Hawaii-2023-SR197-Introduced

WHEREAS, dredging is the process of removing accumulated sediment from banks or the bottoms of bodies of water such as streams and is essential to the preservation of wildlife, ecosystems, and the health of a waterway; and

WHEREAS, the Ulehawa Stream, a perennial stream located on the western shore of Oahu and to the north of Nanakuli, is typically blocked by beach sand due to an absence of a fringing reef, which leaves the shoreline exposed to variable wave conditions from the north during winter and from the south during the summer; and

WHEREAS, the Ulehawa Stream runs along the border of Oahu's sole construction and demolition landfill, owned by PVT Land Company Ltd., which takes in approximately forty percent of the island's total waste stream as of 2020; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of residents live alongside the main Ulehawa Canal and its two wing canals that reach, on the west, through the Princess Kahanu Estates Association, a Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead community, and on the east, near the Puu Heleakala Community, a predominantly Native Hawaiian community; and

WHEREAS, complaints of the Ulehawa Canal being backed up with silt and sand have been made for over two decades, and in the past two years, the Ulehawa's wing canals have been completely blocked and littered with silt, vegetation, and trash, such as shopping carts, beds, and construction debris; and

WHEREAS, without regular dredging, the Ulehawa Stream and Canal remains stagnant -- even with heavy rainfall -- and its stench becomes unbearable; and

WHEREAS, reports have been made of residents living on both sides of the Ulehawa Canal becoming sick, which raises public health and safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, the 2008 Hawaii Environmental Justice Initiative Report's definition of "environmental justice" for Hawaii recognized that "no one segment of the population or geographic area should be disproportionately burdened with environmental and/or health impacts resulting from development, construction, operations and/or use of natural resources"; and

WHEREAS, tax-paying residents living along the Ulehawa Stream and Canal are being disproportionally burdened generally due to the lack of regular upkeep and dredging; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu (DFM) must obtain a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers prior to any dredging or maintenance work at the Ulehawa Stream and Canal, pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended, and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended; and

WHEREAS, although the DFM estimates that stream maintenance work at Ulehawa Stream and Canal should occur at least quarterly, according to residents of the area, it appears that the DFM only performs its necessary work after receiving a large number of complaints; and

WHEREAS, the DFM has informed at least one council member of the Honolulu City Council that it does not have sufficient staff to continuously clean out the Ulehawa Stream and Canal but believes that a stream groin project at the mouth of the Ulehawa could potentially be a permanent solution to prevent the rapid accumulation of sediment and debris; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu is requested to dredge and clean the Ulehawa Stream and Canal on a quarterly basis; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to complete water quality testing of the Ulehawa Stream and Canal quarterly every two years, at a minimum; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Army Corps of Engineers is urged to work with the DFM to create a permanent solution to mitigate against the rapid accumulation of sediment and debris, to include but not be limited to the design and construction of a stream groin at the mouth of the Ulehawa Stream and Canal; provided that any permanent solution be in alignment with the Department of Transportation's plan to rehabilitate the Ulehawa Stream Bridge in 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to make finding a permanent solution for the Ulehawa Stream and Canal a top priority and to assist the State and county in finding federal funding for this purpose; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers District Commander of the Honolulu District, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Director of Transportation, Director and Chief Engineer of the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu, and Manager and Chief Engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Ulehawa Stream and Canal; Dredging; Stream Maintenance; Department of Facility Maintenance; City and County of Honolulu; Army Corps of Engineers

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	197
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII