SB 438: DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfill Units; Agricultural Districts; Buffer Zones; Underground Injection Control Lines; Prohibition

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  The Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve freshwater, a new landfill cannot be built inland of underground injection control lines.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature also finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The department of environmental services of the city and county of Honolulu proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Section 183C-4(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances where it may be necessary to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, section 342H-52(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility within a one-half mile buffer zone between the edge of the waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit landfill units on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

     (2)  Beginning July 1, 2025, narrow the existing prohibition on the construction, modification, or expansion of waste or disposal facilities within a one-half mile buffer zone of residential, school, or hospital property lines to apply specifically to landfill units or components of landfill units; and

     (3)  Beginning July 1, 2025, prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural‑energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; [and] provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  No landfill unit, as defined in section 342H-52, shall be located on land within the agricultural district that has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a), including landfill units, as defined in section 342H-52, located on land within the agricultural district that has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A, shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section, that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until [such time that] the land is reclassified to a land use district other than an agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as [such] the mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  [No] Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a [waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the [waste or disposal facility.] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing [waste or disposal facility] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the [facility] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     [For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers.]

     (c)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     (d)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of the landfill unit or component of the landfill unit and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.

     "Underground injection control line" means the line determined by the department under rules adopted pursuant to section 340E-2."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfill Units; Agricultural Districts; Buffer Zones; Underground Injection Control Lines; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits landfill units on land in an agricultural district with class A soils.  Beginning 7/1/2025, narrows the prohibition on constructing, modifying, or expanding waste or disposal facilities within a one-half mile buffer zone of residential, school, or hospital property lines to apply specifically to landfill units or components of landfill units.  Beginning 7/1/2025, prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD3)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  The Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve fresh water, a new landfill cannot be built over a freshwater aquifer.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature also finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The department of environmental services of the city and county of Honolulu proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Section 183C-4(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances where it may be necessary to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, section 342H-52(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility within a one-half mile buffer zone between the edge of the waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit landfill units on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

     (2)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (3)  Require that beginning July 1, 2025, the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components;

     (4)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit within a no pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions; and

     (5)  Prohibit the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination from a municipal waste combustor for certain purposes and imposes requirements on the disposal of these materials.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural‑energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  No landfill unit, as defined in section 342H-52, shall be located on land within the agricultural district that has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a), including landfill units, as defined in section 342H-52, located on land within the agricultural district that has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A, shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  No person, including the State or a county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including:

     (1)  A municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (2)  Any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (3)  A construction and demolition unit; or

     (4)  Any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit;

for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, as determined by the department, in consultation with the commission on water resource management.

     [(b)  No] (c)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a [waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the [waste or disposal facility.] landfill unit.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing [waste or disposal facility] landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the [facility] landfill unit or component of the landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     [For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers.]

     (d)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit within a no pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     (e)  No person shall utilize fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill.  Fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor shall be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.

     (f)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of the landfill unit or component of the landfill unit and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as in section 342J-2.

     "Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.

     "No pass zone" means areas, as determined by the county, in which the installation of waste disposal facilities, which may contaminate groundwater resources used or expected to be used for domestic water supplies, shall be prohibited.

     "Significant aquifer" means a freshwater aquifer with the potential for use as a drinking water source."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfill Units; Hazardous Waste; Aquifers; Agricultural Districts; Buffer Zones; No Pass Zone; Prohibition; Fly Ash; Bottom Ash

Description:

Prohibits landfill units on land in an agricultural district with class A soils.  Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer.  Clarifies that beginning July 1, 2025, the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components.  Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit within a no pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.  Prohibits the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor for certain purposes and imposes requirements on the disposal of these materials.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  The Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve fresh water, a new landfill cannot be built over a freshwater aquifer.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature also finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The department of environmental services of the city and county of Honolulu proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Section 183C-4(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances to mitigate significant risks where it may be necessary to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, section 342H-52(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility within a one-half mile buffer zone between the edge of the waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit landfill units on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B;

     (2)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (3)  Clarify that beginning July 1, 2025, the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components; and

     (4)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit inland of the underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural‑energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  No landfill unit, as defined in section 342H-52, shall be located on land within the agricultural district that has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a), including landfill units as defined in section 342H-52, shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  No person, including the State or a county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including:

     (1)  A municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (2)  Any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (3)  A construction and demolition unit; or

     (4)  Any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit;

for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, as determined by the department, in consultation with the commission on water resource management.

     [(b)  No] (c) Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a [waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the [waste or disposal facility.] landfill unit.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing [waste or disposal facility] landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the [facility] landfill unit or component of the landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     [For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers.]

