STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3750

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2514

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2514, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the operation of underground storage tanks with a capacity greater than one hundred thousand gallons, beginning July 1, 2023.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Sierra Club of Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development; Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; Shimanchu Wai Protectors-Ukwanshin Kabudan; ‘Ahahui o nā Kauka; Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander COVID-19 Hawai‘i Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team; Hawai‘i Public Health Institute; 350Hawaii.org; Livable Hawaii Kai Hui; Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action; and twenty-six individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that for years, advocates and organizations have warned about the need to protect the State's drinking water from contamination due to the Red Hill Fuel Tank facility that sits only one hundred feet above the aquifer that supplies water to over four hundred thousand people, from Halawa to Hawai‘i Kai. The Red Hill facility has a long history of leaking fuel into the surrounding environment and has already contaminated Oahu's primary drinking water aquifer. Your Committee believes that ending operations of the Red Hill facility immediately and preventing future large underground storage tanks from being constructed is necessary to guarantee the safety of the State's residents. This measure will ensure that the State's fresh water aquifers remain safe and free from fuel contamination by prohibiting the operation of underground storage tanks with a capacity greater than one hundred thousand gallons, beginning July 1, 2023.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2514, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair