Bill Text: HI SCR169 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The United States Marine Corps And Department Of Land And Natural Resources Not To Use Shoreline Hardening In Support Of Any Current Or Future Coastline Management Projects In The State And To Instead Consider Less Environmentally Harmful Methods Of Preventing And Mitigating Coastal Erosion.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-10 - Referred to PSM/WTL. [SCR169 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-SCR169-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	169
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the united states marine corps and department of land and natural resources not to use SHORELINE hardening in support of any current or future coastline management projects in the state and to INSTEAD consider less ENVIRONMENTALLY HARMFUL methods of preventing and mitigating coastal erosion.

 

 

     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 study 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, the United States Marine Corps and Department of Land and Natural Resources have used or proposed to use shoreline hardening on several of the State's coastlines, most recently in support of the Shoreline Stabilization Project at Puuloa Range Training Facility on the island of Oahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, a similar 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; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Marine Corps and Department of Land and Natural Resources are requested not to use shoreline hardening in support of any current or future coastline management projects in the State and to instead consider less environmentally harmful methods of preventing and mitigating coastal erosion; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the Navy, Commandant of the Marine Corps, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

DLNR; United States Marine Corps; Shoreline Hardening/ Coastline Management