Water Resource Management Commission Seeks to Fill Seat

A vacant position on the State Commission on Water Resource Management is looking to be filled.

The position will fulfill a new term beginning July 1, and will run for a four year period ending in June 2020.

Under the State Commission on Water Resource Management, exclusive jurisdiction and final authority over matters relating to the implementation and administration of the State Water Code is conducted.

The Governor appoints five of the seven members to the commission, and the two remaining members are ex-officio voting members, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Director of the Department of Health, both also appointed by the Governor.

Each member selected by the Nominating Committee should have “substantial experience or expertise in the area of water resource management,” per state law.

In addition, the position requires, “substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawai‘i water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage, such as those preserved by section 174C-101.”

The members of the commission serve their term without pay, although expenses are reimbursed.

A nominating committee will review the applications and send to the Governor the names of at least three individuals deemed qualified, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes § 174C-7(b).

The appointment by the Governor is subject to confirmation by the Senate.