HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	114
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO exempt CERTAIN CORAL SPECIES IN all commercial harbors in the State of Hawaii from RECLASSIFICATION UNDER A PROPOSED FEDERAL RULE CHANGE.

WHEREAS, the geographic isolation of the State of Hawaii results in its residents' crucial dependence on ocean surface transportation for the importing of goods through the State's commercial harbors; and

WHEREAS, 80 percent of goods consumed in the State are imported and nearly 99 percent of those imported goods are maintained, received, and processed through the State's commercial harbor system; and

WHEREAS, no other state in the United States is as dependent on ocean transportation and its commercial harbor systems as Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the State's commercial harbor system, and by extension, ocean transportation, is the State's connection to national and international economies, supporting every facet of the State's local economy, including tourism, construction, national defense, agriculture, and all other industries; and

     WHEREAS, as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ongoing responsibilities under the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and the National Coral Reef Action Strategy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is currently considering adding 66 reef-building coral species to the Endangered Species Act, including two species, Montipora patula and Montipora flabellate, which are the fourth and fifth most abundant coral in the waters surrounding Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the Hilo Harbor New Day Work Project was delayed for three years and incurred an additional cost of $4,300,000 to mitigate potential damage to 80 square feet of coral that was found growing in the commercial harbor; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Harbor New Day Work Projects and other commercial harbor projects in the State will require similar efforts to mitigate coral damage, which is likely to add considerable expense to the projects; and

WHEREAS, the State's commercial harbor facilities and commercial importation and transportation activities would be severely impacted by a federal designation of any endangered coral that is prevalent in the State's commercial harbors; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the President of the United States and the United States Congress are requested to exempt the Montipora patula and the Montipora flabellate species of coral in all harbors in the State of Hawaii from reclassification under the proposed rule, "Endangered and Threatened Species: Listing of 66 Reef-Building Coral Species; Reclassification of Elkhorn Acropora palmata and Staghorn Acropora cervicornis" (77 FR 73219); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; United States Secretary of Transportation, Interior, and Commerce; members of Hawaii's congressional delegation; Acting Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Governor; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and the state Director of Transportation.

Report Title:

Harbors