STAND. COM. REP. NO. 933

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 496

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Water, Land, and Housing and Energy and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 496 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAKE WILSON,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish a pilot project within the Department of Land and Natural Resources to remove pollutants and improve water clarity in Lake Wilson;

 

(2)  Require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to report to the Legislature on the viability, safety, and effectiveness of the pilot project; and

 

(3)  Appropriate an unspecified sum to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the 2011-2012 fiscal year to conduct the pilot project.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Partners in Development Foundation.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

     Your Committees find that Lake Wilson, Hawaii's largest reservoir, has the potential to provide the water needed for the North Shore of Oahu's agricultural expansion, but that the current quality of the water limits the amount of crops that can be produced nearby.  A cleaner Lake Wilson can also be used for recreational opportunities.  This measure proposes an innovative way to remove pollutants and improve water quality in Lake Wilson, which can in turn support local agriculture, reduce our reliance on imported foods, and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Deleting "marine", which may imply saltwater, from the phrase "marine phytoremediation" to avoid confusion, as Lake Wilson is a freshwater body; and

 

(2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, and Housing and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 496, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 496, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, and Housing and Energy and Environment,

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair

 

____________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair