Read the full stored bill text
HB1233
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
1233
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to stormwater management systems
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that detention
and retention ponds are meant to hold stormwater.
�
However, while detention and retention ponds
help manage stormwater and control flooding, mitigating risk for these systems
is critical in minimizing threats to public health and safety.
�
Hawaii's high drowning rate, the second worst
in the nation for residents and the highest for visitors, necessitates joining
other jurisdictions across the United States in developing retention and
detention pond safety programs.
�
The
urgency is made even greater by climate change which has created more frequent
and intense rainfall resulting in increased use of retention ponds, which are
designed to hold water year-round, and detention ponds, which remain dry until
a major rain.
����
The
legislature further finds that the Hawai
ʻ
i
Water Safety Plan, which was published by the Hawaii Water Safety Coalition in
2025, provides several recommendations to reduce drowning by improving safety
regarding detention and retention ponds in the State.
����
The
purpose of this Act is to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the
citizens of the State by:
����
(1)
�
Prohibiting counties from permitting or
allowing retention and detention ponds to be constructed except under certain
conditions;
����
(2)
�
Creating safety requirements for Hawaii's
rainwater retention and detention ponds; and
����
(3)
�
Require the department of health to conduct a
survey of existing retention and detention ponds statewide.
This Act also recognizes Charlotte
"Sharkey" Schaefers, the five-year-old girl who drowned at a Pearl
City naval housing complex while trying to save the life of her childhood
friend.
����
SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read
as follows:
����
"
�46-
�
Retention ponds and detention ponds;
safety requirements.
�
Beginning ,
, no county shall permit or allow any retention pond or
detention pond, as those terms are defined in section 340E-B, to be constructed
within that county, unless the developer or responsible person proposing the
construction and maintenance of the pond follows the safety requirements
pursuant to part of chapter 340E, has a maintenance plan on
file, and files an affidavit with the department of health agreeing to annual
and other warranted rain-related inspections by the department of health.
"
����
SECTION
3.
�
Chapter 340E, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to
read as follows:
"
Part .
�
rainwater retention pond and detention pond
safety
����
�
340E-A
�
Short title.
�
This part may be cited as the "Charlotte
'Sharkey' Schaefers Inspection Law".
����
�
340E-B
�
Definitions.
�
As used in this part, unless the context
otherwise requires:
����
"Detention
pond" or "dry-retention system" means an area that is designed
to:
����
(1)
�
Hold stormwater until the effects of
percolation, evapotranspiration, or controlled release return the area to its
normally dry state; and
����
(2)
�
Dissipate inflowing stormwater within
seventy-two hours to accommodate a new volume of water.
����
"Retention
pond" or "wet-detention system" means a permanent or
semi-permanent aquatic system that acts as a trap where pollutants picked up by
the initial surge of stormwater settle out before leaving the retention pond.
����
�
340E-C
�
Retention pond and detention pond; safety
requirements.
�
(a)
�
Each retention pond and detention pond shall
comply with the following safety requirements:
����
(1)
�
Fencing that is at least four feet high and that
encloses the pond and allows access by one or more locked gates;
����
(2)
�
Safety signage that is placed at the entry to
the secured and locked gate, including signage that indicates "No
Swimming" and that water levels may rise suddenly in the event of rain;
����
(3)
�
Life buoys installed at the entry to the
secured and locked gate to allow for ease of rescue if someone is struggling in
the pond;
����
(4)
�
Regular mowing and weed control to maintain
adequate ground cover to ensure that it does not interfere with proper
infiltration and runoff and effective filtering of pollutants;
����
(5)
�
The minimal use of pesticides and fertilizers
to minimize entry into the pond and subsequent downstream waters;
����
(6)
�
Proper trash, debris, and litter removal;
����
(7)
�
Installation of a landscaped buffer to
discourage people and pets from entering the pond;
����
(8)
�
Appropriate accumulated sediment levels;
����
(9)
�
Unless building codes or stormwater
regulations require otherwise, a side slope ratio of five-to-one or flatter;
���
(10)
�
A buffer of at least one hundred feet
surrounding the pond to separate the pond from schools, child care facilities,
homes, parks, athletic fields, or housing projects; provided that a buffer of
no less than twenty-five feet shall apply for trails and sidewalks;
���
(11)
�
The presence of shelves or shallow areas
around the banks that allow people and animals to climb out of the water;
���
(12)
�
Inclusion of emergency spillways to allow for
safe overflow in cases where the storage capacity of water is exceeded;
���
(13)
�
Design and building features that allow for
regular maintenance, access for inspections, removal of debris, and vegetation
management;
���
(14)
�
A maintenance plan on file by the owners or
operators of the retention pond or detention pond that includes design drawings
and operational records and addresses vegetation management, bank erosion and
stabilization, and trash, debris, litter, and sediment removal.
�
The maintenance plan shall also address life
expectancy and a replacement timeline for outlet and inlet structures,
orifices, trash racks, and emergency spillways and comply with federal, state,
and county requirements; and
���
(15)
�
Other requirements as determined by the
department.
����
(b)
�
The following shall be exempt from the safety
requirements pursuant to this part:
����
(1)
�
Existing retention ponds and detention ponds
built before , ;
and
����
(2)
�
Golf courses, hotels, resort properties, or
other secured recreational areas shall be exempt from the safety requirements
pursuant to this part; provided that the entities who own, control, or manage
such properties shall provide the department with proof of security for its
retention ponds or detention ponds.
����
�
340E-D
�
Rules; fines.
�
The department shall adopt rules in
accordance with chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of this part.
�
Violations of this part shall be subject to
administrative fines as determined by the department in accordance with
rules."
����
SECTION
4.
�
The department of health shall
conduct a survey of all existing retention and detention ponds statewide and
submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed
legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the
convening of the regular session of
2026.
����
SECTION 5.
�
In codifying the new sections added by
section 3 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate
section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this
Act.
����
SECTION 6.
�
New statutory material is underscored.
����
SECTION 7.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Retention
Ponds; Detention Ponds; Safety Requirements; Department of Health; Counties
Description:
Prohibits
counties from permitting or allowing retention or detention ponds to be
constructed
except under certain conditions.
�
Establishes
safety requirements for retention and detention ponds statewide.
�
Requires the department of health to
conduct a survey of existing retention and detention ponds statewide.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.