Bill Text: HI HR18 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishing A Working Group To Address Issues Related To Water And Air Contamination And Remediation Arising From The Operation Of The Puuloa Range Training Facility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-04-12 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR18 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-HR18-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	18
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS ISSUES RELATED TO WATER AND AIR CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION ARISING FROM THE OPERATION OF THE PUULOA RANGE TRAINING FACILITY.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Puuloa Range Training Facility, located in Ewa Beach on Oahu, is a shooting range that has been used by United States Marine Corps for more than a century; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Ewa Beach community has grown around it, and the training facility now sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood; and

 

     WHEREAS, in conducting live-fire exercises, shooters fire into impact berms, including berms that face the ocean and share a coastline with the area's beach parks; and

 

     WHEREAS, lead contamination from shooting ranges can accumulate in the soil and remain there for hundreds of years; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2022, sampling done by the Surfrider Foundation of soil taken from the beach side of the training facility identified high levels of lead; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is a concern that lead from the soil at the Puuloa Range Training Facility will leach into the ocean, creating a serious risk to marine life in the area; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is further concern that dust from lead-contaminated soil will enter the atmosphere and migrate into residential neighborhoods via air or stormwater; and

 

     WHEREAS, addressing this issue will require input from experts and community stakeholders; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body finds that the threat to the health and safety of the residents of the Ewa Beach community constitutes an emergency that requires immediate and decisive action; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that a working group be established to address issues related to water and air contamination and remediation arising from the operation of the Puuloa Range Training Facility; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members:

 

     (1)  The Representative of House District 40;

 

     (2)  The Councilmember for District 9 of the City and County of Honolulu; and

 

     (3)  The Vice Chair of the Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 23; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to invite other individuals with relevant experience and expertise to be members of the working group, including:

 

     (1)  A marine biologist from the University of Hawaii at Manoa;

 

     (2)  A representative from Kuleana Coral Restoration;

 

     (3)  A representative from the fishing industry;

 

     (4)  A representative from the United States Marine Corps; and

 

     (5)  Any other members the working group deems necessary; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to conduct informational briefings on issues related to water and air contamination and remediation from the operation of the Puuloa Range Training Facility and to take any other action as the working group deems appropriate; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to meet on a quarterly basis; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to provide a quarterly report to the House of Representatives; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group shall cease on June 30, 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Commander of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Councilmember for District 9 of the City and County of Honolulu, Vice Chair of Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 23, and Executive Director of Kuleana Coral Restoration.

Report Title: 

Puuloa Range Training Facility; Working Group