Bill Text: HI SR24 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging The United States Environmental Protection Agency And Hawaii State Department Of Health To Reject The Approval Of A Single Wall Tank Upgrade Alternative Option For The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility And Support The Secondary Containment Tank Upgrade Alternative Option, Or, If Secondary Containment Is Determined To Be Infeasible, The Relocation Of The Fuel Tanks Away From The Aquifer.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - The hearing on this measure has been cancelled until further notice. [SR24 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-SR24-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
24 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
URGING THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REJECT THE APPROVAL OF A SINGLE WALL TANK UPGRADE ALTERNATIVE OPTION FOR THE RED HILL BULK FUEL STORAGE FACILITY AND SUPPORT THE SECONDARY CONTAINMENT TANK UPGRADE ALTERNATIVE OPTION, OR, IF SECONDARY CONTAINMENT IS DETERMINED TO BE INFEASIBLE, THE RELOCATION OF THE FUEL TANKS AWAY FROM THE AQUIFER.
WHEREAS, as the primary source of potable water on Oahu, groundwater must be preserved in as close to pristine condition as possible to accommodate the needs of Oahu's residents and visitors; and
WHEREAS, the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (Facility) stores up to 187 million gallons of fuel per day, has a total capacity of 250 million gallons, and is located only 100 feet above a sole-source aquifer drinking water resource; and
WHEREAS, in January 2014, the United States Department of the Navy (Navy) reported a 27,000-gallon fuel leak at the Facility to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (Environmental Protection Agency) and the State of Hawaii Department of Health (Department of Health), and subsequent tests in and near the fuel release area indicated a spike in levels of hydrocarbons in soil vapor and ground water; and
WHEREAS, in response to the fuel release from the Facility, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health negotiated an Administrative Order on Consent with the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency requiring the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency to take actions, subject to Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health approval, to ensure that the groundwater resource in the vicinity of the Facility is protected and ensure that the Facility is operated and maintained in an environmentally protective manner; and
WHEREAS, in response to the Administrative Order on Consent Statement of Work, the Navy submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health for approval a Tank Upgrade Alternatives and Release Detection Decision Document, dated September 9, 2019; and
WHEREAS, the Navy has concluded, among other things, that the most practicable tank upgrade alternative is to retain the single-walled steel tank liner configuration and implement certain technical and mitigating improvements for the Facility, including double-wall equivalency secondary containment, or removal of fuel in the 2045 time frame; and
WHEREAS, concerns remain, however, as to whether the Navy's proposed double-wall equivalency is comparable to a secondary containment tank-within-a-tank double-wall system, and whether the Navy's plans for the removal of fuel in the 2045 timeframe are viable; and
WHEREAS, a quantitative risk and vulnerability assessment for the Facility, which the Navy released in November 2018, indicated that the tanks are at risk of additional leaks in the future and that the undetected Facility-wide fuel release is expected to be 5,803 gallons per year; and
WHEREAS, on March 8, 2019 the Honolulu City Council adopted Resolution 18-266, C.D. 1, which, in part, urges the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health to reject the approval of a single wall tank upgrade alternative option for the Facility and support the secondary containment tank upgrade alternative option, or, if secondary containment is determined to be infeasible, the relocation of the fuel tanks away from the aquifer; and
WHEREAS, on November 6, 2019 the Honolulu City Council adopted Resolution 19-270, C.D. 1, which, in part, reaffirmed their position as set forth in Resolution 18-266, C.D. 1; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health is also reviewing and soliciting public comment on the Navy's application for an underground storage tank permit for the Department of Health Facility ID No. 9-102271, which would allow the Navy to operate the Facility in accordance with Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 342L and Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 11-280.1; and
WHEREAS, as the Department of Health reviews the Navy's application for a permit and a request for a contested case hearing, the Navy is currently operating the underground storage tank system pursuant to a July 16, 2019 letter from the Department of Health; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health considers the Navy's submission of its application for a permit as timely, and the Department of Health is allowing the Navy to continue to operate the subject underground storage tank system until the Department of Health's decision on the permit application is rendered; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that due to the lengthy review period for the Navy's permit application by the Department of Health, this body urges the expeditious resolution of all Administrative Order on Consent requirements in the Department of Health's decision on the Navy permit application; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body urges the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health to reject the approval of a single wall tank upgrade alternative option for the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and support the secondary containment tank upgrade alternative option, or, if secondary containment is determined to be infeasible, the relocation of the fuel tanks away from the aquifer; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Secretary of the Navy, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Commission on Water Resource Management, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Manager and Chief Engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, and the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Environmental Protection Agency; Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility
