HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

241

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO INCLUDE THE USE OF BIOREMEDIATION METHODS TO PREVENT AND MITIGATE POLLUTION IN ITS BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PROGRAMS.

 

 

WHEREAS, the Department of Health is responsible for implementing an Environmental Protection Agency program identifying areas where water quality is impaired, known as water quality limited segments; and

WHEREAS, these water quality limited segments are normally found near river and stream mouth estuaries, including Honolulu Harbor, Keehi Lagoon, and the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation, a technology utilizing the presence of biological agents, from plants to microorganisms, to consume toxic compounds or other water pollutants in impaired water, may help clean up these water quality limited segments; and

WHEREAS, bioremediation has been in use in sewage treatment facilities, with micro-bacteria being used to consume and filter out pathogenic agents in effluent; and

WHEREAS, one visible example of bioremediation in Hawaii is the use of native akulikuli plants placed on floating platforms in the Ala Wai Canal to draw nitrogen, phosphorus, and algae from the polluted canal waters; and

WHEREAS, the utilization of bioremediation avoids the introduction of additional chemical agents into the atmosphere; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the Department of Health is requested to include, as a priority in its best management practices and programs, the use of bioremediation methods, where feasible, for the prevention and mitigation of point and non-point source pollution in state waters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

Report Title:

Pollution; Bioremediation