Shut down Red Hill by supporting SB2172 + SB2600

APRIL 26 UPDATE:

LAST CALL TO HELP PASS THE #SHUTDOWNREDHILL BILL, SB2600 SD2 HD2!

Please e-mail and/or call the conference committee members for this bill as well as your own legislators and ask them to PASS SB2600.

Click here to email the conference committee members

Click here to find your own legislator(s) to send them an e-mail as well

Sample testimony:

Dear Chair Keohokalole, Co-Chairs Gabbard, Acasio, and Wakai, Co-Chairs Yamane, Lowen, Johanson, and Tam, and members of the Conference Committee on SB2600 SD2 HD2,

*(or Dear [your legislator's name],)*

Please work to ensure that the protections in SB2600 SD2 HD2 pass into law, so that the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and similarly massive underground storage tank facilities will never threaten our islands' water sources again. We must all do what it takes to protect our most precious resource for present and future generations, and are counting on your continued leadership and support in responding to the Red Hill crisis. I therefore respectfully urge you pass this important measure.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

March 15 update:

The Senate Red Hill bills are moving in the House! SB2172 SD2 and SB2600 SD2 have been scheduled for a committee hearing this Thursday at 11 a.m.! Both of these measures would prohibit large scale underground storage tank facilities, including the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, from being permitted or operated above our drinking water aquifers.

Even though the Pentagon has ordered the Red Hill Facility to be shut down, the Navy still has not withdrawn its legal appeals and permit application, continues to refuse to share its investigative reports and documents with the public, and has given no concrete indication of where and how it might seek to store fuel in the future.  Either of these bills will let the Navy know that we will not let up until their decrepit facility is actually defueled and that we are refusing to repeat the mistakes of the past, in allowing inherently dangerous facilities like Red Hill to ever be operated near our precious water resources. 

Please take a moment to submit written testimony and if you can, sign up to provide remote or in-person verbal testimony. Instructions and sample testimony below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts about why we need to protect our water resources, how you may have been impacted, etc.  

What these bill do: SB2172 SD2 and SB2600 SD2 are largely identical in prohibiting the issuance of permits to operate large-capacity underground storage tank systems above our drinking water aquifers after July 1, 2022, and prohibiting the operation of these systems above our drinking water aquifers beginning January 1, 2023.

Why it is important: These bills would make clear that Red Hill needs to be defueled and shut down and that nothing like this can ever be allowed to happen again—like the Navy’s previous proposal, as an alternative to Red Hill, to build new “safer” underground storage tanks still above the drinking water aquifer.

Sample testimony:

Dear Chair Yamane, Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Tam, Vice Chair Marten, and members of the House Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Energy & Environmental Protection Committees,

I SUPPORT SB2172 SD2 and SB2600 SD2, which seek to protect our islands' most precious resource from potentially catastrophic contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  

While the Pentagon has agreed that Red Hill must be shut down, our water is still in harm’s way, the Navy still refuses to withdraw its legal fight against the emergency order to defuel the Red Hill Facility, and we must therefore continue to make clear that we will never allow the Red Hill facility or anything like it to threaten our islands’ most precious resource ever again.

Accordingly, please PASS SB2172 SD2 and SB2600 SD2. Mahalo nui!

[Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB2172" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify in person or remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying verbally via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to SB2172 SD2 (for more information see here)

6. Repeat steps 3-5 with “SB2600” instead of “SB2172.”

7. Don’t forget to let your friends know you testified, and ask them to testify as well! 

March 2 update:

Both bills passed out of committee with amendments. You can watch the livestream here. They will now move to the House. Thank you to everyone who testified in support!

February 27, 2022:

Two bills to #ShutDownRedHill are scheduled for their final Senate committee hearing this Wednesday.  Please support SB2600 SD1 and SB2172 SD1!

When is the hearing?

Wednesday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. before the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What these bills do:

SB2600 SD1 and SB2172 SD1 would both prohibit large-capacity underground storage tanks like the Red Hill Facility from being permitted above our drinking water aquifers after July 1, 2022, except for their repair and removal, and would prohibit the operation of large-capacity underground storage tanks above our drinking water aquifers after January 1, 2023.

Why they are good:

This is the final hearing for these measures before they “cross over” to the House.  If passed, either of these measures would prevent large-capacity underground storage tanks from threatening our drinking water aquifers, and hopefully force the U.S. Navy to focus solely on defueling and shutting down its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

Sample testimony

Dear Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees,

I SUPPORT SB2600 SD1 and SB2172 SD1,  which seek to protect our islands' most precious resource from contamination.  Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  We have already seen the devastating impacts that water contamination from leaky underground storage tanks may have on people and the environment, with additional effects likely to ripple across our island over the summer and into the foreseeable future.  The legislature must do all that it can to remove the threat of something far worse happening to our water supply, both now and for future generations to come.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to PASS SB2600 SD1 and SB2172 SD1.

Mahalo nui,

 [Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

Watch this video with instructions on how to submit testimony!

1. Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (you’ll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB2600" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony (no oral testimony will be taken), and click “Submit.”

5. Repeat for SB2172. (for more information see here)

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January 26, 2022:

The first Red Hill bill (SB2172) of the year passes HTH/AEN committees! Mahalo to everyone that submitted testimony—there were over 275 written testimonies in support. A few amendments were made that ideally make the bill stronger, we will wait for the SD1 for the details.

You can watch the hearing here.

SB2172 will be heard next in the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means. Stay tuned for next steps on this bill and others!

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January 24, 2022:

Here we go! The first Red Hill Bill is scheduled for its first hearing this Wednesday at 1:10 pm in a joint hearing of the Senate Health and Agriculture and Environment Committees! While it needs a few changes to make sure it can best protect our groundwater aquifers, this could be our first and best chance to pass a Hawaiʻi law that would effectively shut down Red Hill, and make sure nothing like this situation can ever happen again.

Please take a moment to submit written testimony by Tuesday, 1:10pm (late testimony is accepted), and if you can, sign up to provide remote verbal testimony. Instructions and sample testimony below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts about why we need to protect our water resources, how you may have been impacted, etc.  

What this bill does:

SB2172 prohibits the operation of existing underground storage tanks by a date to be determined as well as the future construction of underground storage tanks within half a mile of an aquifer.

Why it is important:

This bill seeks to protect our precious drinking water resources today and for generations to come. SB2172 could essentially shut down the Red Hill tanks and ensure nothing like this ever happens again—like the Navy’s previous proposal, as an alternative to Red Hill, to build new “safer” underground storage tanks still above the drinking water aquifer.

Sample testimony:

Dear Chair Keohokalole, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Baker, Vice Chair Nishihara, and members of the Senate Health and Agriculture and Environment Committees,

I SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS SB2172, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from fuel contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  

Please amend this measure by: 1) removing reference to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in the preamble, to avoid potential federal preemption challenges; 2) amending the proposed new definition of "underground fuel storage tank" to apply to facilities with field-constructed tanks, or with a capacity over 100,000 gallons; and 3) ensuring that no permit may be issued or renewed for an underground fuel storage tank, and that no underground fuel storage tank may be operated after the end of this year, for a facility located mauka of the underground injection control line.  

Please PASS SB2172 with the above amendments. Mahalo nui!

[Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB2172" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying verbally via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to SB2172 (for more information see here)

6. Don’t forget to let your friends know you testified, and ask them to testify as well!  

Lend your voice in favor of environmental justice

Governor Ige recently nominated corporate attorney Naomi Kuwaye to serve as commissioner of the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission for a six-year term, 2022-28. 

Although this nominee has extensive experience in litigation and utility regulation, her track record of working on behalf of corporate utilities and private developers raises significant questions as to whether she will recognize and understand the need for the PUC to address environmental justice and community concerns, a matter of critical importance in PUC decision-making.

Here are just a few of the most controversial cases she's worked on:

• Represented NextEra Energy in an attempted $4.3 billion takeover of Hawaiian Electric Industries, rejected by the PUC because they felt the merger was not in the public interest and that the companies failed to demonstrate adequate benefits for residents and a commitment to Hawaiʻi's clean energy goals.

• Represented Hu Honua Bionergy, to evaluate land use and regulatory compliance forestry issues, so Hu Honua could burn trees for electricity on Hawaiʻi Island. Communities have been fighting the project due to the extensive pollutants, water needed, and emissions from these operations.

• Represented Hawaiian Electric Light Co at the Supreme Court when there was a long community fight over HELCO`s proposed Keahole Power Plant. The Board of Land and Natural Resources had a mixed vote for and against the project. The court ruled in favor of HELCO.

• Represented major corporate developer D.R Horton to rezone 1553 acres of agricultural land to urban on Oʻahu, and Shopoff Group on Hawaiʻi Island when they wanted to urbanize 127.94 acres of agricultural land. 

• The list goes on. 

Kuwaye’s current employer, Ashford & Wriston law firm, has a focused expertise on utility-scale energy development. According to them, they "have one of the most experienced practices focused on project development, project finance and construction. Our firm has been engaged in a broad range of energy transactions involving utility-scale solar projects, hydro, geothermal and other significant renewable energy projects.” 

The Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission is a three-member executive body. It is the only regulatory body for our virtual monopoly investor-owned electric utility. They have an extensive amount of power, influence, and kuleana over our energy system by:

• setting utility rates

• approving or disapproving energy development projects

• Reviewing utilities’ Request for Proposals, setting the criteria, parameters, and requirements for projects. 

In recent years, the PUC has been putting pressure on our utility to consider broader public interests, and not just shareholders’ profits. They even held historic listening sessions with community leaders in West Oʻahu and on Hawaiʻi Island to understand their concerns with utility-scale development that may come at a high cost to ʻāina and surrounding communities. 

The Sierra Club of Hawai’i, along with other organizations, hope to urge the Senate Committee to deeply consider the need for someone who has the knowledge and experience needed to continue shifting the utilities paradigm, so that corporate utilities and developers can no longer ignore the concerns and needs of the public and communities most impacted by their projects. 

HOW TO TAKE ACTION: 

On Wednesday April 13th at 9:30am the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection will hear this nomination- GM 754. Lend your voice to this nomination and urge the Senate to ensure that our Public Utilities Commission continues to uplift environmental justice and community concerns in their processes and decision making.

Please take a moment to submit written testimony and consider remote testimony! Instructions and sample testimony below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts - including your personal stories and experiences with environmental injustices  -  about why we need to have a just and equitable energy system.  

Why it is important: The Commission’s primary duty is to “protect the public interest by overseeing and regulating public utilities to ensure that they provide reliable service at just and reasonable rates.” However, with such an expansive pro-developer and pro-utility record, Ige’s nominee hasn’t demonstrated an ability to represent the interests of the people and frontline communities over that of corporate profits. 

Sample testimony:

Dear Chair Baker, Vice Chair Chang, and members of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee,

My name is____and I am a resident of____ testifying with strong concerns regarding the nomination of Naomi Kuwaye to serve as commissioner for the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission. The Commission plays a crucial role in protecting ratepayers, local communities, and resources from an otherwise monopolistic profit-driven energy system. Please deeply consider the need for commissioners who are willing and able to ensure that corporate utilities and developers address the concerns and needs of the public and communities most impacted by their projects.   With a long track record of representing the interests of corporate utilities and developers in some of the most controversial cases in recent history–including the Waiāhole Water Case, the NextEra merger, and Hu Honua’s biofuel plant proposal–I am very concerned about the nomineeʻs ability to recognize  and understand community concerns that must be prioritized in regulatory decision- making.  

Please ensure that our commissioners understand the need for equity and justice in our energy system. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify. 

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "GM754" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony. You have the option to testify remotely as well, which is highly encouraged!

5. Don’t forget to let your friends know you testified, and ask them to testify as well!  

Second crossover is approaching

Second crossover is right around the corner, and several surviving bills could have major implications for our islandsʻ environment. Read below for more!

Sierra Club endorsements in limbo?

The Sierra Club of Hawai‘i has long endeavored – through hundreds of volunteer hours researching, interviewing and discussing the dozens of candidates for local, state and federal offices each election season – to inform Hawai‘i voters about which of these individuals may be best suited to help protect our environment. HB2416 HD2 could put an end to this public service, by requiring 501(c)(4) organizations like the Sierra Club to not only disclose the personal information of donors who would like to support our endorsement activities, but also comply with cost- and time-prohibitive record keeping and donor confirmation requirements. Curiously, other organizations that engage in endorsement and electioneering activities — including chambers of commerce, unions, and corporation-funded PACs and SuperPACs — are not targeted by this measure purportedly intended to reduce the influence of “dark money” in politics. This bill has already passed all of its standing committee hearings, but concerned citizens can still contact the conference committee members for this measure after second crossover, once the members are appointed.

Supermajority slate of BLNR members poised for confirmation

Five individuals nominated for the Board of Land and Natural Resources are pending a confirmation vote by the full Senate, after being recommended for approval by the Senate Water and Land Committee. These five nominees, all put forward by outgoing Governor Ige, will comprise a supermajority of the BLNR for the next few years. Notably, the BLNR may be rendering some major decisions in the near future, including with regards to a new potential master lease for Maunakea, the potential reissuance of military leases slated to end in 2029, long-term licenses to divert streams for decades at a time, the issuance of aquarium collection permits and 40-year commercial and industrial lease extensions for our most lucrative public lands. Watch these nomineesʻ responses to Water and Land Committee members here and here, and ask your Senator to carefully consider their vote on these individuals when they are scheduled for confirmation.

