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SB550
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
550
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to water
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
����
SECTION
1
.
�
The purpose of this Act is to
protect the State's drinking water resources by:
����
(1)
�
Establishing the landfill advisory
committee; and
����
(2)
�
Prohibiting the siting, construction,
modification, or expansion of any solid waste landfill disposal unit on land
that is near or above an aquifer.
����
SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 342H, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:
����
"
�342H-
�
Landfill advisory committee; established;
duties; powers.
�
(a)
�
There is established within the department a
landfill advisory committee for administrative purposes.
�
The committee shall consist of the following
members:
����
(1)
�
The director of health, or the
director's designee, who shall serve as the chairperson;
����
(2)
�
The chairperson of the board of land
and natural resources or the chairperson's designee;
����
(3)
�
The director or manager and chief
engineer of each county's respective board or department of water supply or
their designees;
����
(4)
�
The mayor of each county;
����
(5)
�
A representative from the Hawaii
state association of counties;
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(6)
�
A representative from a recognized
environmental organization; and
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(7)
�
A representative from the business
community.
����
(b)
�
The landfill advisory committee shall have
the authority to review and approve or deny applications for the siting,
construction, operation, modification, expansion, or closure of a municipal
solid waste landfill unit.
"
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SECTION
3
.
�
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
site,
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 site, construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility,
including:
����
(1)
�
A municipal solid waste landfill
unit;
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(2)
�
Any component of a municipal solid
waste landfill unit;
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(3)
�
A construction and demolition landfill
unit; or
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(4)
�
Any component of a construction and
demolition landfill unit,
for
solid waste or hazardous waste on land that is near or above an aquifer, as
determined by the department in consultation with the board or department of
water supply of the affected county; provided that the respective board or
department of water supply may, within sixty days of a formal designation of a
landfill site by a county authority, declares that the landfill is inappropriately
sited because it is above an aquifer.
����
(c)
�
The department, in consultation with the
department of land and natural resources and the department or board of water
supply of each county, shall identify and map all drinking water aquifers in
the State.
�
The department shall make the
maps of the State's drinking water aquifers available to the public and update
the maps regularly.
����
[
(b)
]
(d)
�
No person, including the
State or any county, shall
site,
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
]
not
less than [
one-half
]
one
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
.
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(e)
�
Any person or entity found to be in violation
of this section shall be subject to penalties pursuant to section 342H‑9,
including the suspension or revocation of permits and remediation requirements.
����
(f)
�
For the purposes of this [
subsection:
]
section:
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"Aquifer"
means a geological formation, group of geological formations, or part of a
geological formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to
yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs.
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"Buffer
zone" means
the distance
, vertical or horizontal,
between
the edge of waste or waste activity and the
water table and the
nearest
residential, school,
hotel or tourist accommodation, business,
or
hospital property line.
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"Hazardous
waste" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 342J-2.
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"Waste
or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial
redemption centers."
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SECTION
4
.
�
Section
342H-56, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
����
"
[
[
]�342H-56[
]
]
�
Other
powers.
�
(a)
�
In addition to any other power or duty
prescribed by law or this part, the director may establish by rule [
a
municipal
]
:
����
(1)
�
A municipal
solid waste landfill
program that meets or exceeds the standards, criteria, and requirements set
forth in the federal municipal solid waste landfill regulations, 40 C.F.R. Part
258[
.
]
; and
����
(2)
�
The criteria to determine the
proximity of a municipal solid waste landfill unit to a drinking water aquifer
and other sensitive areas.
����
(b)
�
The director may make a determination
relating to the siting, construction, operation, modification, expansion, or
closure of a municipal solid waste landfill unit in relation to a drinking
water aquifer and the buffer zone.
"
����
SECTION
5.
�
If any provision of this Act, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Act are severable.
����
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 upon its
approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
DOH;
DLNR; Landfill Advisory Committee; Landfills; Solid Waste; Hazardous Waste;
Aquifers; Prohibition; Penalties
Description:
Establishes
the Landfill Advisory Committee within the Department of Health.
�
Requires the DOH, in consultation with the
Department of Land and Natural Resources and each county's department of board
or water supply to create maps of the State's drinking water aquifers.
�
Prohibits the siting, construction,
modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous or
solid waste on land that is near or above an aquifer as determined by the DOH
in consultation with the affected county's department or board of water
supply.
�
Expands buffer zones from
one-half mile to one mile around a waste or disposal facility.
�
Establishes penalties.
�
Expands the definition of buffer zone to
include aquifers, hotel or tourist accommodations, and businesses.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.