STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1770

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: H.C.R. No. 106

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 106 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF FACILITY MAINTENANCE OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO DREDGE AND CLEAN THE ULEHAWA STREAM AND CANAL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Request the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu to dredge and clean the Ulehawa Stream and Canal;

(2) Request the Department of Health to complete water quality testing of the Ulehawa Stream and Canal quarterly every two years, at a minimum;

(3) Urge the Army Corps of Engineers to work with the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu to create a permanent solution to mitigate against the rapid accumulation of sediment and debris at the Ulehawa Stream and Canal; and

(4) Request Hawaii's congressional delegation to make finding a permanent solution for the Ulehawa Stream and Canal a top priority and assist the State and City and County of Honolulu in obtaining federal funding for this purpose.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Iron Workers Stabilization Fund; International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local Union Number 625; and four individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Ulehawa Stream to the north of Nanakuli runs along the border of Oahu's sole construction and demolition landfill, owned by PVT Land Company Ltd., which took in approximately forty percent of the island's total waste stream as of 2020. Hundreds of residents live alongside the main Ulehawa Canal and its two wing canals.

Your Committee further finds that the Ulehawa Stream is typically blocked by beach sand due to an absence of a fringing reef, while complaints of the Ulehawa Canal being backed up with silt and sand have been made for over two decades, and in the past two years, the Ulehawa's wing canals have been completely blocked and littered with silt, vegetation, and trash, including shopping carts, beds, and construction debris. Your Committee also finds that without regular dredging, the Ulehawa Stream and Canal remain stagnant and reports have been made of residents living on both sides of the Canal becoming sick. Through this measure, your Committee seeks actions and information to address this environmental and potential public health and safety issue.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 106 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

LINDA ICHIYAMA, Chair