Commission delegates chair authority to appoint hearings officer for Nowaeha remand

The Commission on Water Resource Management voted to delegate to the chair the authority to appoint a hearings officer for the remand of the case commonly referred to as Nowaeha, involving surface‑water management areas on Maui.

Staff described the item as a procedural first step toward the remand and said no substantive decision on the merits would be made at the meeting. The motion delegated to the chair the authority to select the hearings officer "in whatever fashion you deem fit," and commissioners discussed how the selection would be made, whether the commission would receive the chair’s recommendation and what recourse would be available should a party raise an objection to a chosen hearings officer.

Commissioners asked for a list of potential hearing officers and noted the pool of available professionals is small. Staff said they would provide the current DLNR list (three names) and that the list would not bar consideration of other candidates. The chair said objections to a selected officer would be received in writing and that the commission would have to make a decision on an objection if one were filed.

The motion passed on a voice vote at the meeting.

The item was procedural and does not itself schedule hearings or select a specific person; it authorizes the chair to make the appointment and to follow a process that could include written objections and a commission decision if an objection is filed.