STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3533

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 75

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 75 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PRIORITIZE ENFORCEMENT OF WATER POLLUTION REGULATIONS IN AREAS WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF RUNOFF AND OTHER FORMS OF WATER POLLUTION ON MOLOKAI,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Health to prioritize enforcement with penalties of water pollution control regulations in rural areas where there are existing reports of runoff.

Your Committees did not receive any testimony on this measure.

Your Committees find that groundwater resulting from extreme rainfall can become polluted with silt, debris, and other pollutants, which often washes into coastal areas and damages marine reefs. Your Committees further find that Molokai's southern reef, which is the longest continuous fringing reef in the United States, has suffered extensive damage from runoff pollution in recent years, and such damage has been especially common in areas where owners of large tracts of land conduct activities that destabilize the soil. This measure seeks to address these problems by way of greater enforcement efforts by the Department of Health.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 75 and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair