HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	95
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING A REVIEW OF AMBIENT AIR STANDARDS FOR HYDROGEN SULFIDE EMISSIONS To sustain and protect the natural beauty and air quality of the Ka Iwi Coastline between Makapuu and Hanauma Bay.

     WHEREAS, the East Honolulu Sewage Treatment Plant in Hawaii Kai, sometimes referred to as the Hawaii American Water Works, is privately owned by the Hawaii American Water Company; and

     WHEREAS, the East Honolulu Sewage Treatment Plant is located on the famous Ka Iwi shoreline, now part of the Ka Iwi State Wilderness area, and across the highway from the popular Sandy Beach recreation area, as well as in proximity to a residential community; and

     WHEREAS, both the State and the City and County of Honolulu have spent significant sums of money to protect the coastline from development, enhance its beauty, and preserve it for the enjoyment of future generations; and

     WHEREAS, there have been ongoing complaints from the public about rotten egg odors of hydrogen sulfide coming from the East Honolulu Sewage Treatment Plant; and

     WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide is a harmful and potentially lethal poison and is recognizable by its distinctive rotten egg odor; and

     WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide is created during the breakdown of organic materials and is a common byproduct of sewage treatment facilities; and

     WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide can be detected and recognized even at very low concentrations, and it is estimated that half of all people can recognize the smell of hydrogen sulfide at a concentration as low as 4.7 parts per billion; and

     WHEREAS, studies have found that ambient air concentrations as low as seven to ten parts per billion can cause symptoms such as headaches and eye and throat irritations and that children are more sensitive to hydrogen sulfide and may experience health effects at lower exposure levels; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Department of Health currently allows ambient air concentrations of hydrogen sulfide which do not exceed an average of twenty-five parts per billion in any one-hour period; and

     WHEREAS, the World Health Organization recommends that, in order to avoid substantial complaints about odor annoyance, hydrogen sulfide concentrations should not be allowed to exceed five parts per billion on average over any thirty-minute period; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Health ambient air standard is currently five times this level averaged over a longer one-hour period; and

     WHEREAS, Article XI of the Hawaii State Constitution requires the State and counties to "conserve and protect Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources" for the benefit of present and future generations; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Department of Health is urged to review its existing ambient air standards for public exposure to hydrogen sulfide emissions with the goal of reducing applicable standards to further protect the public; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to require the East Honolulu Sewage Treatment Plant to strictly comply with odor standards and adopt plans to further control hydrogen sulfide emissions and odors; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii American Water Company, and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Air Quality; Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions