House Standing Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection

Good morning. We're convening the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. Today is Thursday, March 20th, 2025. We're in video. We're actually. We're on video conference, but we're located in Conference Room 325. And just a couple of guidelines for the folks on Zoom. Please keep yourself muted and your video off while you're waiting to testify.

And after your testimony is complete, you can interact with the technical staff on the Zoom chat. Just use the chat for that purpose. If you're disconnected, you may attempt to rejoin the meeting. And if you're disconnected while presenting testimony, you may be allowed to continue if time permits.

So please note that the House is not responsible for any bad Internet connections on the testifier's end. In the event of a network failure or any other kind of situation may be necessary to reschedule the hearing or schedule a meeting for decision making. In that case, an appropriate notice will be posted. Please on Zoom.

Avoid using any trademarked or copyrighted images. And in General, let's refrain from profanity and uncivil behavior. Our first measure this morning is House Resolution 18, House Concurrent Resolution 18 requesting a study on the feasibility of establishing an Environmental Protection Agency certified laboratory in Hawaii to test drinking water samples for toxic chemicals and other contaminants.

The first to testify is the Department of Health with comments in person or on zoom. Not present. Next to testify, we have Wayne Tanaka from the Circle of Hawaii in support on Zoom. Not present. Next to testify, we have Daniel Chinnan in support, in person, also not present.

Those are the only folks who have signed up to testify. Additionally, we have 26 individuals submitting testimony and support, along with the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party Free Access Coalition and the Legislative Reference Bureau submitting comments. Is there anyone else who wishes to submit testimony on this measure?

Seeing none Members, there is no one for you to ask questions of. So we are going to move on to the next Measure, which is HR42 requesting the formation of a working group to address the environmental concerns at Pokai Bay.

First to testify on this measure is Shelby Pikachu Billionaire, Ohana Unity Party and Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands in support on Zoom.

Hello everyone. Good morning. Good to see you all. I will be there later in person for some other hearings. I did call Chris Morocco's office and what's not really in the bill is that DLNR already approved for $5 million for a restoration and there's like $1.0 million, I believe, for the RFP to go out.

Now, this was when Cedric Gates crosscraft M. Sho was in office, so the funds are there. I called DLNR, I talked to the land agent, but they don't know what to do. So now I have to call. I called City Council, which is Andrew Topolo, art rep, Samantha DeCorte and Chris.

And they're kind of brand new except for Andrea. So we have to work this together. I'm not sure who's in the working group. I volunteer myself to put me on this, to make sure they're on charge because we need a schedule, a project management, the timeline. They got the funding, it's already approved.

But I'm not sure if you got to hire the Tongans to move the rocks. They're supposed to be some aqueducts to go through because we get about half a million visitors that go through the beaches on our west coast and that's more than the people that live there.

So we have to think of creative ways for funding and financing, like charging the people doing the snorkeling, all the dolphin tours, a percentage to help subsidize, maybe charging the tourists for parking like they do stateside. You know, locals come in, it's free. Using the military to subsidize being, being creative.

But I know if you guys approve this resolution, it's only good for one year, but. But we definitely got to work it all together with Citi Rep, State and all of you guys together. So thank you very much. Love you guys. Aloha.

Thank you for your testimony. Next to testify, we have Laura Nakanelua, individual in support on zoom. What's happening? Not present. Thank you. Members, are there any questions? Is there anyone who wishes to testify in this measure? Seeing none. Members, any questions? Seeing none, we're going to move on to the next measure.

HR182, HCR188, declaring a public health emergency relating to climate change and requesting statewide coordination to identify, plan for and create cross sector solutions to strengthen Hawaii's public health response to the climate crisis. First to testify we have Mary Alice Evans, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, in support, in person or on zoom. Not present.

Next to testify we have James McCallan, Hawaii Public Health Institute. In support, in person.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is James MCallan. I'm the Director of Community Preparedness and Resilience at the, on behalf of the Hawaii Public Health Institute, or HIPHI, in support of this resolution which declares a public health emergency in response to climate change.

When most people think of climate change, they think of sea level rise, eroding coastlines, and maybe even talk about solar panels or electric cars. At hi Fi, we also see how climate change undermines public health through increased wildfire risks, heat related illness, invasive mosquito disease, and so much more.

I encourage you to please refer to the figure one graphic on our written testimony detailing the human health impacts of climate change in Hawaii. I also encourage you to please refer to the more detailed vulnerability assessment on this issue from the Department of Health's website. This cannot be a health Department issue alone.

