaiian Ocean Waters."

Co-presenting is Deputy Attorney General Bill Wynhoff, who represented the State of Hawaii in the UFO Chuting case posted here.

The talk will be held at the Bar Association conference room at 1132 Bishop Street, 9th floor.  We start at noon. 

What About Kawaihae? TWIC Implementation Issues

West Hawaii Today reports some implementation issues with the TWIC program on the Big Island.

I posted about the TWIC program earlier here and specifically about the TWIC registration in Hilo, here.

Detailed Analysis of Coast Guard's Authorization Bill for 2008

The Winston Strawn firm in D.C. published a detailed analysis of the Coast Guard authorization bill posted earlier here.

Coast Guard Proposes Fishing Vessel Safety Equipment Changes

The Coast Guard has proposed new safety regulations for commercial fishing industry fishing vessels.  The Notice includes a good history of the Coast Guard's attempts to oversee the safety of the commercial fishing fleet.

They are available for download here.  Public comment is due by July 29, 2008.