Report Title:

Solid Waste; Disposal

Description:

Allows DOH to issue permits for new facilities conducting solid waste disposal activities without regard to existing resource recovery facilities if certain conditions are met. (SB2405 HD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2405

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO solid waste disposal.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds the issue of waste stream diversion and disposal is a growing concern as landfills near their capacity. Therefore, all viable options must be considered by both the public and private sectors. It is in the public's best interest that a county resource recovery facility financed with public funds is guaranteed the portion of the waste stream that it needs to remain financially viable. The legislature finds that a careful balancing of policy and oversight must be exercised to avoid monopolistic behavior that could stymie competition, innovation, and other viable options that could address Hawaii's waste stream diversion and disposal problems. The purpose of this Act is to give the department of health flexibility in permitting solid waste disposal activities where a county resource recovery facility exists.

SECTION 2. Section 340A-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Underground source of drinking water" means an aquifer or its portion that supplies any public or private drinking water system or contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system, and is not an exempted aquifer as determined by the director; provided that the aquifer:

(1) Currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or

(2) Contains fewer than ten thousand milligrams per liter total dissolved solids."

SECTION 3. Section 340A-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) For a county that has a resource recovery facility in use, or when the design for such a facility has begun, the director [shall not] may grant a permit for other solid waste disposal activities including [landfills, for a term extending beyond the planned operational date for the resource recovery facility unless] landfills; provided that the [other] proposed landfill shall not be situated over an underground source of drinking water and the disposal activity is to be used solely for one or more of the following:

(1) Disposal of ash or residue from a resource recovery facility;

(2) Disposal of solid waste which, because of its chemical or physical characteristics, is not suitable for processing at a resource recovery facility;

(3) [Provide an emergency] Emergency backup or overflow capacity for a resource recovery facility; and

(4) [Provide for solid] Solid waste disposal for [those] areas not served by a resource recovery facility as designated by the county agency responsible for the collection and disposal of solid waste[.] based on the existence or planned existence of the resource recovery facility;

provided that a non-publicly funded competitor to a county's resource recovery facility ensures consistency with solid waste and management priorities as stated in section 342G-2; meets or exceeds solid waste management practices, processing standards, and methods adopted in a county's integrated solid waste management plan; does not adversely impact the financial viability of the existing county resource recovery system; and

will address projected solid waste stream increases due to consumer trends and population growth."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.