S.R. 121 Summary

• Urges all applicable state agencies to collaborate with stakeholders, including the Honolulu Harbor Users Group, to assess risks of aquatic invasive species to Hawaii and identify mitigation strategies before new federal standards take effect in 2022.

• Identifies vessel ballast water and biofouling as primary vectors for introducing aquatic invasive species, accounting for more than half of non-native marine and estuarine species introductions.

• References the federal Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), signed December 4, 2018, which requires the EPA and U.S. Coast Guard to establish federal standards and regulatory framework within four years for vessel discharges including ballast water and biofouling.

• Requests the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Transportation Harbors Division submit reports on findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the regular sessions of 2020, 2021, and 2022.

• Notes Hawaii's nearshore marine environments generate an estimated $4 billion in gross revenue annually through tourism, aquaculture, and fisheries industries, making invasive species prevention critical to economic and environmental protection.