The public has extra time to comment on a draft state plan to curb emissions from ground, air and ocean vehicles in Hawaii that may increase costs for all kinds of goods.
A deadline to comment on the plan, crafted by the Hawaii Department of Transportation as part of a legal settlement, has been extended by a month from Thursday to Aug. 31.
Eight members of the state House of Representatives asked HDOT in a July 17 letter to provide additional time for public comment.
The plan aims to largely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from ground, air and ocean transportation vehicles statewide by 2045.
HDOT’s plan largely focuses on establishing clean fuel requirements for cars, passenger jets and cargo ships. These changes will involve a big expense, which has yet to be estimated but is expected to add to what residents pay for fuel, groceries, airfare and more.
Other elements in the plan include dramatically reducing cruise ship visits in Hawaii, expanding pedestrian and bicycle path networks, building more public electric vehicle fast-charging stations, planting thousands of native trees and developing an analytical tool to measure greenhouse gas impacts on all HDOT projects.
Rep. Darius Kila, chair of the House Committee on Transportation, strongly urged the public to submit comments on the plan, which is available online at.
“This plan affects everyone, and it’s critical that voices from all communities are included in the process, ” Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili ) said in a statement.
Ed Sniffen, HDOT director, noted in a July 25 response letter to the eight House members that court approval to extend the deadline is required because the deadline was established as part of a legal settlement. But he also said the extension was anticipated given the circumstance of the request by lawmakers and support from attorneys representing plaintiffs in the case.
Developing the plan was a condition to a June 2024 settlement of a climate impact lawsuit filed against the state in 2022 by about a dozen Hawaii youth.
The lawsuit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation, was filed over concerns that HDOT wasn’t adequately working to meet the state’s 2045 goal, and argued that things including floods and drought exacerbated by climate change were violating rights in Hawaii’s Constitution to a life-sustaining climate system.
Sniffen and other stakeholders who helped developed the 205-page draft Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan presented highlights to a panel of state lawmakers on June 25, two days before posting the full plan online.
After incorporating public feedback where appropriate, HDOT anticipates publishing a final plan by Oct. 15.
Sniffen said in his letter that this “final ” plan will represent an initial installment of a “living ” document that gets updated annually.
“Thus, we anticipate this Plan will involve continuing conversations and feedback loops with communities and the Legislature on how to fulfill Hawaii’s emissions reduction targets in the best interests of all Hawaii’s communities, ” he said in the letter.
