Bill Text: HI HCR35 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Ala Wai Canal Project; Feasibility Study; EIS

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-21 - The committee(s) on WAL recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HCR35 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HCR35-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	35
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING A REEVALUATION OF THE ALA WAI CANAL PROJECT DRAFT FEASIBILITY STUDY WITH INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.

 

 

WHEREAS, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) are proposing to undertake the Ala Wai Canal Project (Project) that would reduce riverine flood risks in the Ala Wai Watershed; and

 

WHEREAS, the Ala Wai Watershed, which is located on the southeastern side of the island of Oahu, includes Makiki, Manoa, and Palolo streams, all of which drain to the two-mile-long Ala Wai Canal; and

 

WHEREAS, the Ala Wai Canal was constructed in the 1920s to drain extensive coastal wetlands to make way for the development of the Waikiki District, and, over the years, overtopping of the Ala Wai Canal resulted in property damage and created health and safety risks to the community; and

 

WHEREAS, overtopping of Ala Wai Canal has caused flooding in parts of Waikiki, particularly when storms hit in 1965, 1967, 1992, 2004, and 2006; and

 

     WHEREAS, in August of 2015, USACE presented its findings in the draft report, "Ala Wai Canal Project, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Feasibility Study with Integrated Environmental Impact Statement" (Draft Report); and

 

WHEREAS, the Draft Report relied on analyses showing that the one percent annual chance exceedance (ACE) floodplain extends over approximately 1,358 acres of the watershed, and modeling results indicate that the one-percent ACE flood would result in damage to more than 3,000 structures, with approximately $318,000,000 in structural damage alone; and

 

WHEREAS, the tentatively selected plan proposes improving the flood warning system and constructing six in-stream debris and detention basins in the upper reaches of Makiki, Manoa, and Palolo streams, a standalone debris catchment feature, three multi-purpose detention areas in open spaces through the developed watershed, and concrete floodwalls along one or both sides of approximately 1.9 miles of the Ala Wai Canal; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Draft Report identifies 17 sites, several of which are owned by private landowners, on a total of about 18 acres within the Ala Wai Watershed that could be used for construction of flood risk management structures to mitigate the potential environmental impacts of the Project; and

 

WHEREAS, the complexity of the Draft Report and the breadth of the Project as they relate to the Project's impact on communities and residents warrant a re-evaluation of the tentatively selected plan, which includes condemnation of private landowners' properties, to:

 

(1)  Better assess the quality of the information presented, and uncertainty and probability of predictions;

 

(2)  Consider other alternatives that place more emphasis on using public property rather than private landowner property to balance private property rights of those affected, with public interest considerations; and

 

(3)  Provide greater time for public review, feedback, and participation on the Project;

 

now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the Senate concurring, that the Ala Wai Canal Project Draft Feasibility Study with Integrated Environmental Impact Statement be reevaluated; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the reevaluation of the Draft Report consider pursuing other flood alternatives, including the relocation of berms and detention basins to balance private property rights with public interest considerations; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Commander and District Engineer of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Ala Wai Canal Project; Feasibility Study; EIS