PUC nominee concerns

Governor Ige’s nominee to the Public Utilities Commission has drawn considerable attention over the past week, given her long work history of representing developer and corporate utility interests, including the entities that the PUC is tasked with regulating. Of particular concern is whether the nominee will understand the need to uplift environmental justice concerns and the need for community consultation and buy-in as critical components of our transition to renewable energy. The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee will be considering this nomination in a public hearing, likely to be scheduled soon.

Bills to #ShutDownRedHill

Two bills, HB2514 HD1 SD1 and SB2600 SD2 HD1, could, as currently drafted, prohibit the operation of the Red Hill Fuel Facility and others like it as early as next year, as a matter of Hawaiʻi law. If either pass, the Navy will have to accept that its continued foot-dragging will do it no good, even if the Pentagon changes its position that the Red Hill Facility must be shut down. Be sure to sign up for our Red Hill e-mail list for updates and alerts on actions you can take to help get these measures passed!

Watershed protection funding in jeopardy

Amendments to the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, HB1600 HD1, have zeroed out $4M in funding allocated last year for fencing needed to protect critical watershed areas from continued degradation by invasive species. This could not only result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding, but further delay the goal of protecting 30% of priority watershed forests by 2030. Protecting our watersheds will increase the recharge of our drinking water aquifers, prevent the further loss and extinction of native species, reduce runoff and its impacts on our streams and coastal areas and mitigate flooding events that could cause millions of dollars in damage and displace entire communities. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will be deciding on additional amendments to this bill as early as April 5; be sure to reach out to Committee members to voice your concerns about the need for more, not less, investments in the integrity of our watersheds.

Watersheds, native habitat on “pasture” lands at risk

The longstanding conflict between ranchers, environmentalists, and cultural practitioners has taken another turn after the Senate Water and Land Committee amended HB1658 HD1 SD1 to effectively force the transfer of tens of thousands of acres of “pasture” lands from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture. This would prevent the DLNR from applying its public trust duties as well as its institutional capacity and expertise to protect the myriad public interests in these lands, much of which are remnant native forests untouched by industrial agriculture and which are all adjacent to sensitive watersheds that are critical for aquifer recharge and native species habitat. The Senate Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees must hear and pass this amended draft to keep the bill alive; to help defeat this measure, be sure to reach out to Committee members and testify in opposition at any scheduled public hearing on this bill.

Red Hill House bill scheduled for last hearing!

March 31 update:

HB2514 HD1 SD1 passed w no amendments & SB2600 SD2 HD1 passed w/ amendments: to take BWS suggestion to clarify UIC.

March 29 update:

The one surviving #shutdownredhill House bill,  HB2514 HD1 SD1, has been scheduled for its final standing committee hearing on Thursday, March 31, at 9:30 a.m., before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  This bill would prohibit the operation of any underground storage tank with a capacity greater than 100,000 gallons after July 1, 2023. 

 This will be our last chance to submit testimony on this potentially historic measure (note: SB2600 SD2 HD1 is also still alive, and will need a hearing by next week)!  Please see below for sample testimony.

 Even though the Pentagon has ordered the Red Hill Facility to be shut down, we are still in harm’s way, the Navy still has not withdrawn its legal appeals and permit application, and we have been given no concrete commitments regarding when the facility will actually be defueled and decommissioned.  If passed, this bill will make clear that we will not tolerate the Navy’s continued foot-dragging, and that we will not allow this facility or others like it to be operated in Hawai‘i even if the Pentagon does decide to change its mind.

Please take a moment to submit written testimony (no verbal testimony will be taken for this hearing). Instructions and sample testimony below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts about why we need to protect our water resources, how you may have been impacted, etc.  

 What this bill does: HB2514 HD1 SD1 would prohibit the operation of an underground storage tank with a capacity greater than 100,000 gallons after July 1, 2023.

Why it is important: This bill makes clear that continued foot-dragging and delays will do the Navy no good: the Red Hill Fuel Facility will need to be defueled and shut down under state law, and we will never allow dangerously massive facilities like this to threaten our islands again.

Sample testimony:

 Dear Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

I SUPPORT HB2514 HD1 SD1, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from potentially catastrophic contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  

 While the Pentagon has agreed that Red Hill must be shut down, our water is still in harm’s way, the Navy still refuses to withdraw its legal fight against the emergency order to defuel the Red Hill Facility, and we must therefore continue to make clear that we will never allow the Red Hill facility or anything like it to threaten our islands’ most precious resource ever again.

Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committee to PASS HB2514 HD1 SD1.

[Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "HB2514" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony (no verbal testimony will be taken). 

5. Don’t forget to let your friends know you testified, and ask them to testify as well!  

March 21 update:

The House Red Hill bills are moving in the Senate! HB2514 HD1 and HB2274 HD2 have been scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Health and Agriculture and Environment Committees on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.  With amendments, these bills will protect our drinking water aquifers from Red Hill, and make clear that we will not back down until our water is actually out of harm’s way, and never threatened by this facility or another like it ever again.

HB2514 HD1:  This bill would prohibit the operation of any underground storage tank with a capacity greater than 100,000 gallons, after an unspecified date.  Testimony is needed to amend this bill to specify this date as July 1, 2022.

HB2274 HD2:  This bill is similar to SB2600 SD2, which passed out of the Senate and was just heard and passed with amendments by the House Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Energy & Environmental Protection Committees.  This measure seeks to prohibit the operation of large-capacity underground storage tanks above our drinking water aquifers after January 1, 2045.  This date needs to be amended to be as soon as possible, i.e. by July 1, 2022.

See below for sample testimony.

Even though the Pentagon has ordered the Red Hill Facility to be shut down, the Navy still has not withdrawn its legal appeals and permit application, continues to refuse to share its investigative reports and documents with the public, and has given no concrete indication of where and how it might seek to store fuel in the future.  Either of these bills will let the Navy know that we will not let up until their decrepit facility is actually defueled and that we are refusing to repeat the mistakes of the past, in allowing inherently dangerous facilities like Red Hill to ever be operated near our precious water resources. 

Please take a moment to submit written testimony and if you can, sign up to provide remote or in-person verbal testimony. Instructions and sample testimony below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts about why we need to protect our water resources, how you may have been impacted, etc.  

What these bill do: HB2514 HD1 would prohibit the operation of an underground storage tank with a capacity greater than 100,000 gallons after an unspecified date; HB2274 HD2 would prohibit the issuance of permits to for new large-capacity underground storage tank systems above our drinking water aquifers after July 1, 2022, and prohibit the operation of these systems above our drinking water aquifers beginning January 1, 2045.

