OPPOSE HB1673 HD1 & SUPPORT HB1926 HD1: Protect Our Wai
/Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 17, two separate measures will be considered in the Hawaiʻi House and Senate that will jeopardize our future water security and provide key funding for the Red Hill WAI Policy Coordinator, to support the clean up of our ʻāina and wai contaminated by the US Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Please take a moment to testify on these bills - sample testimony and testimony instructions below!
First, at 9am in room 411, the House Energy & Environmental Protection Committee will hear HB1673 HD1, a bad bill that as currently drafted would repeal last year’s prohibition against the siting of landfills above drinking water aquifers on Oʻahu.
During that same hearing, the Committee will also consider HB1926 HD1, which would provide unspecified funding for the Red Hill Water Alliance Initiative (WAI) Policy Coordinator’s office, to support its facilitation of the timely clean up of our ʻāina and wai contaminated by the Red Hill Underground Storage Tank Facility.
What these bills do
HB1673 HD1 repeals the prohibition against placing landfills above the underground injection control line on Oʻahu, a policy enacted last year to protect additional drinking water aquifers from catastrophic contamination.
HB1926 HD1 provides unspecified funding for the Red Hill WAI Policy Coordinator office, including for public engagement, environmental monitoring, groundwater modeling, remediation research, and independent water testing and expert review of the Navy’s water data.
Why these bills are important
In 2025, the Hawaiʻi Legislature made a much-needed policy call by prohibiting the siting of landfills above drinking water aquifers on the island of Oʻahu, given the inevitability of groundwater contamination from highly toxic landfill leachate whether in the near future, or decades from now. By repealing this prohibition, HB1673 HD1 is a dangerous bill that will risk creating another “Red Hill water crisis” for future generations, as city administrations and Honolulu Board of Water Supply chief engineers are pressured over time into allowing a new landfill to be located above a drinking water source – as was already attempted last year.
Meanwhile, a lack of transparency and candor from the Navy, unexplained Navy water testing anomalies, hidden water samples, a lack of meaningful proactive remediation efforts by the Navy, and a growing unwillingness to hold the Navy accountable to public concerns by both the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and EPA make public engagement, independent remediation research, and objective expert assessments of the Navy’s Red Hill cleanup efforts absolutely critical if we wish to heal our poisoned wai and ʻāina. HB1926 HD1 is a hopeful measure that provides state funding to meet these critical needs, while making clear our expectation that the federal government must reimburse us for these expenses.
Sample testimony for HB1673 HD1
Aloha Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Perruso, and Members of the Committee,
My name is [Name], and I am writing in strong opposition to HB1673 HD1.
The latest draft of this measure would needlessly remove a critical and common sense state-level protection against the placement of future landfills above drinking water aquifers on Oʻahu.
As we continue to navigate the Red Hill water crisis, it is incumbent upon all of us to do what it takes to protect what water sources we have left from foreseeable future contamination, if we wish to do right by our islands and the future generations who will inhabit them long after we are gone. Accordingly, the legislature rightly passed a law last year to prevent the siting of landfills above Oʻahu’s drinking water aquifers, given the inevitability of a landfill’s highly toxic leachate eventually contaminating any underlying groundwater. Please do not roll back this critical protection by passing this measure as drafted.
While there may or may not now be an additional layer of protection provided by City’s recognition of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s “no-pass zone,” this is no reason for the legislature to abdicate its own responsibility to safeguard our precious wai, and that of our children, grandchildren, and future generations. As we saw just last year, the tremendous pressure that may be placed on current and future city administrations and current and future chief engineers of the Board of Water Supply could very well lead to city-level decisions to site a landfill above a drinking water aquifer, if this measure is passed.
I respectfully urge you to HOLD HB1673 HD1.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sample testimony for HB1926 HD1
Aloha Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Perruso, and Members of the Committee,
My name is [Name], and I am writing in SUPPORT of HB1926 HD1.
In recent months, we have seen continued efforts by the Navy to evade public scrutiny and community accountability, regarding its monitoring and clean-up of the ʻāina and wai contaminated by its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. This includes a refusal to explain countless “irregularities” in its water sampling and reporting, to properly maintain water samples needed to understand what may have poisoned its water system as well as our aquifer, to answer questions posed at Fuel Tank Advisory Committee meetings, and most recently, to meet with the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative. Most concernedly, there also has been no meaningful investment in proactive remediation research that can actually clean the contamination within Oʻahu’s sole-source aquifer.
Clearly, we need much greater state-level investments in remediation research, independent groundwater modeling and environmental testing, objective expert assessments of Navy water testing procedures and data analyses, and public engagement, to protect our children, grandchildren and future generations from having to live with the constant threat of water insecurity and contamination. HB1926 HD1 would provide for these necessary investments, while making clear our expectation that the federal government will reimburse us for any expenses Hawaiʻi incurs in cleaning up the Navy’s mess.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge you to PASS HB1926 HD1.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (you’ll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email).
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter "HB1673" or “HB1926” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information, select “OPPOSE” for HB1673 and “SUPPORT” for HB1926, write or copy/paste your testimony, and select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!
Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4).
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