THE SENATE S.R. NO. 86 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION urging the director of health to require operators of waste combustion facilities to implement continuous monitoring and sampling technologies that have been tested and verified by the united states environmental protection agency to ensure that the operators continuously monitor, sample, and report the emissions of contaminants.
THE SENATE S.R. NO. 86
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
THE SENATE
S.R. NO.
86
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE RESOLUTION
urging the director of health to require operators of waste combustion facilities to implement continuous monitoring and sampling technologies that have been tested and verified by the united states environmental protection agency to ensure that the operators continuously monitor, sample, and report the emissions of contaminants.
WHEREAS, the Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture (H-POWER), a waste combustion facility located in Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu, is among the country's largest sources of industrial air pollution, impacting public health and the climate; and WHEREAS, H-POWER monitors only four air pollutants on a continuous basis, while others, if tested for at all, are tested only once per year under optimal operating conditions; and WHEREAS, advances in technology have enabled more effective methods to continuously monitor for many toxic and otherwise harmful chemicals emitted by waste combustion facilities; and WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has tested and verified the data from more advanced continuous monitors between 2001 and 2007; and WHEREAS, Reworld, the operator of H-POWER, has been using continuous monitors at some of their incinerators at other states, including continuous monitoring for hydrochloric acid at certain incinerators in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; long-term sampling for dioxins and furans at an incinerator in Ontario; and mercury, ammonia, and particulate matter at several other incinerators; and WHEREAS, under Oregon state law, Reworld is required to continuously monitor for nine different toxic metals and continuously sample for dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls; and WHEREAS, these continuous monitors are not used or required in Hawaii; and WHEREAS, the continuous monitoring or sampling of emissions provides more accurate data than annual stack testing; and WHEREAS, when annual stack testing data was compared to the continuous monitoring of hydrochloric acid emissions at the nation's largest waste incinerator, operated by Reworld in Chester, Pennsylvania, it was found that the actual emissions determined by continuous monitoring were sixty-two percent higher than that shown by annual stack testing, which is the method used by Reworld at H-POWER; and WHEREAS, dioxins and furans are among the most toxic manmade chemicals known to science; and WHEREAS, according to studies of incinerators in Europe, it was observed that continuous sampling for dioxins at incinerators indicated the actual emissions to be thirty-two to fifty-two times greater than those reported in the United States, where testing is typically performed on one burner at each incinerator per year on a rotating basis; and WHEREAS, a more recent study concluded that the failure to deploy continuous sampling technology in the United States results in underestimating dioxin emissions by four hundred sixty to 1,290 times; and WHEREAS, the monitoring of incinerators is critical in determining community exposure to health hazards from toxic emissions; and WHEREAS, Kona wind conditions blow emissions toward population centers in the State on an average of about one day per week, allowing these harmful chemicals to be released into nearby communities; and WHEREAS, whenever smokestack emissions occur, released chemicals return to the earth with the rain, and when they are blown out to sea, chemicals concentrate in the seafood that is then consumed; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that this body urges the Director of Health to require operators of waste combustion facilities to implement continuous monitoring and sampling technologies that have been tested and verified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the operators continuously monitor, sample, and report the emissions of contaminants; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor of Hawaii County, Mayor of Maui County, Mayor of Kauai County, and Chairperson of each County Council. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Director of Health; H-POWER; Waste Combustion Facility Operators; Continuous Emission Monitoring
WHEREAS, the Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture (H-POWER), a waste combustion facility located in Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu, is among the country's largest sources of industrial air pollution, impacting public health and the climate; and
WHEREAS, H-POWER monitors only four air pollutants on a continuous basis, while others, if tested for at all, are tested only once per year under optimal operating conditions; and
WHEREAS, advances in technology have enabled more effective methods to continuously monitor for many toxic and otherwise harmful chemicals emitted by waste combustion facilities; and
WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has tested and verified the data from more advanced continuous monitors between 2001 and 2007; and
WHEREAS, Reworld, the operator of H-POWER, has been using continuous monitors at some of their incinerators at other states, including continuous monitoring for hydrochloric acid at certain incinerators in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; long-term sampling for dioxins and furans at an incinerator in Ontario; and mercury, ammonia, and particulate matter at several other incinerators; and
WHEREAS, under Oregon state law, Reworld is required to continuously monitor for nine different toxic metals and continuously sample for dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls; and
WHEREAS, these continuous monitors are not used or required in Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the continuous monitoring or sampling of emissions provides more accurate data than annual stack testing; and
WHEREAS, when annual stack testing data was compared to the continuous monitoring of hydrochloric acid emissions at the nation's largest waste incinerator, operated by Reworld in Chester, Pennsylvania, it was found that the actual emissions determined by continuous monitoring were sixty-two percent higher than that shown by annual stack testing, which is the method used by Reworld at H-POWER; and
WHEREAS, dioxins and furans are among the most toxic manmade chemicals known to science; and
WHEREAS, according to studies of incinerators in Europe, it was observed that continuous sampling for dioxins at incinerators indicated the actual emissions to be thirty-two to fifty-two times greater than those reported in the United States, where testing is typically performed on one burner at each incinerator per year on a rotating basis; and
WHEREAS, a more recent study concluded that the failure to deploy continuous sampling technology in the United States results in underestimating dioxin emissions by four hundred sixty to 1,290 times; and
WHEREAS, the monitoring of incinerators is critical in determining community exposure to health hazards from toxic emissions; and
WHEREAS, Kona wind conditions blow emissions toward population centers in the State on an average of about one day per week, allowing these harmful chemicals to be released into nearby communities; and
WHEREAS, whenever smokestack emissions occur, released chemicals return to the earth with the rain, and when they are blown out to sea, chemicals concentrate in the seafood that is then consumed; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that this body urges the Director of Health to require operators of waste combustion facilities to implement continuous monitoring and sampling technologies that have been tested and verified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the operators continuously monitor, sample, and report the emissions of contaminants; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor of Hawaii County, Mayor of Maui County, Mayor of Kauai County, and Chairperson of each County Council.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Director of Health; H-POWER; Waste Combustion Facility Operators; Continuous Emission Monitoring