RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

Water

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: NAKAMURA (Introduced by request of another party)
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text does not provide specific details about penalties for non-compliance or enforcement mechanisms.

Improving Wastewater Systems Near the Shoreline

This bill requires new or updated individual wastewater systems near shorelines to include denitrification capacity.

What This Bill Does

Requires newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems within 200 feet of a shoreline to have denitrification capacity.
Specifies that systems at or below 1500 feet above sea level in certain soil conditions must also include denitrification capacity.

Who It Names or Affects

People who install or modify individual wastewater systems near shorelines or in specific soil conditions.
Local governments responsible for enforcing these new requirements.

Terms To Know

Denitrification capacity: The ability of a wastewater system to remove nitrogen, which helps protect water quality and marine ecosystems.
Individual wastewater systems: Wastewater treatment systems used by single homes or small buildings that are not connected to a public sewer system.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how compliance with the new requirements will be enforced.
It is unclear what penalties, if any, will apply for non-compliance with these regulations.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires new or modified individual wastewater systems near the shoreline or in areas likely to pollute groundwater to include denitrification capacity.

Newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems within 200 feet of a shoreline must have denitrification capacity.
Systems located at or below 1,500 feet above sea level and meeting specific soil conditions also need denitrification capacity.

The amendment specifies an effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems unusual and may be a placeholder for a future date.
Details on how the certification process will work are not provided in the text.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment requires new or modified individual wastewater systems within 200 feet of the shoreline to have denitrification capacity.

Newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems near the shoreline must include denitrification capacity.

The effective date listed as July 1, 3000 is likely a placeholder and needs clarification.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-13 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on CPC as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kitagawa, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-13 H
Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 599) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to CPC.
2025-02-11 H
The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Lamosao, Belatti, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2025-02-07 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 02-11-25 10:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-04 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on WAL with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kong, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-04 H
Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 102) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.
2025-01-30 H
The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Kahaloa, Kusch, Quinlan; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward.
2025-01-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EEP on Thursday, 01-30-25 9:00AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to EEP, WAL, CPC, referral sheet 1
2025-01-17 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-16 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
Hawaii State Association of Counties Package; Environment; Individual Wastewater Systems; Nearshore Waters; Denitrification Capacity
Requires newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems that are near the shoreline to include denitrification capacity. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB379

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

379

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO THE ENVIRONMENT
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that protecting the
State's nearshore waters is important for ecosystem resilience and public
health.
�
Clean nearshore waters that are
free of pollutants support coral reef systems that are critical to Hawaii's
fisheries.
�
A 2023 study published in the
scientific journal Nature found that coral reefs protected from land-based
pollutants, especially from wastewater pollutants, are better able to recover
from ocean-warming events.

����
Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to require newly installed or modified individual
wastewater systems that are near the shoreline, or likely to pollute
groundwater, to include denitrification capacity.

����
SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 342D, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately
designated and to read as follows:

����
"
�342D-
�
�
��
Individual wastewater systems;
denitrification capacity.
�
(a)
�

Each individual wastewater system that is newly installed or modified
shall have denitrification capacity if:

����
(1)
�
The wastewater system is located two
hundred feet or less from a shoreline; or

����
(2)
�
The wastewater system is located at
or below one thousand five hundred feet above sea level and:

���������
(A)
�
The substrate is less than five
thousand years old; and

���������
(B)
�
The soil has low nutrient holding
capacity, low shrink and swell characteristics, and very fast permeability,
based on the Hawaii soil atlas.

����
(b)
�
For the purposes of this section,
"denitrification capacity" means being certified to meet the
guidelines of the National Sanitation Foundation and American National
Standards Institute standard 245 for on-site residential wastewater treatment.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

����
SECTION
4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED
BY:

_____________________________

By
Request

Report Title:

Hawaii
State Association of Counties Package; Environment; Individual Wastewater
Systems; Nearshore Waters; Denitrification Capacity

Description:

Requires
newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems that are near the
shoreline, or likely to pollute groundwater, to include denitrification
capacity.

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