House Standing Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection

One.

Convening the Committee on Energy and Environmental protection today is April 12, 025 and we're going to be hearing three resolutions. We're going to before we get started, there's just some housekeeping because the morning committees need to be completed and have adjourned by the noon floor session.

I don't think there'll be a problem with the number of people testifying, although there are there is significant amount of testimony on these resolutions. So we're not going to Institute a time limit on zoom. If you're coming in via zoom, please keep yourself muted and your video off while waiting to testify and after your testimony is complete.

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We're going to start with our first reso which is HR27HD1 HCR28HD1 and this resolution calls for requesting the reconvening of the working group established pursuant to House Resolution number 18, House HD 1 to continue the efforts to address issues related to water and air contamination remediation arising from the operation of the Puuloa Ranch Range Training Facility.

The first to testify on this measure is Wayne Tanaka from the Sierra Club of Hawaii in person.

Morning Chair Vice Chair Members of the Committee, we are in strong support of this resolution. I think if you just read through the written testimonies that have been submitted, it's both heartbreaking and hopeful that so many folks are so clearly concerned and want to do something to protect not just their keiki but the, you know, everyone's children.

And that's really what this resolution is about is protecting next generations of folks who may be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of lead exposure. I did want to note also that the work as the working group's leadership as outlined as resolution.

I'm in contact with the Eva Beechn Wood Board Vice Chair who would be leading this, as well as the representative for District 40. And they're both very invested in resolving the situation. So I think with the passage of this resolution, we will get the traction we need to deal with this contamination threat.

And the Sierra Club's ready to support those efforts however we can. So I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you so much for hearing this resolution. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Next to testify, we have Liam Chinn in support on zoom.

Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to testify today. So I live with my wife and I for years right next to the Puloa Range training facility, and I wanted to share a very deeply personal story with you.

So during the time we lived there, we frequented the beach park, we swam there regularly, frolicked on the beach, and again, we lived just downwind from the range. It just so happened during that time that we got pregnant and. Sorry, sorry, rough morning. Deep into the pregnancy. Six months in, we lost our baby.

And in the aftermath, we were searching for answers. It was unclear. We had a spontaneous birth and our daughter died soon after.

And it just so happened around that time, you know, we had learned about the surf rider testing of the shoreline that showed alarming levels of lead all along the beach, which directly abuts where we swim and children play every day. And so we, you know, we knew that was an alarming thing, and.

But we didn't put 2 and 2 together. And then in the aftermath of our loss, we were speaking to our doctors, and we happen to mention that we live right next to an area that had just been reported to have extremely high levels of lead.

And our doctors immediately said that if we ever want to get pregnant again, we need to move because how toxic lead is to children and pregnant women. So we did. It was in a terrible decision.

Interestingly, right before we moved around that time, another piece of this puzzle and civil beat covered this was a scientist was funded by representative Rose Martinez to take samples of dust on the homes near the range, as well as to catch fish right in front of the beach park with the ranges.

And all those samples came back red hot. So this dust from the homes and the fish. So our Doctor said, you got to move. And we made the painful decision to uproot the family and move out of our beloved community in Ewa Beach into town just because of that risk.

And we were privileged and fortunate to do that. A lot of people are not. So I just want to say the Marines, just this year, you know, they've been doubtful. zero, you know, the surf rider test results and everything else, they're not real.

So The Marines put a ton of time and money into doing their own testing and not surprisingly, it came back red hot. Even the Marine zone testing. So and this story, just to say, and I'll wrap up, goes back a couple of years because there's just so many threats coming to this range for to the community.

And the House and Senate unanimously passed in 2023 resolutions actually calling for the full relocation of this range. It's the only military shooting range in the middle of a residential neighborhood. From what we know in the entire country, literally it's sitting in the middle of a dense residential neighborhood.

So all the threats from the lead to the noise to the stray bullets, the Senate and House unanimously said it should be relocated. But of course, this is a federal decision.

In the meantime, you know, the neighborhood board and the community have been working feverishly to try to figure out a way to negotiate with the Marines and the congressional delegation to move the range to an area away from people. So this working group is absolutely instrumental in that.

We have to have the working group in order to get the cooperation of the Department of Health to do more testing. People need to know what they're exposed to. So just in wrapping up, I appreciate you passing this. This is a nonpartisan issue. And thank you for letting me share a personal story today. It's not easy.

Thank you for your testimony. I'm sorry for your loss. The next to testify, we have Rosalind Cummings in support on zoom. That's all we have signed up to testify. Is there anyone else who wishes to testify on this measure either in person or on zoom?

Seeing none, I want to also note that we have testimony and support from the Hawaii Department of Health, the Green Party of Hawaii, the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party, Conservation Council of Hawaii, Free Access Coalition, Small Business Alliance, Country Talk story. We are one Inc. And 48 individuals. There is no testimony in opposition or with comments.

Members, are there any questions? Seeing none, we're going to move on to our next measure, which is HR 143, HCR 149.

This resolution requests the Department of Land and Natural Resources to convene a working group to assess environmental and conservation initiatives needed to transition Volcano Hawaii into a biosphere area that promotes environmental sustainability and community well-being and complements the neighboring Hawaiian Islands' Biosphere Reserve.

So, first to testify on this measure we have Yumi Kawano from Alawa Kipuka Refuge, in support, on Zoom. Not present. That's—oh, we also have testimony from Lorna Larson Jeet, in support, on Zoom. That is all we have signed up to testify on this measure. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Mr. Tanaka.

My apologies. I just, I'll speak for the Sierra Kota Poi Island Group. You know, they're very invested in this resolution. You know, they've invested a lot in the, you know, in the stewardship of this area. And so, on their behalf, I testify in support of the resolution. Thank you.

Thank you. On this measure, we also have—we have testimony with comments from LLNR, testimony in support from Hawaii Forest Farms LLC, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party, the Volcano Community Association, the Sierra Club of Hawaii, and 38 individuals in support. Members, are there any questions for our lone testifier? Seeing none.

We're going to move on to our final measure, which is HR 191, HCR 199, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, to prioritize the restoration and protection of additional wetlands and anchialine pools. First to testify on this measure is Emma Yuen, DLNR, in person.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I'm Kathryn Stanaway. I'm here for MIU and Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. And we support the intent of this measure. Just wanted to clarify some things in our testimony. For the title, it mentions, in our text, it mentions changing it from including the Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

It kind of convolutes things, but I just want to make sure it just is for the Department and not including the Division of Forestry and Wildlife in the title. And then on page two, lines 16 through 19, just want to clarify too that we believe the county has laws for regulating development. So that's why we believe that that's their jurisdiction for looking at wetland development.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Next to testify, we have Mike Moran, Kihei Community Association, in support on Zoom.

Good morning, Chair. Mike Moran for the Kihei Community Association in South Maui. We're an unfunded, nonprofit community organization that represents South Maui. We're in support of this measure. And we look at that we learned from the Hawaiian culture that when you're making decisions, you should make them based on what's going to happen over the next seven generations.

Unfortunately, what we see happening and has happened in South Maui is that decisions were made that obviously did not look to the future. Our built environment was erected disregarding completely the natural environment. And now both are suffering because of that. We built in wetlands and marshland by filling it in for profit.

And now we're all paying the price. The natural environment is suffering as our coral reef is being choked. Our built environment is suffering because we continuously have flooding, which is flooding residents, flooding streets, and eroding our main road along the shoreline, South Kihei Road.

So we can't undo what was, what happened in the past, but we certainly can stop making things worse. So if we preserve what's left of our wetlands, we can eventually get back to what mother nature intended. So we ask for your support of this measure. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you for your testimony. Next to testify, we have Dr. Joe Ritter in support in person or on Zoom. Not present. The final testifier is Audrey Lester in support on Zoom.

