The State of Hawai‘i, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, have decided to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for HIREP.

Program-level environmental impact statement documents are relatively common on the federal level, but somewhat unique in Hawai‘i.  The HIREP Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) is designed to provide the public and agencies an overview of the potential impacts and benefits in the development of HIREP's three primary components:

• An undersea cable system including converter/inverter station infrastructure,
• Possible wind farms on one or more islands in Maui County, and
• Utility infrastructure upgrades on O‘ahu.

PROGRAMMATIC EIS SCOPE  

The PEIS does not grant any development rights or privileges to a specific wind farm project; rather, this PEIS will set a framework, identify broad areas of concern (both location and environment), and specify best management practices (BMP) for the HIREP components.

EXAMPLES OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Examples of Best Management Practices (BMP) from other federal PEIS Record of Decisions.

1. Site Monitoring and Testing

Meteorological towers shall not be located in sensitive habitats or in areas where ecological resources known to be sensitive to human activities (e.g., prarie grouse) are present. Installation of towers shall be scheduled to avoid disruption of wildlife reproductive activities or other important behaviors.

2. Wildlife and other Ecological Resources

Operators shall conduct surveys for federal and/or state-protected species and other species of concern (including special status plant and animal species) within the project area and desgn the project to avoid (if possible), minimize, or mitigate impacts to these resources.

3. Noise

Proponents of a wind energy development project shall take measurements to assess the existing background noise levels at a given site and compare them with the anticipated noise levels associated with the proposed project.

4. Cultural / Historical Resources

The presence of archaeological sites and historic properties in the area of potential effect shall be determined on the basis of a records search of recorded sites and properties in the area and/or, depending on the extent and reliability of existing information, an archaeological survey.  Archaeological sites and historic properties present in the area of potential effect shall be reviewed to determine wheter they meet the criteria of eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

PROJECT SPECIFIC EIS SCOPE

A project-specific applicant would conduct its own subsequent environmental review with the consistent guidelines specified in the PEIS in place to allow a more focused evaluation of the tiered off project.

Implementing a Programmatic EIS, followed by a subsequent project-specific EIS is a more thorough approach to researching and planning the best possible scenarios for renewable development, and presents a significantly increased opportunity for public feedback.

For more information and to provide input on the PEIS scope please visit www.hirep-wind.com.