Amicus Brief In Kuilima/Turtle Bay Appeal: Change In "Context," But Not Project, Enough To Trigger Supplemental EIS

Environmental groups led by Earthjustice have sought leave to file an amici brief supporting the pending application for a writ of certiorari in the case involving the EIS for the Turtle Bay/Kuilima resort development, Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu, No. 28602, which seeks review of the Intermediate Court of Appeals' decision reported at 120 Haw. 457, 209 P.3d 1271 (Haw. Ct. App. 2008). The motion and the proposed brief are posted here. The application for writ of certiorari which the amici are supporting is available here.

In Unite Here!, the ICA determined that unless the project changes, a supplemental EIS is not required. A link to the ICA's decision and the opinion of the dissenting judge is posted here. The briefs filed in the ICA are posted here.

The application and the amici brief urge the Hawaii Supreme Court to adopt a rule requiring a supplemental EIS even when a project does not change if the "setting," "circumstances," or "context" can be alleged to have changed by a single plaintiff who meets the minimal requirements for environmental standing. The amici brief emphasizes the purpose of chapter 343, arguing the ICA majority opinion was a "cramped" reading of the law and "advances an overly rigid view of [chapter 343]'s rules."