Why it is important: These bills would make clear that Red Hill needs to be defueled and shut down and that nothing like this can ever be allowed to happen again—like the Navy’s previous proposal, as an alternative to Red Hill, to build new “safer” underground storage tanks still above the drinking water aquifer.

Sample testimony:

For HB2514 HD1: 

Dear Chair Keohokalole, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Baker, Vice Chair Nishihara, and members of the Senate Health and Agriculture and Environment Committees,

I SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS HB2514 HD1, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from potentially catastrophic contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  

While the Pentagon has agreed that Red Hill must be shut down, our water is still in harm’s way, the Navy still refuses to withdraw its legal fight against the emergency order to defuel the Red Hill Facility, and we must therefore continue to make clear that we will never allow the Red Hill facility or anything like it to threaten our islands’ most precious resource ever again.

To ensure that our water is protected in as timely a manner as possible, please amend HB2514 HD2 to specify that the operation of large-capacity underground storage tanks be prohibited as of July 1, 2022. 

Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committees to PASS WITH AMENDMENTS HB2514 HD1.

[Your name]

For HB2274 HD2: 

Dear Chair Keohokalole, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Baker, Vice Chair Nishihara, and members of the Senate Health and Agriculture and Environment Committees,

I SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS HB2274 HD2, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from potentially catastrophic contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.  

While the Pentagon has agreed that Red Hill must be shut down, our water is still in harm’s way, the Navy still refuses to withdraw its legal fight against the emergency order to defuel the Red Hill Facility, and we must therefore continue to make clear that we will never allow the Red Hill facility or anything like it to threaten our islands’ most precious resource ever again.

To ensure that our water is protected in as timely a manner as possible, please amend HB2274 HD2 to prohibit the operation of large-capacity underground storage tanks above our drinking water aquifers as of July 1, 2022. 

Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committees to PASS WITH AMENDMENTS HB2274 HD2.

[Your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "HB2514" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify in person or remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying verbally via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to SB2172 SD2 (for more information see here)

6. Repeat steps 3-5 with “HB2274” instead of “HB2514.”

7. Don’t forget to let your friends know you testified, and ask them to testify as well!  

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February 25 update:

HB2514 passed out of CPC with no amendments and HB2274 passed out of CPC with amendments. You can watch the hearing here.

Thank you to everyone that submitted testimony!

The bills will now be voted on on the House floor, assuming all goes well, they will move to the Senate.

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February 22 update:

HB2514 and HB2274 are scheduled to be heard on Thursday, February 24 at 2pm in the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce. This is the last hearing in the House before the bills move to the Senate.

Please take a minute to submit testimony in support of both bills—with one important amendment to both: implementing July 1, 2022 as the date after which no underground storage tank can be operated except to defuel and decommission. Sample testimony, instructions to submit and summaries of previous hearings and bill versions below.

Sample testimonies:

HB2514 —

Dear Chair Aaron Ling Johanson, Vice Chair Lisa Kitagawa and members of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce,

I SUPPORT HB2514, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from fuel contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.

The threat to our water is imminent and we can wait no longer to know that our water is truly safe from any further contamination, therefore I urge you to amend the measure by implementing July 1, 2022 as the date after which no underground storage tank can be operated, except to defuel and decommission.

We have already seen the devastating impacts that water contamination from leaky underground storage tanks may have on people and the environment, with additional effects likely to ripple across our island over the summer and into the foreseeable future. The legislature must do all that it can to remove the threat of something far worse happening to our water supply, both now and for future generations to come. Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to PASS HB2514 with the above amendment.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

HB2274 —

Dear Chair Aaron Ling Johanson, Vice Chair Lisa Kitagawa and members of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce,

I SUPPORT HB2274, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from fuel contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.

The threat to our water is imminent and we can wait no longer to know that our water is truly safe from any further contamination, therefore I urge you to amend the measure by implementing July 1, 2022 as the date after which no underground storage tank can be operated, except to defuel and decommission.

We have already seen the devastating impacts that water contamination from leaky underground storage tanks may have on people and the environment, with additional effects likely to ripple across our island over the summer and into the foreseeable future. The legislature must do all that it can to remove the threat of something far worse happening to our water supply, both now and for future generations to come. Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to PASS HB2274 with the above amendment.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

Testimony instructions:

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "HB2514 or HB2274" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can!

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to the bill # (for more information see here)

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February 8 update:

HB2514 and HB2274 were both passed out of committee with amendments. You can watch the hearing here.

Both are headed to the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce next.

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February 6, first call to action:

HB2514 and HB2274 are being heard on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the House Committees on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Energy & Environmental Protection. These bills would effectively prohibit the state from permitting the Red Hill Facility and similarly massive underground storage tank facilities that may threaten our precious public trust water sources.

HB2514: Prohibits the issuance of permits for any underground storage tank greater than 100,000 gallons.

HB2274: Similar to SB2172, which was passed out of the Senate Committee on Health and Senate Committee on Agriculture and the Environment, with much-needed amendments. This measure seeks to prohibit underground fuel storage tanks of greater than 100 gallons within a half mile of an aquifer. See below for sample testimony with critical amendments to ask for.

Sample testimony

For HB2514:

Dear Chair Yamane, Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Tam, Vice Chair Marten, and members of the House Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Energy and Environmental Protection Committees,

I SUPPORT HB2514, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from fuel contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations. We have already seen the devastating impacts that water contamination from leaky underground storage tanks may have on people and the environment, with additional effects likely to ripple across our island over the summer and into the foreseeable future. The legislature must do all that it can to remove the threat of something far worse happening to our water supply, both now and for future generations to come. Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to PASS HB2514.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

For HB2274:

Dear Chair Yamane, Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Tam, Vice Chair Marten, and members of the House Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Energy and Environmental Protection Committees,

I SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS HB2274, which seeks to protect our islands' most precious resource from fuel contamination. Our water is precious and we all have a duty to protect our islands' source of life for present and future generations.

To best protect our groundwater now and in the future, please amend this measure by: 1) removing reference to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in the preamble, to avoid potential federal preemption challenges; 2) amending the proposed new definition of "underground fuel storage tank" to apply to facilities with field-constructed tanks, or with a capacity over 100,000 gallons; and 3) ensuring that no permit may be issued or renewed for an underground fuel storage tank or tank system, and that no underground fuel storage tank or tank system may be operated after the end of this year, for a facility located mauka of the underground injection control line.

Please PASS HB2274 with the above amendments.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify!

[Your name]

Testimony instructions:

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "bill #" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can!

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to the bill # (for more information see here)

BLNR Nominations Before the Senate Water and Land Committee

The Board of Land and Natural Resources is the decision making body of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Board oversees the management of public lands, waters and natural resources and issues that pertain to them.

