HI HB1191

Amends the definition of "water pollutant" in Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 342D-1 to exclude naturally occurring sand sourced from beaches, stream mouths, or channels within the State.

Sand is excluded from water pollutant classification only when used on adjoining beaches or littoral cells for beach erosion mitigation, sediment management, beach restoration, erosion control, or dune restoration.

Addresses the loss of Hawaii's beaches, with studies showing 70% of beaches on Kauai, Oahu, and Maui are eroding and over 13 miles of beaches lost over the past century.

Removes regulatory barriers that have prevented the use of locally sourced sand in adaptive sediment management techniques such as beach-scraping, stream mouth-clearing, and sand-bypassing.

Takes effect July 1, 2017.