Bill Text: HI SR198 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Health To Carry Out Widespread Soil Testing In Lahaina And To Develop A Soil Remediation Plan.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-31 - Certified copies of resolution sent, 05-31-24 [SR198 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SR198-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	198
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CARRY OUT WIDESPREAD SOIL TESTING IN LAHAINA AND TO DEVELOP A SOIL REMEDIATION PLAN.

 

 

     WHEREAS, in August 2023, Lahaina, on the island of Maui, experienced the fifth deadliest wildfire in United States history; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than two thousand two hundred structures were damaged or destroyed in Lahaina and West Maui, eighty-six percent of which were residences; and

 

     WHEREAS, high-intensity wildfires such as the wildfire experienced in Lahaina cause physical, chemical, and biological changes to the surrounding soil; and

 

     WHEREAS, burned or melted building materials, furniture, plastics, and consumer electronics produce toxic substances that can also contaminate soil; and

 

     WHEREAS, soil contamination caused by the Lahaina wildfire may threaten human health, groundwater quality, ocean ecosystems, and food production; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Health is requested to:

 

     (1)  Sample and test the soil at numerous burn sites in Lahaina for toxins and contaminants;

 

     (2)  Develop a soil remediation plan for areas of Lahaina where soil contamination threatens human health, groundwater quality, ocean ecosystems, or food production;

 

     (3)  Assess the feasibility of using available technologies to separate clean soil from ash and toxins; and

 

     (4)  Submit a report of the Department's findings and recommendations, including the expected costs and estimated timeline for any needed soil remediation projects, and any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and Mayor of the County of Maui.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

DOH; Lahaina; West Maui; Wildfire; Soil Contamination; Report