     (d)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit inland of the underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     (e)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of the landfill unit or component of the landfill unit and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as in section 342J-2.

     "Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.

     "Significant aquifer" means a freshwater aquifer with the potential for use as a drinking water source.

     "Underground injection control line" means the line determined by the department under rules adopted pursuant to section 340E-2."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfill Units; Hazardous Waste; Aquifers; Agricultural Districts; Buffer Zones; Underground Injection Control Line; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits landfill units on land in an agricultural district with class A or B soils.  Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer.  Clarifies that beginning July 1, 2025, the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components.  Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit inland of the underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  Today, the Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve fresh water, a new landfill cannot be built over a freshwater aquifer.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature further finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The county's department of environmental services proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Act 73, Session Laws of Hawaii 2020, prohibited waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, the Act requires that there be a one-half mile buffer zone between residences, schools, and hospitals and the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (2)  Prohibit waste and disposal facilities on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B;

     (3)  Prohibit the utilization of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill; and

     (4)  Require fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural‑energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  With respect to land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B, agricultural districts shall not include waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a) shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4 are not permitted uses of land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  No person, including the State or a county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including:

     (1)  A municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (2)  Any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (3)  A construction and demolition unit; or

     (4)  Any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit;

for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, as determined by the department, in consultation with the commission on water resource management.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Hazardous waste" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 342J-2.

     "Significant aquifer" means a freshwater aquifer with the potential for use as a drinking water source.

     (c)  No person shall utilize fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill.  Fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor shall be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.

     [(b)  No] (d)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a [waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition] landfill unit or component of a landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the [waste or disposal facility.] landfill unit.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing [waste or disposal facility] landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the [facility] landfill unit or component of the landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste disposal activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.

     ["Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers.]"

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2050.

Report Title:

DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfills; Solid Waste; Hazardous Waste; Aquifers; Agricultural Districts; Buffer Zones; Fly Ash; Bottom Ash; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management.  Prohibits waste or disposal facility on class A and B agricultural land.  Clarifies buffer zones; Prohibits the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill.  Requires fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.  Effective 12/31/2050.  (SD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  Today, the Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve fresh water, a new landfill cannot be built over a freshwater aquifer.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature further finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The county's department of environmental services proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Act 73, Session Laws of Hawaii 2020, prohibited waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, the Act requires that there be a one-half mile buffer zone between residences, schools, and hospitals and the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (2)  Prohibit waste and disposal facilities on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B;

     (3)  Prohibit the utilization of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill; and

     (4)  Require fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  With respect to land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B, agricultural districts shall not include waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a) shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4 are not permitted uses of land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  No person, including the State or a county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including:

     (1)  A municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (2)  Any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (3)  A construction and demolition unit; or

     (4)  Any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit;

for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, as determined by the department, in consultation with the commission on water resource management.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Hazardous waste" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 342J-2.

     "Significant aquifer" means a freshwater aquifer with the potential for use as a drinking water source.

     [(b)] (c)  No person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the waste or disposal facility.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing waste or disposal facility that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the facility requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers.

     (d)  No person shall utilize fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill.  Fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor shall be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2050.

Report Title:

DOH; CWRM; Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfills; Solid Waste; Hazardous Waste; Aquifers; Agricultural Districts; Fly Ash; Bottom Ash; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management.  Prohibits waste or disposal facility on class A and B agricultural land.  Prohibits the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill.  Requires fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill.  Effective 12/31/2050.  (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the search for a new landfill for the city and county of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  In 2021, approximately twenty thousand gallons of jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility and contaminated the Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that serves ninety-three thousand military and civilian customers.  The leak also affected the Honolulu board of water supply, and the city and county has shut down three wells that supply fourteen million gallons of water a day to urban Honolulu.  Today, the Honolulu board of water supply is in search of new wells that can supply urban Honolulu, which may not be ready until 2025.  To protect and preserve fresh water, a new landfill cannot be built over a freshwater aquifer.

     The legislature further finds that prime agricultural land should be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.

     The legislature further finds that the city and county of Honolulu is required to relocate the Waimanalo Gulch sanitary landfill by 2028.  The county's department of environmental services proposed six potential sites upon which to relocate the landfill, and all sites were rejected by the landfill advisory committee because of concerns that locating a landfill above freshwater aquifers may damage the State's water sources.  Act 73, Session Laws of Hawaii 2020, prohibited waste or disposal facilities in a conservation district, except in emergency circumstances to mitigate significant risks to public health and safety.  Furthermore, the Act requires that there be a one-half mile buffer zone between residences, schools, and hospitals and the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility.

