STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3201

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.C.R. No. 73

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Energy and Environment and Health, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 73 entitled:

 

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF THE JANUARY 2014 FUEL TANK LEAK AT THE RED HILL UNDERGROUND FUEL STORAGE FACILITY,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Director of Health to convene a task force to study the effects of the January 2014 fuel tank leak at the Red Hill underground fuel storage facility.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Board of Water Supply, and two individuals.

 

     Your Committees find that the Red Hill underground fuel storage facility is located near Pearl Harbor and operated by the United States Navy.  The facility contains twenty cylindrical tanks, each of which can hold up to 12,500,000 gallons of fuel, and continues to provide secure fuel storage for ships and aircraft of the United States Pacific Fleet and other military services.

 

     Your Committees further find that in January of 2014, fuel operators at Red Hill discovered a discrepancy in the fuel level in one of the tanks, specifically tank number five.  It has been reported that the age of the facility and the mission-critical requirements for its storage capacity combine to present a significant future risk of a moderate to large release of fuel to the underlying ground water.  Your Committees therefore conclude that the effects of the January 2014 leak should be studied, strategies should be formulated to mitigate the effects of future leaks, and recommendations should be made regarding improvements in communication in the event of future leaks.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environment and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 73 and recommend its adoption.

 

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

 

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair