STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2421

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2638

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Water and Land and Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2638 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE SUPER SUCKER,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the full-time operation of the Super Sucker in Kaneohe Bay for one year and to fund the acquisition of an additional Junior Super Sucker and its operation for a one year period.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, and two individuals.

     Your Committees find that alien algae are overgrowing, killing coral reefs in Hawaii, and threatening the fragile reef ecosystem.  Alien algae currently dominate large portions of Kaneohe Bay and Oahu's south shore as well as the south shores of Maui and Molokai.

     The Super Sucker was developed by joint effort of the State Division of Aquatic Resources, the University of Hawaii, and The Nature Conservancy in 2005.  Over the past two years, the Super Sucker has proved to be an effective tool in removing alien algae from coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay.  The Super Sucker operation is conducted by a five-person crew and has been able to remove eight hundred pounds of alien algae in an hour of operation.  However, due to funding limitations the Super Sucker has been only operating approximately once a week.

     In addition to the Super Sucker, there is also one portable Super Sucker, known as the Junior Super Sucker, currently in operation.  The Junior Super Sucker is smaller and more maneuverable than the Super Sucker and is intended to be used in remote locations, such as Maunalua Bay on Oahu, Hilo Bay on Hawaii, and North Kihei on Maui, to address the problem of alien algae.

     Your Committees recommend that future committees hearing this measure consider appropriating the amount of $500,000 for the full‑time operation of the Super Sucker in Kaneohe Bay and the amount of $256,920 for the acquisition and full-time operation of one Junior Super Sucker.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by providing an unspecified amount for the appropriation for the operation of the Super Sucker in Kaneohe Bay.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2638, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2638, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Energy and Environment,

____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair