Hawaii-2018-HB1837-Introduced

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the use of hydraulic fracturing in the United States has prompted valid environmental concerns. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is the process of drilling into the earth so that a high-pressure liquid mixture can be directed at the subterranean rock to open fissures and release oil or gas. The legislature finds that hydraulic fracturing can cause earth tremors, contaminate groundwater, and release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the global atmosphere.

The legislature is concerned that an increasing proportion of the imported fossil fuels that gas utility companies use in the State comes from sources that use hydraulic fracturing. The legislature believes that due to the impact that fossil fuels have on the global environment, the State should make efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels, especially when they are derived from hydraulic fracturing.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require:

(1) The public utilities commission to:

(A) Conduct a study regarding hydraulic fracturing; and

(B) Establish limits, beginning on January 1, 2020, on the amounts of fossil fuels derived from hydraulic fracturing that gas utility companies may use as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State; and

(2) Any gas utility company that intends to use imported fossil fuel within the State on or after January 1, 2020, to first submit an application that shall be approved or denied after a public hearing.

SECTION 2. (a) The public utilities commission shall conduct a study regarding hydraulic fracturing. For the purposes of the study, the commission shall:

(1) Review the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing;

(2) Investigate and determine the feasibility of limiting the use of fossil fuels that are derived from hydraulic fracturing by gas utility companies; operating in the State

(3) Establish limits, effective January 1, 2020, on the amounts of fossil fuels derived from hydraulic fracturing that gas utility companies operating in the State may use as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State, expressed as percentages of the total amounts of all energy sources the gas utility companies operating in the State use as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State; and

(4) Make any relevant recommendations regarding legislation relevant for the purposes of this Act.

(b) Before the completion of the study, the public utilities commission shall hold public hearings to gather input from the public and interested parties on the feasibility of limiting the use of fossil fuels that are derived from hydraulic fracturing by gas utility companies operating in the State.

(c) The public utilities commission shall submit a report on its study to the legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2019.

(d) For purposes of this section:

"Feedstock" means a material that is converted, consumed, or blended to produce an end use product.

"Hydraulic fracturing" means the injection of liquid into a subterranean rock formation or borehole at high pressure for the purpose of opening existing fissures to extract oil or gas.

SECTION 3. Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§269- Gas utility companies; fossil fuels derived from hydraulic fracturing; limits. (a) The public utilities commission shall establish limits on the amounts of fossil fuels derived from hydraulic fracturing that gas utility companies operating in the State may use as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State. Established limits shall be expressed as percentages of the total amounts of all energy sources the gas utility companies use as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State.

(b) The initial limits described in subsection (a) shall be the limits established pursuant to the feasibility study commissioned by Act , Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, and shall be effective January 1, 2020.

(c) The public utilities commission may adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 to amend the limits described in subsection (a).

(d) For purposes of this section, "hydraulic fracturing" means the injection of liquid into a subterranean rock formation or borehole at high pressure for the purpose of opening existing fissures to extract oil or gas.

§269- Gas utility companies; imported fossil fuels; application; hearing. Beginning January 1, 2020, before a gas utility company operating in the State may use imported fossil fuel as feedstock for gas distributed to end users within the State, the gas utility shall first submit an application to the public utilities commission. The quantities and types of fossil fuels to be used and the time period over which the fuels are to be used shall be stated in the application. The public utilities commission shall conduct a public hearing before approving or denying the application. Notice of the hearing shall be given in the manner provided in section 269-16 for notice of public hearings."

SECTION 4. Section 269-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Feedstock" means a material that is converted, consumed, or blended to produce an end use product."

SECTION 5. Section 269-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) For the purposes of this section:

"Department" means the department of business, economic development, and tourism.

[~~"Feedstock" means a material that is converted, consumed, or blended to produce an end use product.~~]

"Non-petroleum feedstock" includes but is not limited to plant and animal fats and oils, algae and algae products, other organic material, organic waste, municipal solid waste, waste water, or sewage.

"Total feedstock" means petroleum and non-petroleum feedstock combined."

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2018.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1837
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII