Report Title:

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology; Kaneohe Bay

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

126

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO STUDY WHETHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT THE HAWAII INSTITUTE OF MARINE BIOLOGY THREATEN THE ENVIRONMENT OF KANEOHE BAY.

 

 

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is located on Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu; and

WHEREAS, Kaneohe Bay's estuarine and coral reef ecosystems support a rich and diverse biota, with several species of coral found nowhere else on earth save Kaneohe Bay; and

WHEREAS, in the over fifty years HIMB has been operating at Coconut Island, HIMB conducted research involving various alien species; and

WHEREAS, it is unknown whether HIMB was involved in the release of alien species into Kaneohe Bay, several species of macroalgae were introduced into Kaneohe Bay and these alien species threaten endemic corals in Kaneohe Bay; and

WHEREAS, the greatest threat to native species, other than man, are introduced alien species; and

WHEREAS, scientific experimentation necessarily requires the use of chemicals and other hazardous materials and there have been reports of chemicals leaking into Kaneohe Bay over the years; and

WHEREAS, there have also been reports of growth hormones being used in fish studies at Coconut Island, and questions raised as to whether growth hormones in waste water from the study tanks may have gotten into Kaneohe Bay; and

 

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii was recently fined 1.7 million dollars for mishandling hazardous materials; and

WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii, particularly those who live on or near Kaneohe Bay, are entitled to know what hazardous materials are present at HIMB, the risks such materials may pose, and how those materials are disposed of; and

WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii are also entitled to know what alien species are present at HIMB, and what steps, if any, are taken to ensure those species do not escape into the environment; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that the University of Hawaii is requested to study what threat is posed to the environment of Kaneohe Bay, and to the people of Hawaii, by alien species and hazardous materials at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at Coconut Island; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to report all alien species currently present at HIMB, and describe what procedures are in place to prevent the release or escape of those species into the environment; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to report all alien species that were present at HIMB during each of the past fifty years, by year, and describe whether those species are present in the environment of Kaneohe Bay; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to report the names and amounts of all hazardous materials present at HIMB and what procedures are in place to ensure those materials are disposed of properly; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to provide a list and map showing all outfalls and drywells at Coconut Island, and describe what materials are discharged from those sources into the ground or into Kaneohe Bay; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to report how waste water at HIMB is treated, including human waste, gray water, and water from laboratories and marine life tanks; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is requested to submit the information requested by this resolution to the Legislature no later than thirty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii and to the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________