STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1914
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: H.C.R. No. 94
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 94 entitled:
"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PRIORITIZE TESTING AND RESEARCH OF BEACH SAND CONTAMINATION LEVELS AT POKAI BAY AND REQUESTING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION TO PRIORITIZE RENOVATIONS OF THE RESTROOM FACILITIES AT POKAI BAY,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Department of Health to prioritize testing and research of beach sand contamination levels at Pokai Bay and requesting the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation to prioritize renovations of the restroom facilities at Pokai Bay.
Your Committees recognize that management
of natural resources requires collaboration among all levels of government and
the community. For example, the Genki
Ala Wai project, whose goal is to make the Ala Wai Canal fishable and
swimmable, has been successfully partnering with the Department of Health, various
community organizations, and volunteers, in producing and discharging into the
canal "genki balls" which are mud balls containing microorganisms that
digest the sludge that creates a toxic environment in the canal.
Your Committees also acknowledge the
testimony of the Department of Health that the Department currently monitors
the water quality of Pokai Bay and prioritizes it as a Tier 1 beach, which
receives weekly water quality monitoring for enterococci, a fecal indicator
bacteria. Your Committees also note the
concerns raised by the Department of Health regarding the lack of an approved
or proven reliable testing method or a threshold or action-limit associated
with health risks due to contact with sand that may be contaminated, as well as
its lack of authority, resources, or expertise to alter or increase circulation
in waters, as requested in this measure.
It is therefore necessary to amend this measure to address these concerns.
Accordingly, your
Committees have amended this measure by:
(2) Deleting
language that would have urged the Department of Health to develop a plan to
increase water circulation at Pokai Bay, collaborate with other appropriate
state and county agencies to increase water circulation, and report to the
Legislature before the Regular Session of 2024;
(3) Inserting
language that urges the Department of Health to address land-based point
and nonpoint sources of water pollution into Pokai Bay;
(4) Amending
its title to reflect its amended purpose; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments
for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 94, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 94, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,
________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair |
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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