SUPPORT HCR28/HR27: Protect ʻEwa Beach
/HCR28/HR27, which continues a working group dedicated to addressing the high levels of lead contamination found in the sand, fish, and homes surrounding the Puʻuloa firing range, will be heard by the House Energy & Environmental Protection Committee on Tuesday, April 1 at 10:45am in room 325 (watch online here).
This working group is an important part of keeping families living and recreating in ʻEwa Beach, today and for generations to come, safe from the potentially debilitating and lifelong effects of toxic lead exposure. Learn more about the harms of the Puʻuloa Firing Range here. Please submit testimony in support of this measure, sample testimony and instructions below.
Sample testimony for HCR28/HR27
Aloha Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Perruso, and members of the Energy & Environmental Protection Committee,
My name is [Your name] and I strongly support HCR28/HR27, which would reconvene a working group to address air and water contamination that may be putting residents and visitors in ʻEwa Beach - including keiki - at risk of toxic lead exposure.
The Pu’uloa Range Training Facility (PRTF) poses significant environmental and public health risks due to lead contamination in its impact berms, which border residential neighborhoods and a busy beach park. Soil sampling has revealed elevated lead levels on the beach side of the facility, raising concerns about lead and heavy metals leaching into the ocean, contamination of nearshore waters and marine life, and airborne dispersion into nearby communities.
A working group established in 2024, set to dissolve on June 30, 2025, has been tasked with addressing these urgent threats, yet it has never convened a meeting. Meanwhile, despite finding elevated levels of lead in its own soil testing, and notwithstanding the urging of the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, the Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi (MCBH) has taken the position that no further action is needed.
By urging the reconvening of this working group, this resolution will hopefully serve to finally bring together experts and stakeholders to address community concerns surrounding the PRTF, such as additional testing and monitoring needs (including downwind residential areas and in the nearshore environment), and the need for remediation strategies that can help mitigate the public health and environmental impacts of lead contamination.
The health and safety of ʻEwa Beach residents - including our keiki - marine ecosystems, and public spaces like Puʻuloa Beach Park, will remain at risk without sustained collaboration among stakeholders, including the Department of Health, MCBH, community representatives, and environmental experts. HCR28 and HR27 would provide a framework to bring these key stakeholders together to address this risk, and protect our environment and people from significant generational harms.
Accordingly, I urge the Committee to PASS HCR28/HR27.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll 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 "HCR28/HR27" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, 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)