THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	74
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQuesting the department of health to conduct a study of the methods used in other states to monitor air pollutants emitted by waste incineration facilities.

WHEREAS, waste incineration facilities typically emit tons of pollutants into the air that we breathe each day that they operate; and

WHEREAS, current technology used to monitor waste incineration facilities for pollutants is dated; and

WHEREAS, advancements in monitoring technology have enabled more effective methods to gather more extensive data to determine the effects of pollutants on public health; and

WHEREAS, of the twenty-two known pollutants that waste incineration facilities emit, only four are monitored continuously nine are monitored just once per year, the remaining nine, which include polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) and various toxic metals, are not monitored at all; and

WHEREAS, monitoring pollutants once per year severely underestimates pollution levels, as demonstrated by the Covanta Delaware Valley waste incinerator in Chester, Pennsylvania, which replaced annual monitoring with continuous monitoring and found that hydrochloric acid emissions were sixty-two percent higher than what annual monitoring reported; and

WHEREAS, dioxin emissions are monitored only once per year, although they are so toxic that the Environmental Protection Agency restricts dioxin levels to a ratio of thirty grams per one trillion liters of drinking water; and

WHEREAS, a recent study found that failure to use continuous monitoring technology at waste incineration facilities underestimates dioxin emissions 460 to 1,290 times; and

WHEREAS, annual monitoring may not provide an accurate representation of pollution levels as the content of municipal solid waste burned at waste incineration facilities comprises variable substances, resulting in variable emissions, especially when taking industrial waste, medical waste, sewage sludge, or demolition waste into account; and

WHEREAS, different states employ different methods to monitor pollutants emitted by waste incineration facilities and the experiences of other states may prove helpful in determining the optimal method for Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health (Department) is requested to conduct a study of the methods used in other states to monitor air pollutants emitted by waste incineration facilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in its study, the Department is requested to cover a broad range of monitoring methods from the least extensive to most extensive, and to include the costs of these methods when possible; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study be intended for fact-finding and information-gathering purposes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, and Chief Energy Officer.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Health; Waste Incineration Facilities; Pollution; Report