5 reasons to support SB2774 to shut down Red Hill

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And therefore support SB2774, which requires the Navy to relocate its fuel at the Red Hill Facility away from O‘ahu’s drinking water by 2028.

We are asking water drinkers to help save SB2774. This bill is vital because it provides a clear end date to the operation of the massive, leaky Red Hill tanks and provides the justification needed for the Navy to begin the federal funding procurement process for relocation.

The bill has not been heard in the Senate CPH Committee and will miss the legislative deadline if it is not re-referred. Please call Senate President Kouchi and ask that he remove the CPH committee referral to keep SB2774 alive. Act for Oʻahu’s water security future and call and email Sen. Kouchi at 586-6030 or senkouchi@capitol.hawaii.gov. 

You can say something like this: 

“Hi, my name is ____ and I am a resident of ____. I’m calling to request President Kouchi’s help on SB2774, a bill that is so important to protecting O‘ahu’s drinking water. I strongly support SB2774 to send a signal to the Navy that more urgent action needs to be taken at Red Hill. SB2774 needs a re-referral to meet crossover deadline and I am asking Senate President to remove the CPH committee referral to keep SB2774 alive and continue this important discussion.”

#1 The Red Hill tanks have a history of leaking and they are corroding.

Navy documents have revealed that there have been more than thirty leaks from the Red Hill facility, the largest leak of 27,000 gallons occurring in 2014 after routine maintenance. Soil samples taken from beneath 19 of 20 of the tanks show petroleum-based staining and petroleum-based chemicals have been repeatedly detected in nearby groundwater monitoring wells. Every sample of steel liner tested during the 2018 Destructive Analysis Testing showed some presence of corrosion, with one sample measuring only 49% of its  original ¼ inch width. 

#2 The Red Hill tanks continue to threaten our water.

The Navy’s risk assessment shows the tanks currently have a 27.6% chance of leaking up to 30,000 gallons each year and the facility will chronically leak 5,803 gallons every year. Meanwhile, the tanks are located only 100 feet above an aquifer that provides drinking water from Hālawa to Hawai‘i Kai. This level of risk to our water is unacceptable, as none of the leaked fuel can be cleaned up before reaching our aquifer.

#3 The Navy has selected the least protective, least costly upgrade option for the Red Hill tanks while asking for 25 more years to come up with a solution.

Under the Administrative Order on Consent, the Navy evaluated six tank upgrade options and selected the option of maintaining status quo at Red Hill, while committing to ”double wall secondary-containment equivalency” or relocation “around 2045”. The Navy has already considered many different tank upgrade technologies such as patch plates, epoxy and urethane coating, aluminum and ceramic spray coating, fiberglass, rubber and a plastic “bladder” liner, carbon fiber sheets, weld overlay, concrete, ceramic tile, carbon steel, and stainless steel. There is no current technology that can feasibly double-wall the tanks.

#4 The State Department of Health has primary jurisdiction to regulate the Red Hill tanks.

The Department of Health is constitutionally and legally obligated to protect our drinking water from contamination. In 1989 the legislature codified HRS§342L, the underground storage tank law, to give DOH the tools it needed to protect our water supply. In 2002, the U.S. EPA delegated authority to the state to regulate all underground storage tanks, even the tanks at federal facilities. Furthermore, the Administrative Order on Consent specifically reserved the state's right to amend state laws and regulations to ensure that future drinking water sources are well protected. 

#5 Relocation away from drinking water is the only long term solution to protect O‘ahu’s water.

Due to the location of these tanks 100 feet above our water, we should not allow these massive, leaky tanks to continue operating after 2045–even with upgrades. It is time to start planning now for the relocation of the Navy’s fuel. The funding that is currently used to maintain the existing Red Hill Facility should be reallocated towards building a new storage tank system that does not jeopardize our drinking water. SB2774 provides a clear end date to the operation of these massive, leaky tanks and provides the justification needed for the Navy to begin the federal funding procurement process for relocation. 

LUC is not the obstacle to affordable housing—OPPOSE SB3104

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Act now to oppose SB3104. This bill exploits the call for affordable housing as a justification to strip the laws that protect agricultural lands from poorly planned housing developments. Please submit your testimony today! 

Show up on Thursday 2/6/2020 at 1:45PM in 225. Tell lawmakers why you support affordable housing AND protections for agricultural lands. Your presence makes all the difference. 

SB3104 is a catch-all affordable housing and land use bill in the 2020 Affordability Package presented by legislators and the Governor before the start of the legislative session. The Sierra Club supports truly affordable, well-planned housing throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Lawmakers claim this bill would ensure affordable housing is built, but we read it and we aren’t seeing it.  

The Land Use Commission is not the obstacle to affordable housing 

There are already laws in place (like Haw. Rev. Stat. § 201H) that expedite the permitting process for affordable housing projects. The LUC has 45 days to process applications for affordable housing under this statute, and they have ALWAYS met that deadline. Where is the long line of affordable housing projects waiting for the LUC’s approval? There is none. 

Developers using counties to side step protections

Developers are using “home rule” as a way to get some county mayors to push SB3104, so that more farm land can be cleared for construction without LUC oversight or historic preservation protections. The counties want to develop as much land as possible because they can collect a lot more property taxes from homeowners than they do from farmers. In reality, this bill would reduce public participation in land use decisions, increase laxness and loopholes for special interests, and reduce critical state oversight and protections of our resources.

Urban sprawl and loss of farmland

If passed, SB3104 would allow counties to authorize 25 acres of farmland to be converted to housing. Nothing in this bill ensures county-approved projects are planned well -- for example ensuring public schools and public transportation are sufficient, or that parks, grocery stores, and other essentials to a healthy community are adequate. Those 25 acres could be in the middle of a large agricultural district, far from basic necessities, and could overrun undocumented historic and cultural assets. 

SB3104 does not ensure actual affordable housing

SB3104 would only require HALF of the units developed to be sold at or below 140% AMI and there is no guarantee that units will be kept at this level over the long-term. It is well-established that 140% AMI is not affordable.

The Sierra Club stands with affordable housing advocates throughout the state calling for truly affordable housing that is kept affordable for the foreseeable future and is well-planned near the urban centers of our islands. Sadly, SB3104 is far from that.  

Please submit your opposition to SB3104 at capitol.hawaii.gov

Initial High Priority Bills

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The Sierra Club of Hawai‘i will be monitoring hundreds of environmental bills in the 2020 session, but we are focusing on a few key issues relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation, replacing dirty energy with clean renewable sources, and protecting freshwater resources. We are also supporting a handful of bills at the state level that have been identified as top issues by our four county groups. Here is a list of our high priority issues and correlating bills:

Sea Level Rise: Sea levels in Hawaii could rise more than 3.2 feet throughout the century. As sea level rises, coastal buffers, habitats, and resources will be greatly impacted and infrastructure and residence may no longer exist along the coast. The state estimates this would result in $19 billion in loss of private land and structures. The state needs to start planning now for the projected impacts of sea level rise to minimize costs and impacts on coastal communities and ecosystems. For this reason, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi will be prioritizing bills that:

  1. Require mandatory seller/purchaser disclosures in real estate transactions within sea level rise exposure areas: 

  2. Amend Chapter 205A - Hawai‘i’s Coastal Zone Management Act to protect beaches and give guidance for county planning: 

Water: From our streams to aquifer systems, we must ensure the protection of our freshwater resources. Hawaiʻi’s streams, in their original state, hold enough water to support the ecosystems—mauka to makai—that rely on them, such as subsistence farmers, cultural practices, renewable energy, and large scale agriculture. Likewise, with climate change and decreased rainfall, we must ensure our precious drinking water is protected. For these reasons, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi will be prioritizing bills that:

  1. Uphold state laws, ensuring water is first used for the public good before used for private profit. Prevent efforts to allow the continued use of temporary permits for stream diversions:

  2. Protect O‘ahu’s drinking water from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel tanks: 

Clean Energy: Hawai‘i is already leading the nation with our goal of producing 100% of our electricity from clean energy by 2045, but we must do more to ensure the transition to clean energy is accelerated and equitable for all. We will be supporting initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced from the burning of fossil fuels and urging a transition from dirty to clean fuels. For these reasons, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi will be prioritizing bills that: 

  1. Ensure that Hawai‘i’s last coal-fired power plant closes in 2022: 

Group Priorities: A Honolulu-based State Capitol provides challenges to our neighbor island group members and volunteers, who need to travel to O‘ahu to directly interact with legislators and advocate on issues most critical to their island. This session we will be prioritizing issues that were identified as important to the Sierra Club’s four county groups. As a result, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi will be working on the following issues:

  1. Kaua‘i Group: Require greater setbacks for shoreline development to protect beaches and coastal resources:

    •  Potentially Chapter 205A Coastal Zone Management bills, listed above

    •  Potentially SB2381- Relating to shoreline setbacks

  2. O‘ahu Group: Create and fund programs to support farming practices that will develop healthy soils on Hawai‘i’s agricultural lands, both good for agriculture and carbon sequestration efforts: 

  3. Maui Group: No specific policies were identified, but the Chapter is already prioritizing climate change bills, which were the group’s top concern.

  4. Hawai‘i Island Group: Prohibit the harvesting of aquatic life for commercial aquarium purposes to protect reef ecosystems:

    • Commercial aquarium fish trade ban: HB2154

  5. Waste bills: Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island groups support policies to promote source reduction and zero waste principles to prevent waste rather than manage it after the fact. Since there are so many waste reduction bills - from plastics, to recycling, to food waste and composting - we will be leaning on partner organizations and lead volunteers to assist in this area.

We are a volunteer-driven organization that relies on our members and supporters to help inform our policy positions and increase our impact at the state legislature. As such, this bill list is dynamic and will be changing as bills progress throughout legislative session.

We invite you to engage with us. If you would like to have your voice heard on these and other important environmental justice issues, please sign this petition to join our new CapitolWatch email list so you will receive updates and action alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Happy session!

Register on the Hawaiʻi Legislature Website

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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.

Obviously, the CapitolWatch program is here to make this process as easy as possible as well. We will be sending out information on our top priority bills, testimony talking points and sample testimony, and calls to action on important bills as well.

You can helpful documents on navigating the capitol website, writing and submitting testimony, committee schedules, 2020 calendar and more on our Legislative How-To page here.