Bill Text: HI HR18 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Resolution 18

Introduced

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-20 - To be offered. [HR18 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2025-HR18-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	18
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

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.

WHEREAS, water is life; and

WHEREAS, the Red Hill water crisis that began in November 2021 highlighted the vulnerability of the State's aquifers, and demonstrated the dangerous health effects that drinking contaminated water can have on the human body; and

WHEREAS, there is currently no Environmental Protection Agency-certified laboratory in Hawaii that is able to test drinking water for the presence of toxic chemicals, such as total petroleum hydrocarbons, or other contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS; and

WHEREAS, when drinking water needs to be tested, samples must be transported to California to access a certified laboratory; and

WHEREAS, if testing were conducted locally, testing could be completed approximately one week earlier because travel time and other logistical hurdles could be avoided; and

WHEREAS, because water samples must be transported thousands of miles, there is also the possibility that disruptions, such as transportation issues, could cause a sample to reach an unacceptable temperature, making the sample unsuitable for testing and thus requiring a new sample to be transported; and

WHEREAS, there is also the potential that future emergencies may disrupt transportation to and from Hawaii, which could make transporting water samples out of the State impossible; and

WHEREAS, in emergency situations, delays and risks posed by transporting water samples outside the State for testing are unacceptable and pose a major threat to public health; and

WHEREAS, accordingly, the State should examine the possibility of upgrading its in-state testing capabilities to ensure that public health issues with our drinking water can be quickly identified; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study the feasibility of:

(1) Establishing in Hawaii an Environmental Protection Agency-certified laboratory capable of testing drinking water for toxic chemicals, such as total petroleum hydrocarbons, and other contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; and

(2) Upgrading the Department of Health laboratory in Pearl City to meet Environmental Protection Agency certification requirements for testing for toxic chemicals and other contaminants; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study consider:

(1) The initial costs to establish or upgrade a laboratory;

(2) The annual costs required to operate the laboratory;

(3) Effective organizational structures; and

(4) Entities that may be appropriate to host the laboratory; and

WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health, Board of Water Supply of the City and County of Honolulu, and other relevant public and private entities are requested to cooperate with the Legislative Reference Bureau and furnish any information and assistance as the Legislative Reference Bureau reasonably deems necessary to accomplish its purposes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Regional Administrator for Region 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of Health, Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, and Manager and Chief Engineer of the Board of Water Supply of the City and County of Honolulu.