Bill Text: HI SR95 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Health To Conduct A Study And Make Recommendations On The Emissions Of Leaf Blowers And Other Lawn And Garden Equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-15 - Referred to AEN/CPH. [SR95 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-SR95-Introduced.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
95 |
|
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
SENATE RESOLUTION
REquesting the DEpartment of health to conduct a study and make recommendations on the emissions of leaf blowers and other lawn and garden equipment.
WHEREAS, although leaf blowers enable homeowners and yard workers to quickly clear a property of leaves, grass clippings, and debris, many homeowners and yard workers use leaf blowers with two-stroke engines, which are light enough to carry but produce significant exhaust and noise; and
WHEREAS, in a two-stroke engine, the gas and oil mix together, but approximately one-third of the combined fuel and oil mixture is wasted, releasing carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and hydrocarbons into the air; and
WHEREAS, these three toxins are some of the main culprits in air pollution from leaf blowers: carbon monoxide helps form smog, nitrous oxide is a prime ingredient in acid rain and has been linked to global warming, and hydrocarbons are cancer-causing organic compounds that can cause breathing and lung problems and also contribute to smog formation; and
WHEREAS, the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulates non-road spark-ignition engines that operate at or below nineteen kilowatts; and
WHEREAS, these engines, often called small SI engines, are commonly used in lawn and garden equipment and a variety of other residential and commercial equipment, and include lawnmowers, leaf blowers, chain saws, and weed wackers; and
WHEREAS, although the new regulations for small SI engines, which were fully implemented in 2012, require more stringent exhaust standards and establish new evaporative emission standards for fuel tanks and fuel lines that are used in small SI engines, they only apply to manufacturers of new equipment; and
WHEREAS, although Hawaii does not currently regulate the emissions of lawn and garden equipment, the air pollution from leaf blowers and similar lawn and garden equipment has the potential to have a significant impact on the State's air quality; and
WHEREAS, recommendations are needed to address the use of leaf blowers and similar lawn and garden equipment; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a study on the emissions of leaf blowers and other lawn and garden equipment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study is requested to compare the emissions from leaf blowers and similar lawn and garden equipment that were manufactured after and conform to the 2012 Environmental Protection Agency standards on small SI engines with leaf blowers and lawn and garden equipment manufactured prior to 2012; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is also requested to make recommendations to:
(1) Encourage the use of electric leaf blowers; and
(2) Limit the use of leaf blowers, weed wackers, and similar lawn and garden equipment that was manufactured prior to 2012; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, on the emissions of leaf blowers and similar lawn and garden equipment to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2019; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.
|
|
OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
|
Leaf Blowers; Lawn and Garden Equipment; Department of Health; Emissions; Air Pollution; Study
