Section 15-36-08 - Environmental impact review(a) The applicant shall file contemporaneously with the permit plan application a draft environmental impact statement preparation notice or environmental assessment for the proposed facility pursuant to chapter 343, HRS. The energy resources coordinator may receive and process, but shall not accept as complete, a permit plan application prior to the acceptance of a final environmental impact statement for the facility. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 343 to the contrary, the department of business, economic development, and tourism shall be the accepting authority for any final environmental impact statement that is prepared by an applicant for any renewable energy facility under chapter 201N, HRS.(b) The applicant shall file, with the respective federal, state, and county agencies, at the earliest practicable time, applications for federal, state, and county permits necessary for approval of the facility. The coordinator shall conduct meetings and discussions with the applicant and agencies to coordinate, review, and commence processing all necessary federal, state, and county permit applications prior to the acceptance of the permit plan application, provided that no action to grant or deny a permit shall be taken until after final acceptance of an environmental impact statement. The coordinator shall implement the following policies and goals in the pre-acceptance meetings and discussions: (1) Efficiently utilizing and minimizing the time period from the filing of the environmental impact statement preparation notice to the final acceptance of the final environmental impact statement;(2) Providing the applicant with technical assistance in providing the required information for necessary permit applications at the earliest practicable time; and(3) Coordinating with all agencies to achieve concurrent and efficient review and processing of permit applications.[Eff. JUL 01 2010] (Auth: HRS § 201N-12) (Imp: HRS § 201N-8)