THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	176
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of land and natural resources and the department of transportation to research the use of vegetative erosion barriers to minimize soil erosion and prevent the resulting runoff from damaging roads, streams, coastal waters and reefs, and to stabilize stream banks, hillsides, and other threatened sites.

     WHEREAS, the State has spent millions of dollars to install hard engineering structures, or shore protection structures, to prevent the shoreline from moving and stabilize the shoreline; and

     WHEREAS, soil erosion and the resulting runoff continues to compromise road safety, pollute streams and coastal waters, and kill reefs; and

     WHEREAS, some areas experience recurring landslides and deteriorating stream banks and hillsides, all of which pose a danger to life and property; and

     WHEREAS, additional mitigation work could be completed if effective methods of slope stabilization and soil erosion prevention were more economical, environmentally-friendly, and readily available; and

     WHEREAS, vegetative erosion barriers planted on the contour of an area requiring stabilization provide a permanent solution which can avoid the costly construction of hard engineered structures; and

     WHEREAS, Vetiver grass, or Vetiveria zizanioides, is an upright, tufted, deep-rooted, and very dense grass that is proving to be a prime tool in providing a solution to soil erosion problems in tropical areas; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature requests that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation research the use of vegetative erosion barriers, particularly Vetiver grass, to minimize soil erosion and prevent the resulting runoff from damaging roads, streams, coastal waters, and reefs and to stabilize stream banks, hillsides, and other threatened sites; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a final report to the Legislature, including any proposed legislation, not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Director of Transportation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Vegetative Erosion Barriers; Vetiver Grass