RELATING TO STATEWIDE COMPOSTING.

HB404

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

404

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to statewide composting
.

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

PART I

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SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that, according
to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States
Department of Agriculture, food waste is the second largest component of the
waste stream and accounts for twenty‑five per cent of all materials sent
to landfills.
�
Nearly fifty per cent of
organic materials disposed of in incinerators and landfills can be diverted for
bioconversion, including composting.
�

Landfills across Hawaii are rapidly reaching capacity and are facing
closure and re-siting, a process that will cost each county hundreds of
millions of dollars and create community resentment.

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Recycling organics, including food waste,
into compost has environmental benefits, such as improving soil health,
increasing drought resistance, and reducing the need for supplemental water,
fertilizers, and pesticides, while also increasing crop yields and reducing the
risk of invasive species introduction to neighboring islands through the importation
of contaminated compost.
�
Furthermore,
applying compost and organic matter to soil sequesters carbon from the
atmosphere, forming the largest land-based carbon sink, and mitigates climate
change by effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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The legislature believes that food waste
diversion and the creation of multi-scale composting operations across the
State will greatly reduce the burdens on landfills, lower county waste
management costs, and move the State closer to achieving its sustainability and
resiliency goals, which include:

����
(1)
�
The Aloha+ Challenge, which is a statewide
commitment to realize the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and
which sets a goal of seventy per cent waste reduction before disposal, and
doubling local food production by 2030;

����
(2)
�
The Hawaii 2050 sustainability plan,
which mandates the State to achieve full sustainability and resilience through
increased food production and dramatic waste reduction via recycling and
bioconversion strategies; and

����
(3)
�
Increasing the generation of local
compost to sequester more carbon and mitigate climate change pursuant to the
strategy identified by the greenhouse gas sequestration task force permanently
established by Act 15, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018.

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The
legislature also finds that the regulation of co‑composting in the State
is under the purview of the department of health's solid and hazardous waste
branch.
�
Existing rules have not been
updated in over twenty years.
�
Currently,
a single application applies to all co-composting operations regardless of size
or scope.
�
The current permitting process
is an onerous and unreasonable barrier to lawful participation for small to
midsize composting operations whose operations present a much lower risk
potential.
�
Reform and updating of the
co-composting rules and permitting process will greatly increase the number of
operators diverting organics from landfills and incinerators, thereby aiding
the State and counties in reaching their sustainability, resilience, and fiscal
goals.

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Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to encourage the production of compost by:

����
(1)
�
Requiring the department of health to
adopt or amend rules to establish a classification system for composting
facilities or operations for the purposes of regulating them for health
purposes; and

����
(2)
�
Allowing composting and co-composting
in the agricultural district, including on lands with class A or B soils.

PART II

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

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"
�342H-
��

��
Rules; composting
facilities and operations; classification system.
�
(a)
�
The department shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 to
establish a classification system for composting
facilities and operations for the purposes of regulating those facilities or
operations for health purposes, including but not limited to:

����
(1)
�
Preventing pollution;

����
(2)
�
Preventing the spread of disease and
the creation of nuisances;

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(3)
�
Protecting public health and safety;

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(4)
�
Conserving natural resources; and

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(5)
�
Preserving and enhancing the beauty
and quality of the environment.

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(b)
�
The rules shall:

����
(1)
�
Encourage food waste composting
where possible;

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(2)
�
Not impose onerous requirements where
unnecessary;

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(3)
�
Consider the climate and soil
benefits of food waste composting;

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(4)
�
Weigh the climate risk of not
composting with the perceived health risks of compost facilities of various
size classes and types; provided that the health risks shall be evaluated based
on the volume of food waste inputs, the composting technology used, and the
size of the compost structure or pile; and

����
(5)
�
Provide that only operations over a
determined size and volume of food waste inputs shall be considered a municipal
solid waste management facility.
"

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SECTION 3.
�

There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $
����������
or so much thereof
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for a full-time
equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist position in the solid and hazardous
waste branch to focus on updating administrative rules relating to solid waste
pursuant to section 2 of this part.

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The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the
purposes of this part.

PART III

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SECTION
4
.
�
Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

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"
(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;

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

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(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;

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(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;

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(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;

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(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; [
and
]

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

��
(17)
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Composting and co-composting
operations.

Agricultural districts shall not
include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section
205-4.5(d).
�
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.
"

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SECTION
5
.
�
Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

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"(a)
�

Within the agricultural district, all lands with soil classified by the
land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master)
productivity rating class A or B and for solar energy facilities, class B or C,
shall be restricted to the following permitted uses:

����
(1)
�
Cultivation
of crops, including crops for bioenergy, flowers, vegetables, foliage, fruits,
forage, and timber;

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(2)
�
Game
and fish propagation;

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(3)
�
Raising
of livestock, including poultry, bees, fish, or other animal or aquatic life
that are propagated for economic or personal use;

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(4)
�
Farm
dwellings, employee housing, farm buildings, or activities or uses related to
farming and animal husbandry.
�
For the
purposes of this paragraph, "farm dwelling" means a single-family
dwelling located on and accessory to a farm, including clusters of single‑family
farm dwellings permitted within agricultural parks developed by the State, or
where agricultural activity pro
vides
income to the family occupying the dwelling;

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(5)
�
Public
institutions and buildings that are necessary for agricultural practices;

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(6)
�
Public
and private open area types of recreational uses, including day camps, picnic
grounds, parks, and riding stables, but not including dragstrips, airports,
drive-in theaters, golf courses, golf driving ranges, country clubs, and
overnight camps; provided that overnight camps in operation before January 1,
1961, may be approved by special permit;

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(7)
�
Public,
private, and quasi-public utility lines and r
oadways, transformer stations, communications equipment buildings, solid
waste transfer stations, major water storage tanks, and appurtenant small
buildings such as booster pumping stations, but not including offices or yards
for equipment, material, vehicle storage, repair or maintenance, treatment
plants, corporation yards, or other similar structures;

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(8)
�
Retention,
restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings or sites of historic
or scenic interest;

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(9)
�
Agricultural-based
commercial operations as described in section 205-2(d)(15);

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(10)
�
Buildings
and uses, including mills, s
torage,
and processing facilities, maintenance 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, and vehicle and equipment
storage areas that are normally considered directly accessory to the
above-mentioned uses and are permitted under section 205-2(d);

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(11)
�
Agricultural parks;

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(12)
�
Plantation
community subdivisions, which as used in this chapter means an established
subdivision or cluster of employee housing, community buildings, and
agricultural support buildings on land currently or formerly owned, leased, or
operated by a sugar or pineapple plantation; provided that the existing
structures may be used or rehabilitated for use, and new employee housing and
agricultural support buildings may be allowed on land within the subdivision as
follows:

���������
(A)
�
The
employee housing is occupied by employees or former employees of the plantation
who have a property interest in the land;

���������
(B)
�
The
employee housing units not owned by their occupants shall be rented or leased
at affordable rates for agricultural workers; or

���������
(C)
�
The
agricultural support buildings shall be rented or leased to agricultural
business operators or agricultural support services;

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(13)
�
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; provided further that this
paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating
agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

���
(14)
�
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;

���
(15)
�
Wind
energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production
and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy
facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause
minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;

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(16)
�
Biofuel processing facilities, including the
appurtenances associated with the production and refining of biofuels that is
normally considered directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the
energy feedstock; provided that b
iofuel processing facilities and
appurtenances do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural
uses in the vicinity.

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For
the purposes of this paragraph:

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"Appurtenances"
means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic
commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock,
fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities.

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"Biofuel
processing facility" means a facility that produces liquid or gaseous
fuels from organic sources such as biomass crops, agricultural residues, and
oil crops, including palm, canola, soybean, and waste cooking oils; grease;
food wastes; and animal residues and wastes that can be used to generate
energy;

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(17)
�
Agricultural-energy
facilities, including appurtenances necessary for an agricultural-energy
enterprise; provided that the primary activity of the agricultural-energy
enterprise is agricultural activity.
�
To
be considered the primary activity of an agricultural-energy enterprise, the
total acreage devoted to agricultural activity shall be no less than ninety per
cent of the total acreage of the agricultural-energy enterprise.
�
The agricultural‑energy facility shall
be limited to lands owned, leased, licensed, or operated by the entity
conducting the agricultural activity.

