RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Ala Wai Canal is finally being dredged after years of serving as a receptacle for contaminated substances; and

WHEREAS, there is general agreement that dredging of the Ala Wai Canal must be done; and

WHEREAS, controversy remains over how to dispose of the dredged material from the Ala Wai Canal; and

WHEREAS, about 167,811 cubic yards of sludge dredged from the Ala Wai Canal will be dumped into the ocean at an Environmental Protection Agency-approved site 3.8 miles south of the Honolulu Airport reef runway; and

WHEREAS, Phase III of the project involves dredging of the Diamond Head end of the Ala Wai Canal, which is significantly more polluted than the rest of the Canal; and

WHEREAS, because of the significant pollution of the area to be dredged in Phase III, the contaminated sludge cannot be disposed of by dumping it into the ocean, but, rather, must be disposed of separately; and

WHEREAS, current plans call for the contaminated sludge from Phase III to be solidified and used to fill in low spots in the airport reef runway; and

WHEREAS, it is still unsettled whether this method might allow pollutants to escape in the future, potentially contaminating the environment and directly affecting the Kalihi community; and

WHEREAS, the Kalihi community has received no satisfactory response to its concerns and, as a result, understandably believes that it is bearing a disproportionate share of the burden of this project; and

WHEREAS, despite the community's concern, it appears that alternative methods of disposing of the contaminated sludge from Phase III of the Ala Wai Canal dredging project have not been considered; and

WHEREAS, one alternative method of disposing of contaminated material is bioremediation; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation is natural process by which living organisms are used to destroy, transform, or immobilize hazardous organic contaminants in soil or groundwater; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation is already being used successfully and has been shown to be both economical and effective in treating contaminated soil; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. military successfully uses bioremediation to reclaim contaminated material on military bases both within the United States and abroad; and

WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency uses bioremediation extensively in the clean up of highly polluted Superfund sites; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation results in the detoxification of contaminated material, allowing the material to be recycled for other uses, thus preserving and protecting the natural environment; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation provides a more healthy and environmentally sound approach to disposing of contaminated material, such as the sludge from Phase III of the Ala Wai Canal dredging project; and

WHEREAS, alternatives such as bioremediation should be seriously considered for the disposal of the contaminated sludge dredged during Phase III of the Ala Wai Canal dredging project, before simply dumping the solidified polluted material into the airport reef runway; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to seriously consider the environmental impact of the current plans to dispose of the contaminated sludge dredged during Phase III of the Ala Wai Canal dredging project to the surrounding communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments of Land and Natural Resources and Health, together with the contractor American Marine Corp., are requested to consider the use of alternatives such as bioremediation to dispose of the contaminated sludge removed during Phase III; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments of Land and Natural Resources and Health and contractor American Marine Corp. are urged to continue to keep the community informed as the Ala Wai Canal dredging project moves forward; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources submit a report to the Legislature prior to commencing work on Phase III of the Ala Wai Canal dredging project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Directors of Health and Land and Natural Resources and American Marine Corp.

Report Title:

Ala Wai Canal Dredging; Bioremediation