STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3626

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 198

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.R. No. 198 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CARRY OUT WIDESPREAD SOIL TESTING IN LAHAINA AND TO DEVELOP A SOIL REMEDIATION PLAN,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Health to carry out widespread soil testing in Lahaina and to develop a soil remediation plan.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi and one individual.

Your Committees find that the August 2023 Maui wildfire was the fifth deadliest wildfire in United States history, with more than two thousand two hundred structures damaged or destroyed. Your Committees further find that high-intensity wildfires such as the wildfire experienced in Lahaina, cause physical, chemical, and biological changes to the surrounding soil. Your Committees additionally find that burned or melted building materials, furniture, plastics, and consumer electronics produce toxic substances that can also contaminate soil, which may threaten human health, groundwater quality, ocean ecosystems, and food production. This measure supports the public and environmental health of the Lahaina community by identifying potential risks of soil contamination following the August 2023 Maui wildfire.

Your Committees note that the Department of Health has recently executed the Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring and Sampling Plan contract for a consultant to review environmental data collected by other federal and state agencies, conduct data management, and design a data portal, and that the Department of Health has requested reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for this soil testing contract. However, your Committees further note the concerns raised in the Department of Health's testimony that it does not have the personnel or resources to a develop a comprehensive soil remediation plan.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to request the Department of Health to seek funding for the development of a comprehensive soil remediation plan; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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 Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 198, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 198, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair