Bill Text: HI SCR74 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Health To Prohibit Commercial Burning Within And Adjacent To Residential Areas.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-23 - The committee on HTH deferred the measure. [SCR74 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SCR74-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	74
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REquesting the department of health to prohibit commercial burning within AND ADJACENT TO residential AREAS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State has a duty to protect the environment and public health; and

 

     WHEREAS, the most significant health threat of commercial burning results from the inhalation of fine particulates produced when wood and other organic materials burn; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to fine particulate air pollution has been linked with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, including but not limited to asthma, decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and the risk of death for individuals suffering from heart disease or lung disease; and

 

     WHEREAS, a 2020 study found that poor air quality and air pollution derived from human activities lead to over one hundred thousand deaths in the United States during a single year; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Office of Management and Budget reports that regulations enacted between 2004 and 2014 by the Environmental Protection Agency generated between $157,000,000,000 and $777,000,000,000 in benefits to the American economy, including reduced health risks caused by fine particulates in air; and

 

     WHEREAS, studies have further shown racial and ethnic minorities have been found to be exposed at higher rates to air pollution based on factors such as socioeconomic status, area of residence, occupation, and neighborhood segregation; and

 

     WHEREAS, decreasing the concentration of fine air particulate pollution lowers the risk of all-cause mortality, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, air quality standards, environmental protection policies, and federal legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, aid in the reduction of air pollution; and

 

     WHEREAS, prohibiting the commercial burning of vegetative products in or within the vicinity of residential neighborhoods will reduce air pollution, the spread of fine air particulates into nearby communities, and risks associated with exposure to air pollution; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to amend its administrative rules and policies to prohibit commercial burning within and adjacent to residential areas, excluding the permitted roasting of coffee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report of its review and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Department of Health; Commercial Burning; Residential Area; Report