THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

214

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Requesting the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND the city and county of honolulu take steps to coordinate efforts to immediately notify the public of breaks in sewer lines.

 

WHEREAS, the Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu is responsible for the efficient and effective management of the wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste systems of Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health has responsibility for monitoring the bacterial content of beach waters; and

WHEREAS, recently some major sewer lines that serve most of urban Honolulu have ruptured, causing massive spills of raw sewage to flow into areas of the ocean where the public often swims, fishes, and engages in other recreational activities; and

WHEREAS, on March 4, 2004, 1.7 million gallons of sewage spilled into the harbor at Sand Island because a 66-inch pressurized line broke; and

WHEREAS, on the Windward side, nearly 250,000 gallons of sewage spilled onto roadways and into the ocean in the last week of February 2004; and

WHEREAS, sewage contamination problems occurred at Pokai Bay in Waianae and Pearl Harbor around March 6, 2004, along with other reported spills at Puha Stream affecting Waimanalo and Bellows beaches, Kawa Stream affecting Kaneohe Bay, Kaelepulu Stream affecting Kailua Bay, Kalihi Stream, Kakaaho Waterfront Park, and Point Panic; and

WHEREAS, these sewage spills contaminated the ocean so as to make swimming unsafe, and affected businesses and residents in the area; and

WHEREAS, the protocol in case of sewage spills is for the Department of Health to be notified of the spills and warnings signs posted around the area of the spill, and for signs along the affected beaches to be posted; and

WHEREAS, the Sand Island sewer line rupture was reported at 9:00 a.m. by park workers, but the public was not notified of the spill until shortly before 5 p.m.; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health and the City and County of Honolulu are requested to take steps to coordinate their efforts to immediately notify the public of breaks in major sewer lines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005 on coordination efforts with the City and County of Honolulu to provide early warning to the public of sewage spills; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and Director of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Requesting immediate notification of sewage line breaks