Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 13 - DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Subtitle 7 - WATER RESOURCES › Chapter 167 - RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR THE COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 13-167-2 - Definitions

Current through June, 2024
(a) As used in this title, unless the context
				  requires otherwise:
"Authorized planned use" means the use or projected use of
					 water by a development that has received the proper state land use designation
					 and county development plan/community plan approvals.
"Board" means the board of land and natural
					 resources.
"Chairperson" means the chairperson of the commission on
					 water resource management.
"Change in use" means any modification or change in water
					 use from or to domestic, municipal, military, agriculture (including
					 agricultural processing), or industrial use.
"Commission" means commission on water resource
					 management.
"Contested case" means a proceeding in which the legal
					 rights, duties, or privileges of specific parties are required by law to be
					 determined after an opportunity for an agency hearing.
"Department" means the department of land and natural
					 resources.
"Deputy" means the deputy to the chairperson of the
					 commission on water resource management.
"Ground water" means any water found beneath the surface
					 of the earth, whether or not in perched, dike- confined, or basal supply; in
					 underground channels or streams; standing, percolating, or flowing condition;
					 or under artesian pressure.
"Instream use" means beneficial uses of stream water for
					 significant purposes which are located in the stream and which are achieved by
					 leaving the water in the stream. Instream uses include, but are not limited
					 to:
(1) Maintenance of aquatic life and wildlife
					 habitats;
(2) Outdoor recreational activities;
(3) Maintenance of ecosystems such as estuaries, wetlands,
					 and stream vegetation;
(4) Aesthetic values such as waterfalls and scenic
					 waterways;
(5) Navigation;
(6) Instream hydropower generation;
(7) Maintenance of water quality;
(8) The conveyance of irrigation and domestic water
					 supplies to downstream points of diversion; and
(9) The protection of traditional and customary Hawaiian
					 rights.
"Nonregulated use" means any use of water which is
					 exempted from regulation by the provisions of this code.
"Party" means each person or agency named or admitted as a
					 party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party
					 in any court or agency proceeding.
"Person" means any individual, firm, association,
					 organization, partnership, estate, trust, corporation, company, or any
					 governmental unit.
"Petitioner" means the person or agency on whose behalf
					 the petition or application is made.
"Presiding officer" means the person conducting the
					 hearing which shall be the chairperson or the chairperson's designated
					 representative.
"Proceeding" means the commission's consideration of the
					 relevant facts and applicable law, and action thereupon with respect to a
					 particular subject within the commission's jurisdiction, initiated by a filing
					 or submittal or request or a commission's notice or order, and shall include
					 but not be limited to:
(1) Petitions or applications for the granting or declaring
					 any right, privilege, authority, or relief under or from any provision of law
					 or of any rule or requirement made pursuant to a power granted by law;
(2) An investigation or review instituted or requested to
					 be instituted by the commission;
(3) Other proceedings involving the adoption, amendment, or
					 repeal of any rule of the commission, whether initiated by commission order or
					 notice or by petition of an interested person.
"Public hearing" means a hearing required by law in which
					 members of the public generally may comment upon a proposed rule or
					 application.
"Public records" is defined in section 92-50, Hawaii
					 Revised Statutes. The term shall include all rules, written statements of
					 policy or interpretation formulated, adopted or used by the commission, all
					 final opinions and orders, the minutes of meetings of the commission and any
					 other material required by law to be kept on file in the office of the
					 commission unless accorded confidential treatment pursuant to statute or the
					 rules of the commission.
"Reasonable-beneficial use" means the use of water in such
					 a quantity as is necessary for economic and efficient utilization, for a
					 purpose, and in a manner which is not wasteful and is both reasonable and
					 consistent with the state and county land use plans and the public
					 interest.
"Rules" means the rules of practice and procedure before
					 the commission.
"Stream" means any river, creek, slough, or natural
					 watercourse in which water usually flows in a defined bed or channel. It is not
					 essential that the flowing be uniform or uninterrupted. The fact that some
					 parts of the bed or channel have been dredged or improved does not prevent the
					 watercourse from being a stream.
"Surface water" means both contained surface water (that
					 is, water upon the surface of the earth in bounds created naturally or
					 artificially including, but not limited to, streams, other watercourse, lakes,
					 and reservoirs) and diffused surface water (that is, water occurring upon the
					 surface of the ground other than in contained waterbodies). Water from natural
					 springs is surface water when it exits from the spring onto the earth's
					 surface.
"Sustainable yield" means the maximum rate at which water
					 may be withdrawn from a water source without impairing the utility or quality
					 of the water source as determined by the commission.
"Water" or "waters of the state" means any and all water
					 on or beneath surface of the ground, including natural or artificial
					 watercourses, lakes, ponds, or diffused surface water and water percolating,
					 standing, or flowing beneath the surface of the ground.
"Water management area" means a geographic area which has
					 been designated pursuant to chapter 13-171 as requiring management of the
					 ground or surface water resource, or both.
"Water source" means a place within or from which water is
					 or may be developed, including but not limited to:
(1) generally, an area such as a watershed defined by
					 topographic boundaries, or a definitive ground water body; and
(2) specifically, a particular stream, other surface water
					 body, spring, tunnel, or well or related combination thereof.