HONOLULU — The Board of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Friday approved amendments to a wide range of state boating rules intended to improve management of state small boat harbors and ocean recreation-related activities in state waters.
“This extensive rule package contains modifications to multiple rule provisions that we have wanted to make for many years,” Ed Underwood, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) administrator, said in a press release.
The majority of the rule amendments pertain to organizing the definitions to make them more user-friendly, and reorganizing administrative rule provisions for greater clarity,” Underwood added.
The rule changes cover a spectrum of boating and ocean recreation uses, such as commercial use and parking permits and fees, commercial marine operations and tours, and anchoring or mooring outside of a designated offshore mooring area, among others.
Two new administrative rule sections were approved that prohibit feeding of wildlife or feral animals, and abandoning animals and creating or contributing to colonies at any property under DOBOR jurisdiction. These new sections were added in response to complaints about increased feeding of feral animals at DOBOR facilities, which creates potentially unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
The board voted to defer implementation of a provision that would allow disposal of feral or abandoned animals at state small harbors until Jan. 1, 2019. This is in order to give ample time for DOBOR to work with animal caregivers to come up with a viable plan to relocate colonies of feral and/or abandoned animals to areas outside of the small boat harbors.
The proposed revisions and additions to the rules will be submitted to the governor for approval. If approved, they then will be filed in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. The rules will become effective and have the force and effect of law 10 days after filing in that office.