     The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, and to prohibit waste and disposal facilities on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Agricultural districts shall include:

     (1)  Activities or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy, orchards, forage, and forestry;

     (2)  Farming activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;

     (3)  Aquaculture, which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and other bodies of water;

     (4)  Wind-generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;

     (5)  Biofuel production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private, and commercial use;

     (6)  Solar energy facilities; provided that:

          (A)  This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and

          (B)  Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;

     (7)  Bona fide agricultural services and uses that support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are accessory, including farm dwellings as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4), employee housing, farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small‑scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, agricultural energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), vehicle and equipment storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(12);

     (8)  Wind machines and wind farms;

     (9)  Small-scale meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land; provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as living quarters or dwellings;

    (10)  Agricultural parks;

    (11)  Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

    (12)  Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

   (13)   Open area recreational facilities;

   (14)   Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

   (15)   Agricultural-based commercial operations registered in Hawaii, including:

          (A)  A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (B)  Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items;

          (C)  A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under chapter 11-50, Hawaii administrative rules, that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;

          (D)  A farmers' market, which is an outdoor market limited to producers selling agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii; and

          (E)  A food hub, which is a facility that may contain a commercial kitchen and provides for the storage, processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value‑added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.

          The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph;

   (16)   Hydroelectric facilities as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(23); and

   (17)   Composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species.

Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d).  With respect to land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B, agricultural districts shall not include waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4.  Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a) shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976.  Waste or disposal facilities as defined in section 183C-4 are not permitted uses of land that is within the agricultural district and has soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless those A and B lands within the subdivision are made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

     Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition, as prescribed in this section that these restrictions and conditions shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

     If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee in obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth in the following paragraph, and the requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then the requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that the conditional waiver shall become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

     The mortgage lending agencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

     SECTION 4.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  No person, including the State or a county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including:

     (1)  A municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (2)  Any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit;

     (3)  A construction and demolition unit; or

     (4)  Any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit;

for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer, as determined by the department, in consultation with the commission on water resource management.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Hazardous waste" shall have the same meaning as in section 342J-2.

     [(b)] (c)  No person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the waste or disposal facility.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing waste or disposal facility that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the facility requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Waste or Disposal Facilities; Landfills; Solid Waste; Hazardous Waste; Aquifers; Agricultural Districts; Prohibition; DOH; CWRM

Description:

Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management; Prohibits waste or disposal facility on class A and B agricultural land.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  2043

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   S.B. No. 438

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 3

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit landfill units on land in an agricultural district having soil classified by the Land Study Bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

     (2)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (3)  Beginning July 1, 2025, narrow the existing prohibition on the construction, modification, or expansion of waste or disposal facilities within a one-half mile buffer zone of residential, school, or hospital property lines to apply specifically to landfill units or components of landfill units;

     (4)  Beginning July 1, 2025, prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, within a no pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions; and

     (5)  Prohibit the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor for certain purposes and impose requirements for the disposal of these materials.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board No. 34; Green Party of Hawaiʻi; Dole Food Company Hawaii; Zero Waste Kauai; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Energy Justice Network; Country Talk Story; We Are One, Inc.; Hawaiʻi Farmers Union; Shimanchu Wai Protectors; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health; Mayor of the County of Maui; Department of Environmental Management of the County of Hawaiʻi; Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu; and three individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Mayor of the County of Kauaʻi; Department of Public Works of the County of Kauaʻi; Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Reworld; and Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

     Your Committee finds that the State must take preemptive action to ensure that agricultural lands and freshwater sources are protected from contamination by landfill units.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that would have prohibited the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (2)  Prohibiting the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, inland of an underground injection control line, instead of within a no pass zone, in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand;

     (3)  Deleting language that would have prohibited the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor for certain purposes and imposed requirements for the disposal of these materials; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 3.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1487

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   S.B. No. 438

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit landfill units on land in an agricultural district with class A or B soils;

     (2)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (3)  Clarify that beginning July 1, 2025, the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components; and

     (4)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit inland of the underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Sierra Club of Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Farm Bureau; Environmental Caucus of Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; Energy Justice Network; Kūpuna for the Moʻopuna; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health; Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui; and Department of Environmental Management of the County of Hawai‘i.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Environmental Services at the City and County of Honolulu; Department of Public Works of the County of Kaua‘i; Reworld; and two individuals.

