Haw. Code R. § 11-200.1-2
As used in this chapter: "Acceptance" means a formal determination that the document required to be filed pursuant to chapter 343, HRS, fulfills the requirements of an EIS, as prescribed by section 11-200.1-28. Acceptance does not mean that the action is environmentally sound or unsound, but only that the document complies with chapter 343, HRS, and this chapter,
"Accepting authority" means, in the case of agency actions, the respective governor or mayor, or their authorized representative, and in the case of applicant actions, the agency that initially received and agreed to process the request for an approval, that makes the determination that the EIS fulfills the requirements for acceptance.
"Action" means any program or project to be initiated by an agency or applicant.
"Addendum" means an attachment to a draft EA or draft EIS, prepared at the discretion of the proposing agency, applicant, accepting authority, or approving agency, and distinct from a supplemental EIS, for the purpose of disclosing and addressing clerical errors such as inadvertent omissions, corrections, or clarifications to information already contained in the draft EA or the draft EIS filed with the office.
"Agency" means any department, office, board, or commission of the state or county government that is part of the executive branch of that government.
"Applicant" means any person that, pursuant to statute, ordinance, or rule, officially requests approval from an agency for a proposed action.
"Approval" means a discretionary consent required from an agency prior to implementation of an action.
"Approving agency" means an agency that issues an approval prior to implementation of an applicant action.
"Council" means the environmental council.
"Cumulative impact" means the impact on the environment that results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency or person undertakes the other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time.
"Discretionary consent" means a consent, sanction, or recommendation from an agency for which judgment and free will may be exercised by the issuing agency, as distinguished from a ministerial consent. Ministerial consent means a consent, sanction, or recommendation from an agency based upon a given set of facts, as prescribed by law without the use of judgment or discretion.
"Draft environmental assessment" means the EA submitted by a proposing agency or an approving agency for public review and comment when that agency anticipates a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
"Effects" or "impacts" as used in this chapter are synonymous. Effects may include ecological effects (such as the effects on natural resources and on the components, structures, and functioning of affected ecosystems), aesthetic effects, historic effects, cultural effects, economic effects, social effects, or health effects, whether primary, secondary, or cumulative, whether immediate or delayed. Effects may also include those effects resulting from actions that may have both beneficial and detrimental effects, even if on balance the agency believes that the effect will be beneficial.
"EIS preparation notice", "EISPN", or "preparation notice" means a determination that an action may have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, will require the preparation of an EIS, based on either an EA or an agency's judgment and experience that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment.
"EIS public scoping meeting** means a meeting in which agencies, citizen groups, and the general public assist the proposing agency or applicant in determining the range of actions, alternatives, impacts, and proposed mitigation measures to be considered in the draft EIS and the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the draft EIS*
"Emergency action" means an action to prevent or mitigate loss or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services in response to a sudden unexpected occurrence demanding the immediate action.
"Environment" means humanity's surroundings, inclusive of all the physical, economic, cultural, and social conditions that exist within the area affected by a proposed action, including land, human and animal communities, health, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic, cultural, or aesthetic significance.
"Environmental assessment" or "EA" means a written evaluation that serves to provide sufficient evidence and analysis to determine whether an action may have a significant effect.
"Environmental impact statement", "statement", or "EIS" means an informational document prepared in compliance with chapter 343, HRS. The initial EIS filed for public review shall be referred to as the draft EIS and shall be distinguished from the final EIS, which is the document that has incorporated the public's comments and the responses to those comments* The final EIS is the document that shall be evaluated for acceptability by the accepting authority.
"Exemption list" means a list prepared by an agency pursuant to subchapter 8. The list may contain in part one the types of routine activities and ordinary functions within the jurisdiction or expertise of the agency that by their nature do not have the potential to individually or cumulatively adversely affect the environment more than negligibly and that the agency considers to not rise to the level of requiring further chapter 343, HRS, environmental review. In part two, the list may contain the types of actions the agency finds fit into the general types of action enumerated in section 11-200.1-15.
"Exemption notice" means a notice produced in accordance with subchapter 8 for an action that a proposing agency or approving agency on behalf of an applicant determines to be exempt from preparation of an EA.
"Final environmental assessment" means either the EA submitted by a proposing agency or an approving agency following the public review and comment period for the draft EA and in support of either a FONSI or an EISPN.
"Finding of no significant impact" or "FONSI" means a determination by an agency based on an EA that an action not otherwise exempt will not have a significant effect on the environment and therefore does not require the preparation of an EIS.
"Impacts" means the same as "effects".
"Issue date" means the date imprinted on the periodic bulletin required by section 343-3, HRS.
"National Environmental Policy Act" or "NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Public Law 91-190, 42 U.S.C. sections 4321-4347, as amended.
"Office" means the office of environmental quality control.
"Periodic bulletin" or "bulletin" means the document required by section 343-3, HRS, and published by the office.
"Person" includes any individual, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, private corporation, or other legal entity other than an agency.
"Primary impact", "primary effect", "direct impact", or "direct effect" means effects that are caused by the action and occur at the same time and place.
"Program" means a series of one of more projects to be carried out concurrently or in phases within a general timeline, that may include multiple sites or geographic areas, and is undertaken for a broad goal or purpose. A program may include: a number of separate projects in a given geographic area which, if considered singly, may have minor impacts, but if considered together,- may have significant impacts; separate projects having generic or common impacts; an entire plan having wide application or restricting the range of future alternative policies or actions, including new significant changes to existing land use plans, development plans, zoning regulations, or agency comprehensive resource management plans; implementation of multiple projects over a long time frame; or implementation of a single project over a large geographic area.
"Project" means a discrete, planned undertaking that is site and time specific, has a specific goal or purpose, and has potential impact to the environment.
"Proposing agency" means any state or county agency that proposes an action under chapter 343, HRS.
"Secondary impact", "secondary effect", "indirect impact", or "indirect effect" means an effect that is caused by the action and is later in time or farther removed in distance, but is still reasonably foreseeable. An indirect effect may include a growth-inducing effect and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land use, population density or growth rate, and related effects on air, water, and other natural systems, including ecosystems.
"Significant effect" or 'significant impact" means the sum of effects on the quality of the environment, including actions that irrevocably commit a natural resource, curtail the range of beneficial uses of the environment, are contrary to the State's environmental policies or long-term environmental goals and guidelines as established by law, adversely affect the economic welfare, social welfare, or cultural practices of the community and State, or are otherwise set forth in section 11-200, 1-13,
"Supplemental EIS" means an updated EIS prepared for an action for which an EIS was previously accepted, but which has since changed substantively in size, scope, intensity, use, location, or timing, among other things.
"Trigger" means any use or activity listed in section 343-5(a), HRS, requiring environmental review.
Unless defined in this section, elsewhere within this chapter, or in chapter 343, HRS, a proposing agency or approving agency may use its administrative rules or statutes that they implement to interpret undefined terms.
Haw. Code R. § 11-200.1-2