COM 0393.054 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS AND PLANTS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Findings. The public trust doctrine is memorialized in the Hawai`i State Constitution, Article XI, Section 1 "Conservation and Development of Resources," and in the Charter of the County of Hawai`i, Article XIII, Section 13-29 "Conservation of Natural and Cultural Resources." Pursuant to the public trust doctrine, our natural resources, including land and water, are entrusted to our care for the benefit of both current and future generations. The Intermediate Court of Appeals in Kaua`i Springs Inc. vs. Planning Commission of the County of Kaua`i, dated April 20, 2013, underscored the importance of the public trust doctrine and the associated precautionary principle. In Kaua`i Springs, the Intermediate Court of Appeals reaffirmed that the county government in its trustee capacity is subject to the precautionary principle and therefore must exercise a higher level of scrutiny in establishing reasonable measures and making appropriate assessments in order to avoid harmful impacts to our public trust resources. The Council therefore recognizes the right of the people and their government to guard against the intrusion of potential contaminants and prevent the contamination of non- genetically engineered crops, plants and lands by genetically engineered crops and plants without having to first wait for definitive science. As the United States Supreme Court made clear in Maine vs. Taylor (1986), the government is not required "to sit idly by and wait until potentially irreversible environmental damage has occurred or until the scientific community agrees on what disease organisms are or are not dangerous before it acts to avoid such consequences." The Council finds that its authority to impose restrictions on the cultivation, propagation, and development of genetically engineered crops and plants is granted to it by: (1) The Hawai`i Revised Statutes, Section 46-1.5(13), which states: "Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect health, life, and property, and to preserve the order and security of the county and its inhabitants on any subject or matter not inconsistent with, or tending to defeat, the intent of any state statute where the statute does not disclose an express or implied intent that the statute shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the State."; (2) The Hawai`i State Constitution, Article XI, Section 9 "Environmental Rights," which states: "Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment, as defined by laws relating to environmental quality, including control of pollution and conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources. Any person may enforce this right against any party, public or private, through appropriate legal proceedings, subject to reasonable limitations and regulation as provided by law." This ordinance specifically exempts the cultivation, development, and propagation of genetically engineered papaya from prohibition because the genetic modification of papaya over the past decade has become so pervasive across this island that restricting cultivation of genetically engineered papaya would be near impossible at this time, the likelihood of genetically engineered cross pollination of papaya is reduced given the customary controlled