�������������
As used in this paragraph:

�������������
"Agricultural activity"
means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this subsection.

�������������
"Agricultural-energy
enterprise" means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an
agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility.

�������������
"Agricultural-energy
facility" means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes
renewable energy as defined in section 269-91 or renewable fuel including
electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of
agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State.

�������������
"Appurtenances" means
operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for the economic
commercial generation, storage, distribution, and other similar handling of
energy, including equipment, feedstock, fuels, and other products of
agricultural‑energy facilities;

���
(18)
�
Construction and operation of wireless
communication antennas, including small wireless facilities; provided that, for
the purposes of this paragraph, "wireless communication antenna"
means communications equipment that is either freestanding or placed upon or
attached to an already existing structure and that transmits and receives
electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of wireless
communications services;
provided further that "small wireless
facilities" shall have the same meaning as in section 206N-2;
provided further that nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to permit the construction of any new structure that is not
deemed a permitted use under this subsection
;

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(19)
�
Agricultural education programs conducted on a
farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the education and
participation of the general public; provided that the agricultural education
programs are accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use of the
parcels or lots on which the agricultural education programs are to occur and
do not interfere with surrounding farm operations.
�
For the purposes of this paragraph,
"agricultural education programs" means activities or events designed
to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural activities and practices
conducted on a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

���
(20)
�
S
olar energy facilities that do not
occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of
land, whichever is lesser or for which a special use permit is granted pursuant
to section 205‑6;
provided that this use shall not be
permitted on
lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's
detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

���
(21)
�
Solar energy facilities on lands with
soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as
overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a special use permit is
granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that:

���������
(A)
�
The area occupied by the solar energy
facilities is also made available for compatible agricultural activities at a
lease rate that is at least fifty per cent below the fair market rent for
comparable properties;

���������
(B)
�
Proof of financial security to
decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the appropriate
county planning commission before the date of commencement of commercial
generation; and

���������
(C)
�
Solar energy facilities shall be
decommissioned at the owner's expense according to the following requirements:

�������������
(i)
�
Removal of all equipment related to the
solar energy facility within twelve months of the conclusion of operation or
useful life; and

������������
(ii)
�
Restoration of the disturbed earth to
substantially the same physical condition as existed before the development of
the solar energy facility.

���������
For
the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural activities" means the
activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3);

���
(22)
�
Geothermal resources exploration and
geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1; [
or
]

���
(23)
�
Hydroelectric facilities, including the
appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of hydroelectric
energy, subject to section 205-2; provided that the hydroelectric facilities
and their appurtenances:

���������
(A)
�
Shall consist of a small hydropower
facility as defined by the United States Department of Energy, including:

�������������
(i)
�
Impoundment facilities using a dam to
store water in a reservoir;

������������
(ii)
�
A diversion or run-of-river facility
that channels a portion of a river through a canal or channel; and

�����������
(iii)
�
Pumped storage facilities that store
energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher elevation from a
reservoir at a lower elevation to be released to turn a turbine to generate
electricity;

���������
(B)
�
Comply with the state water code,
chapter 174C;

���������
(C)
�
Shall, if over five hundred kilowatts
in hydroelectric generating capacity, have the approval of the commission on
water resource management, including a new instream flow standard established
for any new hydroelectric facility; and

���������
(D)
�
Do not impact or impede the use of
agricultural land or the availability of surface or ground water for all uses
on all parcels that are served by the ground water sources or streams for which
hydroelectric facilities are considered[
.
]
; or

���
(24)
�
Composting and co-composting
operations.
"

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SECTION 6.
�

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

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SECTION 7.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

By Request

Report Title:

Maui
County Council Package; Statewide Composting; DOH; Agricultural District Lands;
Appropriation

Description:

Requires
the Department of Health to adopt or amend rules to establish a classification
system for composting facilities or operations.
�

Allows composting and co-composting in the agricultural district,
including on lands with class A or class B soils.
�
Appropriates moneys.

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