Newly-Appointed Council Includes All Counties

Gov. David Ige has completed appointments to the 15-member State Environmental Council. It has been almost 10 years since the Environmental Council has been fully appointed. The Council now includes members with broad and balanced expertise and experience with the environment, education, and business. For the first time in the Council’s history, a majority of members are from neighbor islands, with at least one member from each island (except Niihau) and at least two members from each county.

The names of the Council appointees are:
· Joseph Shacat, Chair (O‘ahu)
· Roy Abe (O‘ahu)
· Mary Begier (Hawai‘i)
· Stephanie Dunbar-Co (Moloka‘i)
· Scott Glenn (O‘ahu)
· Barbara Maka‘ala Ka‘aumoana (Kauai)
· Paulette Ka‘anohi Kaleikini (O‘ahu)
· Ian Robin Kaye (Lāna‘i)
· Theresita Kinnaman (Kauai)
· Robert Parsons (Maui)
· Charles Prentiss (O‘ahu)
· Ron Terry (Hawai‘i)
· Puananionaona Thoene (O‘ahu)
· Michael Tulang (Hawai‘i)
· Nicole Mahina Tuteur (O‘ahu)

“I encourage residents across the state to provide the Environmental Council with their perspectives on issues that affect the environment and development. The volunteers on the Environmental Council are highly capable individuals who take their responsibilities seriously. I thank them for their willingness to serve the public in this capacity,” says Gov. Ige.

Joseph Shacat, Chair of the Environmental Council, says, “I am excited to have a full slate of Council members for the first time in recent history. Over the past few years, the Council has often struggled just to attain quorum at its meetings. Thanks to Governor Ige’s recent appointments, we can now focus on more important issues. I am very much looking forward to working with the new members and making meaningful progress on Council initiatives.”

The Environmental Council has several critical functions affecting the environment and development across Hawai‘i. The Council is a liaison between the OEQC Director Scott Glenn and the general public. The OEQC Director regularly advises Gov. Ige on environmental matters. The Council also monitors the progress of the state in meeting its environmental goals through the publication of its annual report on the state of Hawai‘i’s environment. It creates the administrative rules for Hawai‘i’s environmental impact statement (EIS) process and vets state and county agency lists for actions that can be considered exempt from having to prepare EIS’s or environmental assessments (EAs).

“We’re thankful to Gov. Ige for making these appointments as to assure the members represent a truly broad range of our diverse population here in Hawai‘i. Having members physically on the ground on each island to be a resource for those residents will improve our dialogue so that we may be better stewards for our islands and make them more sustainable,” said OEQC Director Scott Glenn.

Additional information about the Environmental Council is available here. The Council meets on the second Tuesday of every month.