     Your Committee finds that safeguarding Oahu's freshwater aquifers is essential to ensuring a reliable and clean drinking water supply for residents.  Given the risks posed by landfill sites to critical water resources, new waste disposal facilities must not be located near or above significant aquifers.  Your Committee also finds that preserving prime agricultural lands is vital to maintaining local food production and preventing environmental harm.  This measure strengthens land use protections by prohibiting the construction, expansion, or modification of landfill units on highly productive agricultural lands and in areas that could endanger the State's water supply, prioritizing sustainable resource management and long-term environmental resilience.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Narrowing the prohibition on landfill units on land in agricultural districts to only those lands having class A soils;

     (2)  Specifying that the prohibition on the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit applies within no pass zones, rather than inland of the underground injection control line;

     (3)  Prohibiting the use of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor for certain purposes and imposing requirements on the disposal of these materials; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1253

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   S.B. No. 438

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit waste and disposal facilities on land in an agricultural district with class A or B soils;

     (2)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer;

     (3)  Prohibit the utilization of fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill and require these materials from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill; and

     (4)  Clarify that the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and residential, school, or hospital property lines applies to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board No. 34; Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi; Energy Justice Network; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Hui Malama Pono Hawaiʻi; Free Access Coalition; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu; Department of Environmental Management of the County of Hawaiʻi; Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club; and three individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Public Works of the County of Kauaʻi; Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; and Reworld.

     Your Committee finds that the State's freshwater aquifers are crucial in providing drinking water to residents.  Your Committee further finds that agricultural land of the State should be protected from pollution and contamination.  This measure prohibits certain waste facilities on the most productive lands in the agricultural district and the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility on land near or above a significant aquifer.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that no landfill unit, rather than a waste or disposal facility, shall be located on land within the agricultural district with class A or B soils and that landfill units, rather than waste or disposal facilities, are not permissible uses within the agricultural district;

     (2)  Removing the prohibition on fly ash and bottom ash;

     (3)  Clarifying that the application of the existing buffer zone between waste or disposal facilities and certain property lines to municipal solid waste landfill units or components, construction and demolition landfill units, and their components begins on July 1, 2025;

     (4)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit inland of the underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions;

     (5)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 919

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 438

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 438, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to protect Hawaii's limited water and productive agricultural resources from contamination by landfill pollutants.

Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management;

     (2)  Prohibits waste or disposal facilities on class A and B agricultural land; and

     (3)  Restricts the use and storage of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Green Party of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Kupuna for the Moopuna, Sierra Club of Hawaii, and thirty-three individuals.

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services, County of Hawaii Department of Environmental Management, County of Maui, Reworld, and one individual.

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Health and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii’s waste management needs must be met without compromising essential resources. The pressing need to find locations for new landfill sites must also prioritize safeguarding groundwater and critical agricultural lands. Proper site selection for these facilities is key to balancing the State’s environmental, agricultural, and public health priorities.

Your Committee further finds that this measure achieves this balance by prohibiting landfills near or above significant aquifers and on Class A and B agricultural lands and by restricting storage and use of municipal waste combustor fly ash and bottom ash.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying language in section 342H-52(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, to remove discrepancies in the definition and application of buffer zones to enable landfill facilities to obtain additional land to secure buffer zone distances; and

     (2)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 438, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 438, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 583

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 438

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 438 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management; and

     (2)  Prohibit a waste or disposal facility on class A and B agricultural land.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, IBEW Local 1260, Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, Green Party of Hawaiʻi, Free Access Coalition, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Kupuna for the Moopuna, Faith Action for Community Equity, and twenty-five individuals.

     Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, Department of Environmental Management of the County of Hawaiʻi, and two individuals.

     Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Energy Justice Network, Hawaiʻi Environmental Change Agents–Solid Waste Reduction Task Force, and three individuals.

     Your Committees find that the search for a new landfill for the City and County of Honolulu cannot be prioritized over the protection of Oahu's freshwater aquifers.  Your Committees further find that the State's prime agricultural land should also be protected, preserved, and reserved for agricultural and related uses.  Therefore, your Committees believe a new landfill should not be located on those agricultural lands.  By prohibiting waste disposal facilities near aquifers and agricultural land, this measure promotes the conservation of the State's natural resources and the protection of the State's ecosystems.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting a definition for "significant aquifer" to mean a freshwater aquifer with the potential for use as a drinking water source;

     (2)  Inserting language to prohibit a person from utilizing fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor, including any ash residue that remains after removal of metals for recycling into new metal products, for the purposes of road building, construction, or as alternative daily cover material on a landfill;

     (3)  Inserting language to require fly ash, bottom ash, or a combination of fly ash and bottom ash from a municipal waste combustor to be disposed of in a double-lined and duly licensed municipal solid waste or hazardous waste landfill;

     (4)  Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

     (5)  Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 438, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 438, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Water and Land,