The Commission

The Commission on Water Resource Management consists of seven members, five of whom are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate. The remaining two are the Chairperson of the State Board of Land and Natural Resources, who serves as Chairperson of the Water Commission, and the Director of the State Department of Health. The members are unpaid and serve a limited term. Click here to learn more about our logo and motto, “Ke Kahuwai Pono.”

Dawn N. S. Chang, Chairperson

Dawn N. S. ChangMs. Dawn Chang is an expert on land issues and regulatory requirements. She served 14-years as Deputy Attorney General with the Hawai‘i Office of the Attorney General-Land/Transportation Division and counsel to various State Boards and Commissions such as the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Commission on Water Resource Management, Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission, Na Ala Hele Trails and Access system, Natural Area Reserves program, and Island Burial Councils. During her tenure with the Attorney General’s Office, she litigated cases that were heard in state and federal courts.

In 2016, Ms. Chang was appointed and confirmed to the State Land Use Commission and served until 2022. She is a former social worker with Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center where she was a community organizer in Waimanalo and counseled orphaned and disenfranchised Native Hawaiian children and families.

She received her law degree from the Richardson School of Law, a MA in Social Work from the University of Hawai‘i, and a BA in sociology from the University of Hawai‘i. Ms. Chang is a member of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association and Native Hawaiian Bar Association. She has served on the boards of the Kualoa-He‘eia Ecumenical Youth, Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation, Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i, Camp Mokule‘ia with the Episcopal Church, William S. Richardson School of Law Alumni Association, Waimanalo Teen Project, Hawai‘i Youth Opera Chorus, Hoʻokano Family Land Trust, Planned Parenthood, and Pacific Islands Land Institute.

She is the former principal of Ku‘iwalu, a woman-owned, Native Hawaiian business enterprise, that assisted public and private sector clients since 2001 in engaging with communities, in particular Native Hawaiian communities, to ensure compliance with applicable Federal, state, and local regulations. Ku‘iwalu specializes in resolving culturally sensitive and contentious issues, including the work with developers and native Hawaiian families on native Hawaiian burial issues to the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for the Science Reserve on Mauna Kea.

Ms. Chang is a trained facilitator who coordinates and manages public meetings, culturally appropriate talk story sessions, crisis management, and government relations. In 2014, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Interior, Ms. Chang facilitated 14 statewide public meetings on federal recognition. In 2016, she facilitated two conservation case sessions at the IUCN Conference held in Honolulu. As a facilitator, Ms. Chang’s role has been to design culturally sensitive community outreach processes that seek to genuinely engage the impacted communities, especially Native Hawaiians, to participate in meaningful ways in the regulatory process. She is known for her ability to be fair and objective, especially in facilitating hard discussions.

She conducted training courses in Cultural Orientation, Native Hawaiian Land Use and Native Hawaiian Rights, Native Hawaiian Burial Laws, and Ka Pa‘akai Assessments to government agencies, attorneys, realtors, developers, and community organizations. Ms. Chang is a member of ACCORD3.0 an affiliation of global mediators and facilitators tackling very difficult and challenging issues. She is a trained mediator and court arbitrator with the State Court Annexed Arbitration Program.

Kenneth S. Fink, M.D., MGA, MPH

KENNETH S. FINK, M.D., MGA, MPHKenneth S. Fink, M.D., MGA, MPH has served as Director of the Hawai‛i Department of Health since January 9, 2023 and has extensive public and private sector experience

Prior to joining DOH, Dr. Fink worked as the Vice President for Medicare & Medicaid Programs at HMSA. Before that he was the Director of Student Health Services for Kamehameha Schools. His government work includes serving as the State Medicaid Director for Hawai‘i, the Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Region 10, and the Director of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Evidence-based Practice Centers programs at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Dr. Fink was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Kerr White Visiting Scholar, and Excellence in Government Fellow. He attended Haverford College, received combined Medical Doctor and Master of Government Administration degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and was awarded a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He completed residencies in family medicine at the University of Washington and preventive medicine at UNC. Dr. Fink is board certified in both family medicine, and general preventive medicine and public health. He has been awarded the degree of Fellow by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Preventive Medicine.

In addition, Dr. Fink retired as a Colonel in the United States Air Force. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and served as both the Chief of Aerospace Medicine and the Medical Group Commander in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard.

Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, Ph.D.

Aurora Kagawa-VivianiAurora Kagawa-Viviani is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment at the UH Mānoa Water Resources Research Center and the Department of Geography and Environment. Her educational training spans environmental engineering (MIT SB 2003), botany (UH Mānoa MS 2008) and geography (UH Mānoa PhD 2020). Raised in urban Honolulu and a graduate of Kamehameha Schools (Kapālama), she has spent significant time working in the conservation, in rural Hawaiʻi, and in public schools and the UH system, working to support and advance ʻāina-based and indigenous STEM education and research. Her work focuses on forest-water interactions, restoration ecohydrology, and cultivation of plants and landscapes where water limits growth, always with an attentiveness to human-ecosystem interactions, leaning on natural science and social science tools and approaches. This is her first term (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2025) with the Commission.

Wayne K. Katayama

Wayne K. Katayama Wayne K. Katayama comes to the Commission with 40 years of experience in agricultural operations and marketing.  Mr. Katayama began his career with C. Brewer Properties working as an accountant on real estate development projects on the island of Hawai‘i.  He soon moved to the agriculture industry working for Olokele Sugar Company, C. Brewer & Company, Kīlauea Agronomics, and Hawaiian Fruit Specialties.  Mr. Katayama eventually went on to serve as the President and General Manager for Kaua‘i Coffee Company in ‘Ele‘ele, Kaua‘i, where he oversaw all aspects of coffee production, implemented dam inspections and emergency action plans for high risk reservoirs, and implemented pesticide management plans to reduce usage and drift.

Mr. Katayama holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is a retired Major in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard.  He has also served on numerous boards including the Kauai Planning Commission, Hawai‘i Employer’s Council, Mayor of Kauai Agricultural Advisory Committee, University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources Advisory Committee, and the Agribusiness Development Corporation Board of Directors.  This is his second term (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2026) with the Commission.

Paul J. Meyer

Paul J. MeyerFor 23 years, from 1982 to 2005, Paul Meyer was the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration for Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries.  He was also a Director of all subsidiaries and among other things managed the operations of the company’s watershed conservation efforts, its public utility companies Kapalua Water and Kapalua Waste Treatment, its private and semi-private surface water systems including the Honolua Ditch and the Kalili (Opana/Awalua) system as well as irrigation systems and punawais that serviced approximately 14,000 cultivated acres. He worked closely with other landowners, farmers and Maui water utilities on community and water related issues.

From 2005 to 2010 – Mr. Meyer was a Principal with Meyer Associates, LLC. In that capacity he worked with a number of clients including three years with Onstor Corporation located in California.  In 2011 Mr. Meyer was the Deputy Director for the County of Maui, Department of Water Supply and resigned and retired from the County of Maui in January of 2017.  He now resides in Upcountry Maui with wife Rosalyn.  This is his second term (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025) with the Commission.

Lawrence H. Miike, M.D., J.D.

Lawrence MiikeLawrence H. Miike is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, and the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. Following his education, he served as a Senior Associate with the congressional Office of Technology Assessment conducting national health policy studies in Washington, D.C. Upon returning to Hawaii in 1989, Dr. Miike was the founding Executive Director of Papa Ola Lokahi, the umbrella organization for the Native Hawaiian health systems. In 1992, he served as Medical Director for the Hawaii Medicaid Program, then went on to serve as the State Director of Health from 1994 to 1998.

For 10 years, Dr. Miike was also Professor of Family Practice and Community Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa. In his capacity as Director of Health, Dr. Miike was a member of the Commission on Water Resource Management until his retirement in December 1998. His book, Water and the Law in Hawai‘i, was published by the University of Hawaii Press in 2004. He served again on the Commission as an appointed member from 2004 to 2012 and has been a hearings officer for both the Commission and the Board of Land and Natural Resources since his retirement. This is his first term (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2027) with the Commission.

V.R. Hinano Rodrigues

No photo available

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selection & Terms

The State Water Code declares that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources shall serve as the Chairperson of the Commission, while the Director of Health shall serve as an ex-officio voting member. The other five members of the Commission are to be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Each member must have substantial experience in the area of water resource management.

In appointing a member to the Commission, the Governor selects from a list submitted by a nominating committee. The nominating committee is composed of four individuals chosen as follows:

  1. Two (2) persons appointed by the Governor.
  2. One (1) person appointed by the President of the Senate.
  3. One (1) person appointed by the Speaker of the House.

Following a solicitation of applications, a list of at least three individuals is sent to the Governor for each open position. Once appointed, the members of the Commission serve without compensation, but are reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties. The tenure of each Commission member is subject to the provisions of §26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which are summarized as follows:

  1. The members of each board and commission established by law shall be nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appointed by the Governor.
  2. The terms of the members shall be for four years; provided that the Governor may reduce the terms of those initially appointed so as to provide, as nearly as can be, for the expiration of an equal number of terms at intervals of one year for each board and commission.
  3. Unless otherwise provided by law, each term shall commence on July 1 and expire on June 30.
  4. No person shall be appointed consecutively to more than two terms as a member of the same board or commission; provided that membership on any board or commission shall not exceed eight consecutive years.
  5. Any member of a board or commission whose term has expired and who is not disqualified for membership under subsection (a) may continue in office as a holdover member until a successor is nominated and appointed; provided that a holdover member shall not hold office beyond the end of the second regular legislative session following the expiration of the member’s term of office.
  6. A vacancy occurring in the membership of any board or commission during a term shall be filled for the unexpired term thereof, subject to Article V, section 6 of the Constitution of the State.
  7. The governor may remove or suspend for cause any member of any board or commission after due notice and public hearing.

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee for the Commission on Water Resource Management is convened whenever there is a pending vacancy.  For more information on the process, read the Selection & Terms section above.

There is currently one (1) pending vacancy on the Commission, specifically for the Commissioner that shall have substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage.

The current nominating committee is comprised of the following individuals:

  • Donna Kiyosaki (appointed by Governor Josh Green, M.D.)
  • Kimo Falconer (appointed by Governor Josh Green, M.D.)
  • Timothy Johns (appointed by Senator Ronald D. Kouchi)
  • Summer Kaiawe (appointed by Representative Scott K. Saiki)

Listed below are the notices and agendas related to the current nominating committee.

Date
Subject
Aug. 22, 2024 Public Notice: Nominations for a Commission Member to the State Commission on Water Resource Management

The Commission’s Role

Commission's RoleThe State, as trustee of water resources, has the constitutionally-mandated responsibility to set policies, protect resources, defines uses, establish priorities while assuring rights and uses, and establish regulatory procedures. The Commission on Water Resource Management (Commission) is the entity fulfilling this responsibility through administration of the State Water Code, Chapter 174C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which was adopted by the legislature in 1987. Operating procedures are governed by administrative rules, which are Chapters 167 to 171, Hawaii Administrative Rules.

The Commission has jurisdiction over land-based surface water and ground water resources, but not coastal waters. The protection and management of these water resources is carried out through resource assessments, planning, and regulation. Generally, the Commission is responsible for addressing water quantity issues, while water quality issues are under the purview of the State Department of Health.

The Commission has regularly scheduled meetings, but on its own motion or on petition or application of any interested person or persons or an agency of the state or county government hold proceedings as necessary from time to time for the purpose of:

  1. Obtaining information necessary or helpful in the determination of its policies or actions;
  2. Formulating its own rules;
  3. Carrying out its duties and responsibilities including the designation of water management areas, the permitting of water uses, and the enforcement of rules, orders and legal standards and obligations.

For specific reference to the role of the Commission, please see the Hawaii Administrative Rules, §13-167-22, Proceedings before the Commission.

How to Apply

Prior to the end of a Commissioner’s term, the Commission’s selection process, as described above, is initiated. A Nominating Committee is formed and a statewide public notice is issued to solicit nominations. At that time, an application form will be made available here and interested applicants will need to submit their resumes and applications to the Nominating Committee by a deadline date specified in the public notice.  Please visit the State of Hawaii Boards and Commission website below for more information on how to apply.

State of Hawaii: Boards and Commission Website ➽

Deadline to Apply: January 12, 2024

Please submit completed application forms to:

Commission on Water Resource Management
1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 227
Honolulu, HI 96813
Fax: (808) 587-0219
Email: [email protected]

 

*Incumbents serving out the remainder of a term shall be subject to reappointment by the Governor and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Should the incumbent not be reappointed by the Governor or does not secure the advice and consent of the Senate, the interim appointment shall cease on or before the end of the Legislative Session.