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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A POLICY
    AND ISSUE STUDY CONCERNING THE UNDERGROUNDING OF OVERHEAD
    UTILITY FACILITIES.


 1        WHEREAS, there is increasing community interest in the
 2   placement of existing and proposed overhead utility facilities
 3   underground for a vairety of reasons including, but not limited
 4   to, public health concerns related to electric and magnetic
 5   field (EMF) exposure, public safety concerns related to
 6   windstorm, debris, and traffic collision damage risks,
 7   expectations of greater systems reliability and reduced
 8   maintenance needs, and the desire to preserve, protect, and
 9   enhance viewplanes and scenic resources for residents,
10   visitors, filmgoers worldwide; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, the recovery of Kauai following Hurricane Iniki
13   was slowed in part due to downed utility lines and poles; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, there are many communities within as well as
16   outside the state which have successfully converted from
17   overhead to underground utility facilities; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, there are also disadvantages to undergrounding
20   overhead utility facilities; now, therefore,
21   
22        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
23   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
24   Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference
25   Bureau is requested to conduct a policy and issue study
26   concerning the undergrounding of overhead utility facilities,
27   including:
28   
29        (1)  The identification and compilation of a preliminary
30             list of the statewide issues involved, including, but
31             not limited to: alternative policy choices, legal
32             issues, cost apportionment, resource allocation, land
33             use, public safety, civil defense planning, public
34             health, environmental conditions, technological
35             issues, impact on tourist industry, aesthetic
36             impressions, and overall impact upon quality of life;
37   
38        (2)  The compilation of a survey of federal, state, and
39             major metropolitan area (county and municipality)

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1             policies and statutes or ordinances concerning the
 2             placement of utility facilities; and
 3   
 4        (3)  The identification of alternative processes for
 5             collecting information, including appropriate
 6             representatives of various constituencies and the
 7             public-at-large, and addressing the fundamental
 8             issues involved in evaluating whether undergrounding
 9             of existing and proposed overhead utility facilities
10             should be required and if so under what conditions;
11             and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these alternative processes
14   may include recommendations regarding the following:
15   
16        (1)  The establishment of an appropriate interagency or
17             interdisciplinary planning group; 
18   
19        (2)  The coordination of existing planning resources for
20             both short-term evaluation and long-term
21             implementation; and
22   
23        (3)  The methods and opportunities for input by the
24             community including rate-payers, business, and
25             government at the state and county level;
26   
27   and
28   
29        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
30   Bureau in conducting the study consult with appropriate
31   government and private entities, including but not limited to,
32   the Public Utilities Commission, the State Departments of
33   Transportation, Defense, and Business and Economic Development
34   and Tourism, the State Consumer Advocate; the county
35   governments, the City and County of Honolulu Department of
36   Transportation Services, the Neighborhood Commission, Hawaiian
37   Electric Company, the Kauai Electric Company, GTE Hawaiian
38   Telephone Company, Oceanic Cable, the Outdoor Circle, the
39   Sierra Club Hawaii, Life of the Land and a representative of
40   small business; and
41   
42        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
43   Bureau submit its findings and recommendations to the
44   Legislature not more than twenty days prior to the convening of
45   the Regular Session of 2000; and
46   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Legislative
 3   Reference Bureau, the Public Utilities Commission, the State
 4   Departments of Transportation, Defense, and Business and
 5   Economic Development and Tourism, the State Consumer Advocate,
 6   the county governments, the City and County of Honolulu
 7   Department of Transportation Services, the Neighborhood
 8   Commission, Hawaiian Electric Company, the Kauai Electric
 9   Company, GTE Hawaiian Telephone Company, Oceanic Cable, the
10   Outdoor Circle, the Sierra Club Hawaii and Life of the Land.