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DLNR staff tell committee EIS is a disclosure document; enforcement and thresholds remain unresolved
Summary
DLNR officials told lawmakers the EIS is a disclosure document and that determining sustainability relies on comparisons over time and place; committee members repeatedly pressed DLNR on lack of published biological thresholds and enforcement capacity.
Department of Land and Natural Resources staff told the committee that environmental review is a disclosure process and that acceptance of an EIS does not equate to a permit.
Brian Nielsen, Administrator for the Division of Aquatic Resources, said the EIS is "a disclosure document to put everything on the table," and that regulators must decide whether permits should be issued. David Sakoda, fisheries program manager, clarified that the board required an EIS because the initial environmental assessment indicated potential for significant impacts and that the EIS provides information for decision-makers.
Committee members pressed DLNR on several technical points: staff acknowledged they had not published a numeric biological threshold for aquarium species and described their approach as comparing population trends across places and inside protected areas. DLNR said it has consulted DOCARE on enforcement capacity but that carrying out inspections, catch checks and on-water enforcement would require additional resources. The committee raised concern about enforcement practicality and fiscal costs of reopening regulated collection.
