REPORT TITLE:
Wastewater Reclamation


DESCRIPTION:
Excludes from definition of public utility any facility that
reclaims wastewater (SB1429 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 269-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by amending the definition of "public utility" to read as
 
 3 follows:
 
 4      ""Public utility" includes every person who may own,
 
 5 control, operate, or manage as owner, lessee, trustee, receiver,
 
 6 or otherwise, whether under a franchise, charter, license,
 
 7 articles of association, or otherwise, any plant or equipment, or
 
 8 any part thereof, directly or indirectly for public use, for the
 
 9 transportation of passengers or freight, or the conveyance or
 
10 transmission of telecommunications messages, or the furnishing of
 
11 facilities for the transmission of intelligence by electricity by
 
12 land or water or air within the State, or between points within
 
13 the State, or for the production, conveyance, transmission,
 
14 delivery, or furnishing of light, power, heat, cold, water, gas,
 
15 or oil, or for the storage or warehousing of goods, or the
 
16 disposal of sewage; provided that the term:
 
17      (1)  Shall include any person insofar as that person owns or
 
18           operates a private sewer company or sewer facility;
 

 
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 1      (2)  Shall include telecommunications carrier or
 
 2           telecommunications common carrier;
 
 3      (3)  Shall not include any person insofar as that person
 
 4           owns or operates an aerial transportation enterprise;
 
 5      (4)  Shall not include persons owning or operating taxicabs,
 
 6           as defined in this section;
 
 7      (5)  Shall not include common carriers transporting only
 
 8           freight on the public highways, unless operating within
 
 9           localities or along routes or between points that the
 
10           public utilities commission finds to be inadequately
 
11           serviced without regulation under this chapter;
 
12      (6)  Shall not include persons engaged in the business of
 
13           warehousing or storage unless the commission finds that
 
14           regulation thereof is necessary in the public interest;
 
15      (7)  Shall not include:
 
16           (A)  The business of any carrier by water to the extent
 
17                that the carrier enters into private contracts for
 
18                towage, salvage, hauling, or carriage between
 
19                points within the State and the carriage is not
 
20                pursuant to either an established schedule or an
 
21                undertaking to perform carriage services on behalf
 
22                of the public generally; and
 

 
 
 
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 1           (B)  The business of any carrier by water,
 
 2                substantially engaged in interstate or foreign
 
 3                commerce, transporting passengers on luxury
 
 4                cruises between points within the State or on
 
 5                luxury round-trip cruises returning to the point
 
 6                of departure;
 
 7      (8)  Shall not include any person who:
 
 8           (A)  Controls, operates, or manages plants or
 
 9                facilities for the production, transmission, or
 
10                furnishing of power primarily or entirely from
 
11                nonfossil fuel sources; and
 
12           (B)  Provides, sells, or transmits all of that power,
 
13                except such power as is used in its own internal
 
14                operations, directly to a public utility for
 
15                transmission to the public;
 
16      (9)  Shall not include a telecommunications provider only to
 
17           the extent determined by the commission pursuant to
 
18           section 269-16.9; [and]
 
19     (10)  Shall not include any person who controls, operates, or
 
20           manages plants or facilities developed pursuant to
 
21           chapter 167 for conveying, distributing, and
 
22           transmitting water for irrigation and such other
 

 
 
 
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 1           purposes that shall be held for public use and
 
 2           purpose[.]; and
 
 3     (11)  Shall not include any person who owns, controls,
 
 4           operates, or manages a facility for the reclamation of
 
 5           wastewater; provided that:
 
 6           (A)  The services of the facility shall be provided
 
 7                pursuant to a service agreement between the person
 
 8                and a state or county agency and at least ten per
 
 9                cent of the processed wastewater is used directly
 
10                by the State or county which has entered into the
 
11                service contract;
 
12           (B)  The primary function of the facility shall be the
 
13                processing of secondary treated wastewater that
 
14                has been produced by a wastewater treatment
 
15                facility that is owned by a state or county
 
16                agency;
 
17           (C)  The facility shall not distribute nor make direct
 
18                sales of water to residential customers;
 
19           (D)  The facility may distribute and sell processed
 
20                wastewater to entities not covered by a state or
 
21                county service contract; provided that, in the
 
22                absence of regulatory oversight and direct
 

 
 
 
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 1                competition, the distribution and sale of
 
 2                processed wastewater from the facility shall be
 
 3                reasonable and fair; and
 
 4           (E)  The facility shall not be engaged, either directly
 
 5                or indirectly, in the processing of food wastes.
 
 6      In the event the application of this chapter is ordered by
 
 7 the commission in any case provided in paragraphs (5), (6), (9),
 
 8 and (10), the business of any public utility that presents
 
 9 evidence of bona fide operation on the date of the commencement
 
10 of the proceedings resulting in the order shall be presumed to be
 
11 necessary to public convenience and necessity, but any
 
12 certificate issued under this proviso shall nevertheless be
 
13 subject to such terms and conditions as the commission may
 
14 prescribe, as provided in sections 269-16.9 and 269-20."
 
15      SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
16 New statutory material is underscored.
 
17      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.