Hawaii Senate Bill SR117

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/16/26
• Refer: 3/19/26

Caption

Requesting The Department Of Land And Natural Resources To Incorporate Into Their Assessment Process The Possession Or Active Seeking Of Dam Liability Insurance By Private Dam Owners.

Summary

Senate Resolution 117 requests the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to change how it evaluates private dams, reservoirs, and spillways by treating dam liability insurance, or active efforts to obtain it, as a mitigation measure in the assessment process. The resolution also asks DLNR to relax certain restrictions when insurance coverage is verified, to avoid classifying a dam as safe or high hazard solely on the basis of engineering risk assessment results, and to consider a dam safe unless licensed engineering reports conclude that failure would probably cause loss of human life. The resolution further urges the Board of Land and Natural Resources and DLNR to make the criteria for the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program public, apply any additional application requirements fairly and transparently, and allow applicants to seek clarification and appeal decisions under existing law. Overall, SR117 is a policy request aimed at making dam safety regulation and grant administration more transparent and more favorable to private dam owners who face financial and technical barriers to compliance.

Impact

SR117 does not itself amend the Hawaii Revised Statutes; it is a Senate resolution that urges DLNR and the Board of Land and Natural Resources to adjust administrative practices. Its practical impact would be on dam safety assessments, hazard classification, and grant administration for private dam owners, especially by elevating insurance coverage as a factor in mitigation and by encouraging more transparent criteria for the Dam and Appurtenance Improvement or Removal Grant Program. If adopted in practice, it could reduce regulatory burdens on some private dam owners while affecting how DLNR evaluates risk and public safety.

Sentiment

The resolution is framed in supportive terms toward private dam owners and emphasizes public safety, financial hardship, and administrative fairness. The discussion materials provided do not include committee testimony or recorded votes, so there is no documented opposition or formal vote sentiment in the record supplied. Based on the text alone, the measure appears intended to address concerns that current safety requirements are too burdensome and opaque for private owners.

Contention

The main points of contention are likely to be the proposal to relax safety standards and to deem dams safe absent certain engineering reports, as well as the request not to classify a dam as high hazard based only on engineering risk assessment results. Those provisions could be viewed as reducing regulatory rigor and shifting risk away from the State’s current safety framework. Supporters, by contrast, appear to be private dam owners and advocates for more flexible, transparent, and financially realistic compliance standards, while DLNR and public safety stakeholders may be concerned about weakening hazard oversight and liability protections.