Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SCR202 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 202 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Urging the department of health to ensure the safe management of INCINERATOR ash from waste incinerator facilities.
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3	3	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 202
4	4	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
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7	7	THE SENATE
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9	9	S.C.R. NO.
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11	11	202
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13	13	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
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17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
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29	29	SENATE CONCURRENT
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31	31	RESOLUTION
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37	37	Urging the department of health to ensure the safe management of INCINERATOR ash from waste incinerator facilities.
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43	43	WHEREAS, waste incineration facilities reduce every one hundred tons of trash to approximately thirty tons of ash; and WHEREAS, the Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture (H‑POWER) is the only trash incinerator in the State, operating in Campbell Industrial Park on the island of Oahu and burning up to three thousand tons of waste per day, making it one of the largest waste incinerators in the nation; and WHEREAS, the ash produced from H‑POWER is currently disposed in the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Honokai Hale; and WHEREAS, although combustor ash from trash incinerators is regulated as hazardous waste in several other countries in the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) depends on toxicity tests pursuant to the federal Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, which is based on the risks the ash poses to groundwater contamination, to determine if the ash should be deemed hazardous waste; and WHEREAS, the EPA's toxicity tests on incinerator ash do not consider the risks the ash may pose via inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact, which often leads to potentially dangerous waste being classified as non-hazardous; and WHEREAS, due to its non-hazardous classification, combustor ash that may pose a risk to public health is not processed with adequate care, often being handled and transported without sufficient respiratory protections for laborers and containment protocols following disposal, which risks public exposure; and WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu is currently working with Reworld, formerly Covanta, to develop an ash "recycling" facility at Campbell Industrial Park where incinerator ash would be exempted from being handled as waste and used to build roads or for other construction purposes, that may subject workers, the public, and the environment to greater exposure to the potential hazards of incinerator ash than if it were properly contained and disposed of responsibly; and WHEREAS, roads and other construction materials will erode over time, releasing more ash particles, including participles of highly toxic dioxins and furans, and toxic metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to ensure safe management of incinerator ash from waste management facilities by treating it as solid waste subject to control under part II of chapter 342H, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu is hereby notified that "recycling" or "reuse" of incinerator ash is not protective of public health, may violate state laws, and should not be pursued; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Chief Energy Officer, of the Hawaii State Energy Office, and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: DOH; Solid Waste Management; Incinerator Ash
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45	45	WHEREAS, waste incineration facilities reduce every one hundred tons of trash to approximately thirty tons of ash; and
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49	49	WHEREAS, the Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture (H‑POWER) is the only trash incinerator in the State, operating in Campbell Industrial Park on the island of Oahu and burning up to three thousand tons of waste per day, making it one of the largest waste incinerators in the nation; and
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53	53	WHEREAS, the ash produced from H‑POWER is currently disposed in the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Honokai Hale; and
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57	57	WHEREAS, although combustor ash from trash incinerators is regulated as hazardous waste in several other countries in the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) depends on toxicity tests pursuant to the federal Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, which is based on the risks the ash poses to groundwater contamination, to determine if the ash should be deemed hazardous waste; and
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61	61	WHEREAS, the EPA's toxicity tests on incinerator ash do not consider the risks the ash may pose via inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact, which often leads to potentially dangerous waste being classified as non-hazardous; and
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65	65	WHEREAS, due to its non-hazardous classification, combustor ash that may pose a risk to public health is not processed with adequate care, often being handled and transported without sufficient respiratory protections for laborers and containment protocols following disposal, which risks public exposure; and
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69	69	WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu is currently working with Reworld, formerly Covanta, to develop an ash "recycling" facility at Campbell Industrial Park where incinerator ash would be exempted from being handled as waste and used to build roads or for other construction purposes, that may subject workers, the public, and the environment to greater exposure to the potential hazards of incinerator ash than if it were properly contained and disposed of responsibly; and
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73	73	WHEREAS, roads and other construction materials will erode over time, releasing more ash particles, including participles of highly toxic dioxins and furans, and toxic metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury; now, therefore,
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77	77	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to ensure safe management of incinerator ash from waste management facilities by treating it as solid waste subject to control under part II of chapter 342H, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
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81	81	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu is hereby notified that "recycling" or "reuse" of incinerator ash is not protective of public health, may violate state laws, and should not be pursued; and
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85	85	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Chief Energy Officer, of the Hawaii State Energy Office, and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.
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93	93	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
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97	97	OFFERED BY:
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111	111	Report Title:
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113	113	DOH; Solid Waste Management; Incinerator Ash