Governor Ige has made five nominations to the Board of Land and Natural Resources that must be confirmed by the Senate. These five nominations will be heard over two hearings in the Senate Water and Land Committee—three on Friday, March 18 and two on Monday, March 21 both at 1pm.

There are seven seats on the board, therefore these five nominees will ​​constitute a supermajority of the BLNR and may dictate the outcome of many important issues for the next few years including Maunakea, long-term water leases/licenses, the disposition of "ceded" lands, military land leases, shoreline hardening, CBSFAs, aquarium collection, etc.  

This is not a duty that should be taken lightly and serious consideration must go into confirming these seats. Please take a moment to contact members of the Senate Water and Land Committee and urge them to ask key questions of the nominees to better understand the individuals’ suitability for these seats.

Contact information and sample questions provided below.

Hearings:

Riley Smith, Doreen Canto, and Karen Ono will go before the Senate Water and Land Committee on Friday, March 18 at 1pm. 
Kaiwi Yoon and Aimee Barnes will go before the Senate Water and Land Committee on Monday, March 21 at 1pm.

Contact info & sample questions

Contact information for the Senate Water and Land Committee

Chair Inouye, 808-586-7335, seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov
Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, 808-586-7344, senkeithagaran@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Misalucha, 808-586-6230, senmisalucha@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Fevella, 808-586-6360, senfevella@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Riviere, 808-586-7330, senriviere@capitol.hawaii.gov

Questions:

• What is your background in conservation, natural/cultural resource management, and or environmental sciences?

• Should the US military and the University of Hawaiʻi be re-issued leases for training and observatory development after their repeated, ongoing failures to protect our public trust lands and waters?

• Should water leases allow more than half of any given stream to be diverted for years on end? Do 30-year water leases make sense in the climate change era?

• Have you ever opposed efforts to protect water and its public trust uses through water management area designations?

• Will you protect the rights of Native Hawaiians and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands as recognized in the Hawaiʻi Constitution and Hawaiian Homes Commission Act?

Crossover Check-in

We’ve just passed crossover, where bills move from their original chambers to the opposite (House to Senate and Senate to House). This can also be considered the halfway mark of session. With your help we’ve been able to defeat most of the bills of major concern so far this session. These victories would not have happened were it not for your testimonies, emails, and engagement during the first few months of this year’s legislative session. Please continue to stay informed by signing up for updates on our CapitolWatch website and ask your friends and community members to do the same! 

Bad Water Bills Defeated

HB2164 would have allowed the DLNR to issue 55-year water licenses through direct negotiation, rather than through the appraisal and public auction process currently required. As reflected in the many testimonies submitted in opposition to this measure, the bill lacked critical safeguards to ensure that our public trust streams, springs, and aquifers and the people and life that depend on these water sources are not wrongfully deprived of water, in favor of the politically and economically powerful corporations who would be negotiating for long-term water licenses. After hearing the public’s concerns, House Water & Land Committee Chair David Tarnas deferred the measure.

This measure’s companion, SB3132, was also initially scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Water and Land Committee, but was ultimately pulled from the agenda, likely after numerous testimonies were received in opposition.  

SB2884 would have required the automatic approval of any well or water use permit applications if they were to be used for “affordable” housing. This could have led to water uses that unduly impact Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, kuleana water rights, the rights of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and its beneficiaries, and other public trust purposes and reasonable beneficial uses otherwise protected under the public trust doctrine and state water code. After receiving dozens of testimonies in opposition by concerned community members and groups, Water and Land and Housing Committee Chairs Lorraine Inouye and Stanley Chang deferred the measure.  

SB2062 would have exempted the proposed drilling, construction, or use of a well on Department of Agriculture leased lands from environmental review requirements if the land is used to support agriculture and food production. This would have removed a critical mechanism for the protection of Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources from well construction activities, including our public trust water resources that are already under strain from climate change, over extraction, diversions, and pollution. Exempting major infrastructure projects, like wells, from environmental review requirements may result in needless impacts to our natural and cultural resources and associated cultural and recreational activities, by removing public and expert review in project planning and development. This measure was never heard in its last committee in the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is essentially defeated and will not move to the House. 

Bad Public Land Bills Defeated or Amended

HB1750 would have exempted “affordable housing” projects on certain public lands from environmental review (i.e. environmental impact statement or assessment) requirements.  An exemption from our environmental review law for housing projects on public lands would have taken away an important mechanism for public transparency and input in the development of these lands. This in turn could have led to significant, irreparable, and avoidable impacts to the public’s environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural interests in our limited public land base.  With the significant majority of testimony submitted in opposition to this bill, it was deferred by Housing Committee Chair Nadine Nakamura and Energy & Environmental Protection Committee Chair Nicole Lowen.  

HB2165 would have allowed the BLNR to issue long-term leases for any of its commercial, industrial, hotel, or resort lands, without following existing public auction requirements.  Public land leases provide critical funds for the DLNR to steward our lands and waters, and a percentage of certain lease revenues should also be set aside and transferred to OHA and DHHL for public land trust and former sugarcane lands, respectively. Direct negotiation authority for 55+ year leases would have removed the transparency and accountability safeguard provided by the public auction process in the leasing of our most lucrative public lands, allowing politically powerful corporate entities to pursue and lock in low-revenue leases for generations at a time –undermining the protection of our ‘āina and our obligations to the Hawaiian community.  After receiving voluminous testimonies in opposition, House Water & Land Committee Chair Tarnas deferred the measure.

SB2251 would have allowed lands set aside, leased, or held by the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority (“HPHA”) to be used for market- or even luxury-rate housing and mixed-use developments. In addition to distracting the HPHA from its core mission of meeting the needs of our most housing-vulnerable residents, this could have led to significant pressure from politically powerful developers and others for the set aside or lease large swaths of public lands to the HPHA, for unaffordable housing and commercial development. Notably, the HPHA’s liberal leasing authorities would have allowed it to issue century-long leases for these lands, foreclosing present and future generations from ensuring their best use, and effectively erasing Native Hawaiians’ unresolved claims to leased “ceded” lands. After much testimony in opposition, Housing Committee Chair Chang amended this measure to only apply to non-“ceded” lands, avoiding the effective erasure of Native Hawaiians’ claims and significantly restricting the amount of public lands at risk of the bill’s potential unintended consequences.  

Similarly, SB2502 would have allowed the HCDA to lease lands under its control, including "ceded" lands, for 99 years at a time. This could have again resulted in leases of public and “ceded” lands that foreclose future generations from ensuring their best use, and prevent the resolution of Native Hawaiian claims to the “ceded” lands corpus. After hearing the public’s concerns, Water and Land Committee Chair Inouye amended the measure to only apply to non-“ceded” lands, avoiding the effective erasure of Native Hawaiians’ claims and significantly limiting the amount of public lands that may be subject to century-long leases.  

