Bill Text: HI HR100 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The United States Marine Corps To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement For The Shoreline Stabilization Project At The Puuloa Range Training Facility And Urging The Marine Corps To Consider Alternative Approaches To Coastline Management.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-11 - Referred to EEP/WLH, FIN, referral sheet 40 [HR100 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-HR100-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	100
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the united states marine corps to prepare an environmental impact statement for the shoreline stabilization project at the puuloa range training facility and urging the marine corps to consider alternative APPROACHES TO coastline management.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, shoreline hardening is a coastline management approach that uses seawalls, jetties, or other human-made structures to prevent and mitigate coastal erosion; and

 

     WHEREAS, although increasingly common, shoreline hardening is controversial because of the damage it can cause to coastal infrastructure, ecosystems, and the environment; and

 

     WHEREAS, a report from the University of Hawaii found that using shoreline hardening on some Oahu coasts could cause beach narrowing, beach loss, and amplified erosion on adjacent beaches, leaving the areas inaccessible for recreational use or cultural practices; and

 

     WHEREAS, a study by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center showed that shoreline hardening also significantly reduces populations of fish, crabs, and other aquatic life; and

 

     WHEREAS, a shoreline hardening project carried out in 2013 at Iroquois Point on the island of Oahu killed nearly ninety percent of the shoreline's vegetation and caused amplified erosion all along the adjacent coast; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps has recently proposed to use shoreline hardening at Puuloa Range Training Facility on the island of Oahu in support of its Shoreline Stabilization Project; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps argues that shoreline hardening is necessary to mitigate costal erosion and protect impact berms and other range structures at Puuloa Range Training Facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps has not prepared an environmental impact statement for the project, instead issuing a less-comprehensive environmental assessment; and

 

     WHEREAS, the 2019 environmental assessment for the Shoreline Stabilization Project does not consider the potential loss of beach access, damage to historic buildings, and other significant environmental and cultural interests that may be negatively impacted by shoreline hardening; and

 

     WHEREAS, the environmental assessment for the project also fails to take into account the potential damage that prolonged impact driving could have on the area's karst system, water table, and coral reef; and

 

     WHEREAS, the environmental assessment does not provide an adequate analysis of alternative, less damaging, approaches to coastline and resource management or discuss the possibility of relocating the Puuloa Range Training Facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, communities in Ewa Beach who will be affected by the project say they were not provided adequate notice or an opportunity to be heard on the issue; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the United States Marine Corps is requested to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Shoreline Stabilization Project at the Puuloa Range Training Facility; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Marine Corps is urged to consider alternative approaches to coastline management and the possibility of moving the training facility to vacant land owned by the Department of the Navy on the island of Oahu; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Marine Corps is urged to provide relevant communities with adequate notice of and opportunities to be heard on any actions taken in furtherance of the Shoreline Stabilization Project that may affect those communities or community members; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the Navy, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Commanding Officer of United States Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and Honolulu City Council member for District 1.

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Puuloa Range Training Facility; Environmental Impact Statement; United States Marine Corps