Sustainable agriculture, urban planning that reduces heat island transportation, emergency response decisions, these are all areas of other state departments that can either worsen or improve the health impacts of the climate crisis. This resolution doesn't change the statute, but it sends a powerful message that we're ready to take collective action.

It's about bringing agencies together to see the bigger health picture and build stronger, more resilient communities. For these reasons, HIPHI respectfully urges you to pass this resolution. Mahalo for your time.

Thank you. Next to testify, we have Mehana Kapoi, Climate Change and Health Working Group in support on zoom. Not present. Next we have David Mullenix, GreenPeace Hawaii in support on Zoom.

Well, good morning, Dave Mullenix, GreenPeace Hawaii, representing our thousands of Members statewide. Thank you, Representative Lowen, for bringing this resolution forward is well appreciated. As you know, we sponsored the regional climate emergency that the Legislature passed.

We got a lot of pushback from that when we tried to put it forward because all there's, it doesn't have any teeth, doesn't have any value, you're kind of wasting time, doesn't really mean anything. But as Bruce Lee said very effectively, you drop a pebble in a pond, you get ripples soon ripples across the whole pond.

And that metaphor really shows that small actions can have far reaching, significant consequences.

And we saw that through the climate emergency as Justice Wilson used it to shut down Pakaloa, that bird training tree burning facility, as well as Justin Crabtree use it to give our youth 13 youth standing so they can sue the Department of Transportation to make them do their job. So thank you so much for this resolution.

Once you say the house is on fire, you have to act. And I think that that's what you're doing here and I think this is very wise and I really appreciate your ongoing efforts to protect our climate and our islands. Have a good day.

Thank you so much for your testimony. We also have testimony and support from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party and six individuals in support. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in this measure? Seeing none Members, any questions? Seeing none, we are going to move on to the next measure.

HR183, HCR188, declaring a public health emergency relating to climate change with. Wait, sorry. That's the one we just did. My bad.

HR183, HCR189, urging the Department of Health and University of Hawaii Water Resources Research center to take all action necessary to incentivize wastewater treatment plants to test sewage sludge, reclaimed water and any other residual material for the presence of PFAS and other substances. First to testify on this measure, we have.

Actually, we have no one submitting testimony in person. We have testimony with comments from the Department of Health, testimony in support from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and one individual in support.

Seeing that we have nobody to ask questions of, we're going to move on to our final Measure, which is HR184, HCR190, requesting the Department of Health to convene a demolition waste reduction working group. The first to testify on this measure in person is Quinn Vidam, Reus Hawaii in support or on Zoom? Not present.

And that was the only person who signed up to testify in person. We also have testimony from DAGs in support, Department of Health with comments, the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party and support Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition in support and the Energy Justice Network in support.

And because there is no one to ask questions of Members, we are going to move straight into. We're gonna. We're gonna recess and for reconvening for our Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. We have a few resolutions that have come before the Committee. The first is HR 18, HCR 18 on this measure.

It seems, based on the testimony that LRB is not equipped to do this kind of study and that the Safe Drinking Water Branch has newly acquired equipment that is going to be able to help move forward to test for emerging contaminants, including PFAS compounds and tph. So we're going to go ahead and defer this measure.

Members, are there any questions? Thank you. Any questions? Seeing none. Moving on to the next measure, actually, HR42 requesting the formation of a working group to address the environmental concerns at Pokai Bay.

This is an important issue and I am supportive of this general kind of approach, working with the community and creating that kind of formation with stakeholders.

Unfortunately, none of the relevant agencies provided testimony, and it seems to me that the makeup of the working group is somewhat incomplete based on some of the testimony of the individuals from the community. So I feel like this resolution is not quite ready and we'll revisit it when it is. So I recommend that we defer this measure.

Members, any questions? Thank you. Moving on to HR182, HCR188, declaring a public health emergency relating to climate change and requesting statewide coordination to identify, plan for and create cross sector solutions in response to the climate crisis. My recommendation is to pass this as is. Members, are there any questions? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

HR182, Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. Okay, so HR182, HR 182, HCR 188.

[Roll call]

Thank you. Moving on to HR183, HCR188, which is urging the Department of Health and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research center to take all actions necessary to incentivize wastewater treatment plants to test water, to test sewage sludge, reclaimed water and any other residual material for the presence of, well, multiple substances, most of which I can't pronounce.

So reading the testimony, it seems that not only is this testing costly and the Department of Health does not have the necessary resources to engage in this testing, this work will very. It's very clear that this work will require an appropriation.

And I agree with the Department that taking a zero tolerance approach to the renewal of permits, giving the likely pervasiveness of these compounds, will require further consideration. So on that basis, I'd like to defer this measure for further consideration. We can talk about it next session. Any questions? Comments? Seeing none, we're going to defer that measure.

Moving on to the last Measure, which is HR184, HCR190, requesting the Department of Health to convene a demolition waste reduction working group. This is really important as we consider all the issues facing us regarding landfills.

I would like to amend this resolution to expand the working group to include representation from the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and the University of Hawaii system Members. Are there any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Chair for the vote, please.

[Roll call]

Thank you so much. As there is no more business before this Committee. We are now adjourned.

All right. Aloha. We are convening the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection for decision making. It is Thursday, March 20, 11:30 am in room 325. We are decision making on Senate Bill 1501 relating to energy. This is the Step in Agreement Bill. All right.

I will kind of summarize the changes and then there's a lot of technical amendments as well. But we are going to use House Bill 974 as a starting point. So we'll take that language to as amended and insert that in this bill. But the amendments that we're making to House Bill 974, House Draft 1, are as follows.

Making clear that the full faith and credit of the state is not pledged for step in agreements and the department is not obligated to pay any amounts in excess of the money in the funds. Clarifying that the Department is allowed to do due diligence investigations of any of the IPP counterparties.

Limiting judicial remedies against the state to performance of the agreement. Clarifying requirements for full and timely payments. Ensuring that the PP payments to the PPAs have priority status for the money that's been collected and also including termination payments if the utility terminates.

The PPA clarifies that customers are refunded all collected and unused revenues upon the termination of a Step in agreement. Clarifies that admin costs are to be borne by the utility and not the state or ratepayers and clarifies that the funds in the Reserve account are inaccessible to the utility.

We will make additional amendments for clarity, consistency and style and defect the date to July 13000 if it's not our already that with that. Members, any discussion? Seeing none. Vice Chair, please take the vote.

[Roll call]

And noting the excused absence of Representative Ward, Chair, your recommendation has been adopted. All right.

And we're adjourned.

Reconvening the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection on this Thursday, March 20202511:45am agenda. My name is Amy Peruso. I'm serving as Vice Chair. To my right is Chair Nicole Lohan.

And the measure before us is decision making on HR202, HCR210, urging the state to reject energy sources bound to be harmful or destabilizing to our climate system and environment and to commit to renewable energy and the values of Hawaii's residents. We heard testimony a couple days ago which was really powerful and insightful and important.

And I think that what most of the testimony elevated and reflected was this understanding that LNG in particular is neither a wise nor a sustainable approach for Hawaii's electrical our energy plan. So what we're going to do with this measure is to, and I think that, you know, this is not even an issue on the PUC docket.

And my hope is that this conversation around LNG falls by the wayside where it belongs and that we won't have any more action in this direction. And if we do see some potential for actual activity around lng, then we can pick this up at a later date. But for now, I'd like to defer this measure.

Members, any questions or comments?

Thank you, Vice Chair. I agree. I think we had concerns about the broad language in the bill as well, rejecting energy, basically any energy sources that are associated with emissions and since all types of energy are associated with some emissions.

However, you know, lest anyone should think this deferral is a signal that this Committee is supportive of using LNG as a bridge fuel in the state, I want to state clearly that I don't support that and my reasons primarily just have to do that. I don't think it would be a benefit for ratepayers.

There's been a lot of talk about this swirling around, but nothing concrete, no numbers, no proposal. I think it's in the most generous interpretation of the people who may be quietly pushing for this behind the scenes.

Somewhat, I think, delusional to think that this will not cost a lot for ratepayers to build out all this infrastructure that would then just become a stranded asset by 2045. And alternatively, the goal is to get a foot in the door and then try to undo our state's renewable energy goals.

But I think in the long term, the most important aspect here is that, you know, I think it would just, it would be more expensive than continuing to move forward with our renewable energy goals as planned. So I appreciate the deferral.

And one last thing I'll mention is that we are moving and have moved out of this Committee, House Resolution 8181. And I think that clearly and succinctly articulates support for our current pathway and, and it, I hope, will reflect a strong House position on this issue.

So with that, with no other business before this Committee, we are adjourned.