Let's see. Oh, here we go. Ah, there. Mahalo. So I also live in South Maui, and I am in support of this bill, this resolution. The wetlands, there's been some recent work, for example, to help clear out some of the, some of the water and mud flooding that's hit some of the gulches.

And for example, in the Kulanihakoi Gulch this year, an emergency bill cleared out over 100,000 cubic yards of wetlands before the rain came. And that had a significant impact on the amount of water that was captured in that area that kept a lot of silt from going into the ocean.

For example, they estimated another 30,000 cubic yards of silt was captured in that sediment basin. So maintenance on the gulches is extremely important in terms of protecting what gets into the ocean. And the maintenance has also opened up a water area that wasn't there, that was totally plugged up. So there's more wetlands there. So.

But the biggest issue that we hear even from DPW is that we need a mechanism for regular maintenance and a long term solution to protect our natural drainage systems. And we don't, we don't have that in place. It's kind of a let it build up, let it make a mess.

Oh, now we've got a problem to fix. Whereas ways to keep the wetlands in good, in good working order and keep them doing what they should be doing would be a significant help for the environment as well as reducing the amount of damage that happens in the, in the neighborhoods. Closing down roads and, you know, plugging up traffic. And the cost isn't cheap either. The cleanup this year from this...

Would you mind wrapping up a bit?

Ah, of course. So anyway, I'm in support of bill and, you know, we need help to keep our waterways in our wetlands in good working order.

Thank you so much for your testimony. That is all we have to testify on this measure in Zoom. In person or on Zoom. Correct? Okay. We also had testimony in support from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party and 12 individuals. Is there anyone else who would like to testify? Seeing none. Members, are there any questions? Okay, so we are going to... No, I'm sorry. Oh, sorry. Is there someone?

I just got here. Yeah, I just got here.

Oh, on 143. I am so sorry, but we've moved on past that measure and we're moving into decision making. But we have read all of the written testimony. So if you also...

How about 149? Is that one still going on?

149 was the first. Oh, HCR 149. Correct. We've already moved past that measure. My apologies. But we did receive your written testimony and we have read your testimony.

Can you just tell me, this is my first time. As a voter, how would I just do this? Because I got on... I should have got on an hour ago because it's 11 o'clock.

No, the committee, the hearing started at 10:45. So you would log on when the committee commences or begins, and then the technical staff will allow you into the Zoom room when you are...

Well, anyways, that's too bad. I just figured it out. I had to talk to a technical person. But anyways, I'm Yumi Kawano, and we're for the biosphere.

Yeah, we did get to your testimony. Thank you so much.

Okay, thank you.

Moving on. We are moving into decision making on HR 27, HD 1, HCR 28, HD 1. Chair's recommendation or Vice Chair's recommendation is to pass this resolution as is. Members, are there any questions or comments?

Concerns?

Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. The next measure we're going to be voting on is HR 143, HCR 149. Chair's recommend, or Vice Chair's recommendation, is to amend the list of working group participants to be limited to the district representative and the Volcano Community Association. Are there any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

Final measure, HR 191, HCR 199. Chair's recommendation is to amend this in a few ways. So, the first is to remove the reference to the Division of Forestry and Wildlife in the title.

The second is to revise the reference to the Division of Agriculture on page two and instead cite the Division of Aquatic Resources within the Department. On page one, line 6 and 7, we're going to be changing state waters to—we're going to be changing "waters of the state" to "state waters."

And finally, on page two, line 16 through 19, we are going to be designating the County of Maui as the responsible party, rather than the Division of Forestry and Wildlife, as the county holds jurisdiction over the wetland protection on Maui. We're also going to ask for technical amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

Members, are there any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

Thank you, Members, and having no more business on this agenda, this hearing is adjourned.