Bad Bills Still Standing

While much has been accomplished, there are still a couple of bills that we need to endeavor to defeat after crossover. These include:

SB2068 is a “zombie” bill from prior years, and would mandate the transfer of tens of thousands of acres of public “pasture lands” from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture, which lacks the mission, expertise, and staff capacity to safeguard the numerous watershed, ecological, cultural, and public access values of these lands. The Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees passed this measure and it is on its way to the House, stay tuned on the next actions to help defeat this measure in the House.

SB3133 is the companion to HB2165 described above, and would allow for the direct negotiation of long-term leases for our most lucrative public lands. The Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees passed this measure and it is on its way to the House, stay tuned on the next actions to help defeat this measure in the House.

Red Hill Bills

HB2274, HB2514 

Two House bills that could effectively prohibit the state from permitting the Red Hill Facility and similarly massive underground storage tank facilities that may threaten our precious public trust water sources passed their final hearings in the House and are headed to the Senate! The Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce passed HB2514 HD1 with no amendments, which prohibits the issuance of permits for any underground storage tank greater than 100,000 gallons and HB2274 HD1 with minor technical amendments, which seeks to prohibit underground fuel storage tanks of greater than 100,000 gallons located mauka of the underground injection control line. The bills will now be voted on the House floor and assuming all goes well, they will move to the Senate, where we hope to push for an amendment to both measures that specifies July 1, 2022 as the date after which no large scale underground storage tank can be operated, except to defuel and decommission.

SB2600, SB2172

Two Senate bills that would both prohibit large-capacity underground storage tanks like the Red Hill Facility from being permitted above our drinking water aquifers after July 1, 2022, except for their repair and removal, along with prohibit the operation of large-capacity underground storage tanks above our drinking water aquifers after January 1, 2023 passed out of the Senate and are headed to the House.

Stay tuned for more updates on the last standing bad bills and the good Red Hill bills!

MAHALO NUI to all of you who have testified, made phone calls, and encouraged others to do the same. We would not be able to have come this far without you, and we will still need your help this year and in coming legislative sessions to ensure the protection of our islands’ environment and cultural integrity.

Bad Public Land Bills Are Back! – OPPOSE SB2068 & SB3133

Bad Public Land Bills Are Back!

March 2 update:

Both bills passed out of their committees and will now move to the House. You can watch the hearing here. Thank you to everyone who testified in opposition, there was overwhelming testimony against SB3133. Stay tuned for the next moves!

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February 27 update:

Please submit testimony to protect our public lands!  Two bad bills that may impact our public lands for generations at a time have been scheduled for hearings on Wednesday, March 2.

When is the hearing?

Wednesday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. before the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bill number + description

SB2068 SD1 Relating to Land Management: Forcibly transfers tens of thousands of acres of watershed-adjacent “pasture” lands (much of which are remnant native forest lands) from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture.

SB3133 SD1 Relating to Disposition of Public Lands by Negotiation: This bill would allow the BLNR to issue long-term leases for any of its commercial, industrial, hotel, or resort lands, without complying with public auction requirements.  

Why are these bills bad?

SB2068 SD1: If these lands are transferred to the Department of Agriculture, ranching activities including unrestricted grazing and clear cutting of remnant native forests could take precedence over public access for hiking, hunting, and cultural practices; watershed protection; and the preservation of native and endangered species habitat. Ranchers could likely pay even less for their use of transferred public trust lands under the DOA than the already very small fees they pay under DLNR, and ranching-related facilities on these lands could also receive exemptions from state and county environmental protection and development laws. See 2021: SB693, 2020: HB2035.

SB3133 SD1:  Public land leases provide critical funds for the DLNR to steward our lands and waters, and a percentage of certain lease revenues should also be set aside and transferred to OHA and DHHL for public land trust and former sugarcane lands, respectively. Direct negotiation authority for 55+ year leases could lock in low lease revenues from our most lucrative public lands for generations at a time, undermining the protection of our ‘āina and our obligations to the Hawaiian community.

Notably, a 2019 audit highlighted ways that the Land Division would be able to maximize its revenues from commercial leases, including by increasing its marketing capacity and expertise, and moving away from ground leases and using space leases instead. This measure would potentially let the Land Division stick to the status quo (as it says it prefers to do) rather than seek ways to improve their approach to leasing public lands, compromising the DLNR’s ability to care for our environment and undermining the state’s obligation to the Hawaiian community.

Sample testimonies

SB2068 SD1:

Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees,

I am testifying in OPPOSITION to SB2068 SD1, which would reduce the state’s ability to ensure appropriate management for tens of thousands of acres of public lands that may host important ecological and cultural resources and sites and that may also be critical to watershed integrity and our islands’ water security.

The tens of thousands of acres of public lands that would be transferred under this bill are crucial watershed lands that have been used on a temporary basis for cattle grazing. If transferred to the Department of Agriculture, these public lands could be opened to ranching activities including unrestricted grazing and clear cutting of forests, and access for hiking, hunting, and cultural traditions would be jeopardized. It is appropriate for the agency responsible for managing the state’s watersheds, native species habitat, cultural sites, and other public trust values in our public lands to maintain its management responsibility over these high-value lands. 

Therefore, I respectfully urge the Committees to HOLD this measure.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

SB3133 SD1:
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees,

I strongly OPPOSE SB3133 SD1, which would undermine the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ability to steward our public lands and natural and cultural resources, as well as the state’s obligations to the Hawaiian community under the public land trust and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.  This measure would allow politically and financially powerful entities to negotiate directly with the BLNR for long-term commercial, industrial, or resort leases, without the public transparency or accountability required under current appraisal and public auction requirements.  As a result, leases may fail to sufficiently generate much-needed revenues from our most lucrative public lands, impacting the DLNR’s ability to manage and protect our watersheds, streams, cultural sites, and other public trust resources, and reducing the amount of pro-rata funds that would otherwise be transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands – for generations at a time.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committees to HOLD SB3133.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

Testimony instructions: 

Here’s a quick video with instructions on how to submit testimony!

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter the bill number ("SB2068" or “SB3133”) where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link(s) next to the bill you would like to testify on (for more information see here).

Please Protect our Public Lands! - OPPOSE HB1750 & HB2165

2/15 update:

Both bills have been deferred and are done for this session. Mahalo nui to everyone that submitted testimony!

Please submit testimony to protect our public lands!  Two bad bills that may impact our public lands for generations at a time have been scheduled for hearings next Tuesday, February 15.

Date & time of hearings

HB1750:  Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 10:45 a.m. before the House Housing Committee and Energy and Environmental Protection Committee.

HB2165:  Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. before the House Water and Land Committee.

Bills

HB1750 Relating to Affordable Housing Development: This bill would exempt “affordable housing” projects on public lands from environmental review (i.e. environmental impact statement or assessment) requirements.

HB2165 Relating to Disposition of Public Lands by Negotiation: This bill would allow the BLNR to issue long-term leases for any of its commercial, industrial, or resort lands, without complying with public auction requirements. 

Why this is bad

HB1750: An exemption from our environmental review law for housing projects on public lands would take away an important mechanism for public transparency and input in the development of these lands. This in turn could lead to significant, irreparable, and avoidable impacts to the public’s environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural interests in our limited public land base.   

HB2165: (NOTE: This measure is the companion to SB3133, a bad bill that passed out of the Senate Water and Land Committee on February 8).  Public land leases provide critical funds for the DLNR to steward our lands and waters, and a percentage of certain lease revenues should also be set aside and transferred to OHA and DHHL for public land trust and former sugarcane lands, respectively. Direct negotiation authority for 55+ year leases could lock in low lease revenues from our most lucrative public lands for generations at a time, undermining the protection of our ‘āina and our obligations to the Hawaiian community.

Notably, a 2019 audit highlighted ways that the Land Division would be able to maximize its revenues from commercial leases, including by increasing its marketing capacity and expertise, and moving away from ground leases and using space leases instead. This measure would potentially let the Land Division stick to the status quo (as it says it prefers to do) rather than seek ways to improve their approach to leasing public lands, compromising the DLNR’s ability to care for our environment and undermining the state’s obligation to the Hawaiian community.

Sample testimony

HB1750:

Aloha Chairs Nakamura and Lowen, Vice Chairs Hashimoto and Marten, and Members of the Housing and Energy & Environmental Protection Committees,

I am testifying in OPPOSITION to HB1750, which may lead to significant and avoidable impacts to the public interest from the development of our public land base.  

The public has a wide range of interests in our public lands, which are held in trust for present and future generations.  Our environmental review law accordingly ensures that government decisionmakers carefully consider the environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural impacts of proposed uses of public lands, and provides opportunities for other agencies, experts, cultural practitioners, and members of the public to also review and provide input on such uses.  This bill’s proposed exemption from the environmental review law for “affordable housing” projects on public lands may result in decisions that don’t fully consider the potential impacts from such projects, and lead to significant, irreparable, and unnecessary harms that could have otherwise been avoided through more informed decisionmaking.

Therefore, I respectfully urge the Committees to HOLD this measure.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

HB2165:
Aloha Chair Tarnas, Vice Chair Branco, and members of the Water & Land Committee,

I strongly OPPOSE HB2165, which would undermine the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ability to steward our public lands and natural and cultural resources, as well as the state’s obligations to the Hawaiian community under the public land trust and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.  This measure would allow politically and financially powerful entities to negotiate directly with the BLNR for long-term commercial, industrial, or resort leases, without the public transparency or accountability required under current appraisal and public auction requirements.  As a result, leases may fail to sufficiently generate much-needed revenues from our most lucrative public lands, impacting the DLNR’s ability to manage and protect our watersheds, streams, cultural sites, and other public trust resources, and reducing the amount of pro-rata funds that would otherwise be transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands – for generations at a time.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committee to HOLD HB2165.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter the bill number ("HB1750" or “HB2165”) where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link(s) next to the bill you would like to testify on (for more information see here).

More bad water bills coming through - OPPOSE SB2884 and SB3132

2/10 update:

Both of the bad stream bills (SB2884 + SB3132) have been defeated. SB2884 was deferred today and SB3132 was removed from tomorrow's agenda. Mahalo to everyone that testified!

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Huiiii! More bad water bills coming through!

Take a moment to submit testimony in opposition to both SB2884 which requires the automatic approval of any and all water source (i.e. wells) and water use permit applications, after 90 days for permits that don’t require a hearing and 180 days for permits that do and SB3132 which is the companion to HB2164, a measure that the House Water and Land Committee deferred (killed) after receiving voluminous testimonies in opposition – mahalo nui and congratulations to all who testified! This measure allows the Land Board to negotiate directly with stream diverters for long-term water licenses -- instead of going through a public auction -- without mechanisms to ensure that the environment and the rights and interests of the public are adequately protected. Sample testimony and instructions to submit below.

SB2884 has a joint hearing on Thursday, February 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate Committees on Water and Land and Housing.

SB3132 has a hearing on Friday, February 11 at 1:10 p.m. in the Senate Committee on Water and Land.

Why these bills are bad:

SB2884: Automatic approval of well and water use permit applications could lead to water uses that unduly impact Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, kuleana water rights, the rights of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and its beneficiaries, and other public trust purposes and reasonable beneficial uses otherwise protected under the public trust doctrine and state water code.  

SB3132: As written, this bill could lead to the inappropriate exploitation of our water resources by allowing for the direct issuance of water licenses to stream diverters and other entities, for 55 years at a time (even HB1015 from last year limited its licenses to 30 years, which is still too long). 

While we agree that the current appraisal and public auction process may not be appropriate for the issuance of licenses for public trust water resources, the public trust and historical water disposition practices demand better safeguards in any alternative approach to issuing water licenses.  SB3132 does not prevent streams from being completely dewatered, does not ensure that climate change impacts to our streams and aquifers will be considered, does not require water waste issues to be addressed, and does not provide an objective or concrete starting point for license appraisals, among many other deficiencies.

Sample testimony:

SB2884:

Aloha Chairs Inouye and Chang, Vice Chairs Keith-Agaran and Kanuha, and members of the Water and Land and Housing Committees,

I strongly OPPOSE SB2884, which would result in the automatic approval of any and all well permit and water use permit applications, if they cannot be decided upon within certain statutory deadlines.  Water is our most precious resource, and must be carefully managed to both conserve it for present and future generations, and ensure that it is appropriately shared for purposes that are beneficial to the public.  This measure may result in automatic water use approvals that could lead to the waste or unsustainable overconsumption of our islands’ water resources, and that could unduly impact stream and coastal ecosystems, Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, kuleana rights, domestic and household uses, agricultural activities, and numerous other public trust purposes and reasonable beneficial uses of water that should be carefully considered and protected in water management decisionmaking.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committees to HOLD SB2884.

Mahalo nui,

[your name], 

SB3132:

Aloha Chair Inouye, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, and members of the Water and Land Committee,

I strongly OPPOSE SB3132 , which may lead to the issuance of water licenses that inappropriately deprive our streams, estuaries, and aquifers, as well as the people, practices, and living things that depend on them, from the water they are rightfully entitled to, for up to 55 years at a time.  Much greater conversation is needed between DLNR, the Water Commission, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, rural and subsistence communities, climate change experts, biologists, and others to develop sufficient statutory safeguards that can appropriately balance the rights and interests of the public and water licensees in the issuance of any water license through direct negotiation.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committee to HOLD SB3132.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

Testimony instructions:

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB2884 or SB3132" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to SB2884 or SB3132 (for more information see here)

Oppose SB3133 allowing direct negotiation for long-term public land leases

2/10 update:
The measure passed out of committee and will continue to move. Keep your eyes out for the next hearing, we will be sure to let you know!

