Case Notes

• Jurisdiction: Hawaii,United States
• Citation: Vol. 21 No. 11
• Publication year: 2017
• topic: Administrative Law,Environmental Law,Criminal Law,Civil Procedure

CASE NOTES

Supreme Court

Administrative

Umberger v. Dep't of Land and Natural Resources, No. SCWC-13-0002125, September 6, 2017, (Pollack, J.). For a nominal fee per year, DLNR authorizes the collection of fish or other aquatic life for aquarium purposes (aquarium collection) by issuing permits pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes § 188-31 and its administrative rules. Subject to certain terms and conditions contained in the permit and restrictions provided by statutes and administrative rules, each commercial aquarium collection permit authorizes the extraction of an unlimited number of fish or other aquatic life annually from the State's coastal waters. DLNR also issues recreational aquarium collection permits that authorize an annual catch limit for each permit of almost 2,000 fish or other aquatic life. The fundamental issue presented was whether aquarium collection pursuant to permits issued under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 188-31 and DLNR's administrative scheme was subject to the environmental review procedures provided in the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA). The Hawaii Supreme Court held that commercial aquarium collection under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 188-31 and DLNR's administrative rules was subject to HEPA's requirements. The Hawaii Supreme Court further held that the record was not adequate for the court to determine whether a recreational aquarium collection may be exempt from HEPA. Accordingly, the Hawaii Supreme Court remanded the...