THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	115
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

Urging every state agency that monitors environmental toxins and pollutants to follow certain procedural and substantive requirements for the establishment and Modifications of environmental action levels.

WHEREAS, certain state agencies, including the Department of Health, monitor the presence of environmentally toxic chemicals in water, soil, and the air, and require remedial action if pollution levels exceed certain levels, often called environmental action levels or EALs; and

WHEREAS, there are currently no procedural requirements or standards to establish EALs for various toxins that are monitored, or to revise, upward or downward, EALs for toxins and pollutants; and

WHEREAS, for example, in April 2023, EALs for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been raised by state agencies without advance public notice or public hearing and without advance publication of the scientific justification for the one hundred percent increase for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a type of PFAS, resulting in a relaxation of enforcement standards and a potential increase in pollution; and

WHEREAS, increases in EALs by state agencies that are without scientific justification and contrary to the EALs established and enforced by federal agencies and other states may pose unreasonable risks to the State's environment and the human population; and

WHEREAS, any increase in EALs must be scientifically justifiable, based on the severity of risks to human health and the environment and the probability of adverse effects on human health and the environment; and

WHEREAS, procedures must be established to provide the public with advance notice and the opportunity to respond to any proposed modifications in EALs; and

WHEREAS, the increases in EALS by state agencies without adequate scientific basis and procedural safeguards may violate the guarantees of article XI, sections 1 and 7 of the Hawaii State Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the public has a right to know all relevant information about environmental toxins; and it is the responsibility of the state agencies charged with monitoring and remediating environmental toxins to ensure that the public receives all relevant information about the presence of environmental toxins in a timely manner; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that every state agency that monitors environmental toxins and pollutants is urged to follow procedural and substantive requirements for the establishment and modifications of environmental action levels as follows:

(1) Every state agency that monitors environmental toxins and pollutants should establish environmental action levels or substantively similar triggering mechanisms for each environmental toxin and pollutant the state agency monitors that are consistent with the best practices and most recent scientific evidence relating to the preservation of human health and a safe environment;

(2) No modification to any environmental action level or similar triggering mechanism should be made except after adequate advance notice is given to the public, which should include all relevant scientific justifications for the proposed modification; and

(3) Any state agency proposing a modification to any environmental action levels or similar triggering mechanism should comply with the requirements of chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and allow not less than thirty days for the public to comment on the proposed modification and conduct one or more public hearings at which comments relating to the proposed action may be received; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that every state agency that monitors environmental toxins and pollutants is urged to allow any resident of the State to petition for modifications of one or more environmental action levels or similar triggering mechanisms for environmental toxins and pollutants monitored by the state agency and promptly respond to the petition in the manner provided by chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Governor; Department of Health; Environment Action Levels; Environmental Toxins; Human Population