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Please submit (late) testimony in opposition to SB3133 which would allow the BLNR to issue long-term leases for any of its commercial, industrial, or resort lands. This bad bill has a hearing on Wednesday, February 9 at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate Committee on Water and Land. Sample testimony and instructions to submit below!

Why this bill is bad:

Public land leases provide critical funds for DLNR to steward our lands and waters, and a percentage of certain lease revenues should also be set aside and transferred to OHA and DHHL for public land trust and former sugarcane lands, respectively. Direct negotiation authority for 55+ year leases could lock in low lease revenues from our most lucrative public lands for generations at a time, undermining the protection of our ‘āina and our obligations to the Hawaiian community.

Notably, a 2019 audit highlighted ways that the Land Division would be able to maximize its revenues from commercial leases, including by increasing its marketing capacity, and moving away from ground leases and using space leases instead. This measure would potentially let the Land Division stick to the status quo (as it says it prefers to do) rather than seek ways to improve their approach to leasing public lands, compromising the DLNR’s ability to care for our environment and undermining the state’s obligation to the Hawaiian community.

Sample testimony:

Aloha Chair Inouye, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, and members of the Water and Land Committee,

I strongly OPPOSE SB3133, which would undermine the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ability to steward our public lands and natural and cultural resources, as well as the state’s obligations to the Hawaiian community under the public land trust and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.  This measure would allow politically and financially powerful entities to negotiate directly with the BLNR for long-term commercial, industrial, or resort leases, without the public transparency or accountability required under current appraisal and public auction requirements.  As a result, leases may fail to sufficiently generate much-needed revenues from our most lucrative public lands, impacting the DLNR’s ability to manage and protect our watersheds, streams, cultural sites, and other public trust resources, and reducing the amount of pro-rata funds that would otherwise be transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands – for generations at a time.  Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committee to HOLD SB3133.

Mahalo nui,

[your name]

Testimony instructions: 

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB3133" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can! 

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to SB3133 (for more information see here)

Bad Water Bill - Act Now to End HB2164

February 8 update:

HB2164 was deferred and is essentially dead for this session. You can watch the hearing here.

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HB2164 would allow the DLNR to issue 55-year water licenses through direct negotiation, rather than through the appraisal and public auction process currently required. The bad bill has a hearing on Tuesday, 9am in the House Committee on Water & Land.

Why is this bill bad?

HB2164 fails to address the concerns raised last year about the lack of appropriate safeguards to ensure that our public trust streams, springs, and aquifers and the people and life that depend on them are not wrongfully deprived of water, in favor of the politically and economically powerful corporations who will be negotiating for long-term water licenses.

Sample testimony

Dear Chair Tarnas, Vice Chair Branco, and members of the House Water & Land Committee,

I respectfully OPPOSE HB2164, which may facilitate the issuance of water licenses that inappropriately deprive our streams, estuaries, and aquifers, as well as the people, practices, and living things that depend on them, from the water they are rightfully entitled to, for up to 55 years at a time. Much greater conversation is needed between DLNR, the Water Commission, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, rural and subsistence communities, climate change experts, biologists, and others to develop sufficient statutory safeguards that can appropriately balance the rights and interests of the public and water licensees in the issuance of any water license through direct negotiation. Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to HOLD HB2164.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify,

[your name]

Testimony instructions:

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "bill #" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can!

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to the bill # (for more information see here)

Zombie Bill Hearings Friday: SB2062, SB2068, SB570

We are just one week into the 2022 Legislative Session and three bad zombie bills are already moving (read: bills that come back from the dead year after year). All three bills have hearings on Friday, if you have a minute, please submit testimony in opposition!

Friday, January 28, 2pm in Senate Agriculture and Environment + Water and Land Committees

SB2062: Exempts proposed drilling, construction, or use of a well on Department of Agriculture leased lands from Environmental Review requirements if the land is used to support ag and food production.

Why this is bad: Hawaiʻi’s Environmental Review laws help to protect Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources from exploitation and degradation. Not to mention that Hawaiʻi’s public trust water resources are already under strain from climate change, over extraction, diversions, and pollution. Exempting major infrastructure projects, like wells, from our environmental review requirements may result in needless impacts to our natural and cultural resources and associated cultural and recreational activities, by removing public and expert review in project planning and development. See 2021 version here.

Friday, January 28, 2pm in Senate Water and Land + Agriculture and Environment Committees

SB2068: Forcibly transfers tens of thousands of acres of watershed-adjacent “pasture” lands (much of which are remnant native forest lands) from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture.

Why this is bad: If these lands are transferred to the Department of Agriculture, ranching activities including unrestricted grazing and clear cutting of remnant native forests could take precedence over public access for hiking, hunting, and cultural practices; watershed protection; and the preservation of native and endangered species habitat. Ranchers could likely pay even less for their use of transferred public trust lands under the DOA than the already very small fees they pay under DLNR, and ranching-related facilities on these lands could also receive exemptions from state and county environmental protection and development laws. See 2021: SB693, 2020: HB2035.

Friday, January 28, 9:30am in Senate Judiciary Committee

SB570: Requires eligibility for registration in the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places in order for a site to be considered a "historic property" under the Historic Preservation Law.

Why this is bad: The new restriction on what may be considered a “historic property” could disqualify Native Hawaiian cultural sites from protections under our Historic Preservation Law, such as consultation, reporting, and historic preservation review requirements. See 2021: HB245.

Testimony instructions:

1. Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.

3. Enter "SB2062/SB2068/SB570" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

4. Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can!

5. If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to the bill # (for more information see here)

Remote testimony procedures

Due to COVID-19, the capitol building remains closed and in-person attendance is suspended.

The 2022 session will feature livestreamed hearings on Youtube, verbal testimony given via Zoom, and written testimony submitted only through registered accounts at the Hawai‘i Capitol website.

Learn more about remote testimony procedures here.

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Register on the Hawai‘i capitol website

Creating an account on the Hawaiʻi State Legislature website is the best way to ensure your voice is heard. The website is user friendly and registering yourself will allow you to submit testimony without the need to re-enter required information, create personalized measure tracking lists, and receive official hearing notices directly to your inbox.

If you have participated in the legislature before, you likely already have an account and you do not need to create a new account every year.

You can also helpful documents on navigating the capitol website, writing and submitting testimony, committee schedules, calendar and more on the Public Access Room’s website here.

2022 Legislative Calendar