Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 484 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize issuance of up to $25,000,000 in special purpose revenue bonds to assist Hilo Coast Power Company, a division of Brewer Environmental Industries, LLC, an industrial enterprise, to develop a waste-to-energy facility at Pepeekeo on the Big Island.

Your Committees received testimony in favor of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Brewer Environmental Industries. Testimony in opposition was received from an individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committees find that East Hawaii faces a major problem concerning the disposal of solid municipal waste. The existing landfill in Hilo is not only inadequate in size, but is not lined and does not otherwise meet EPA standards. Additionally, it is not practical to haul all of East Hawaii's solid waste across the island to the Puuanahulu landfill in Kona. Environmental experts advise that it will not be economically feasible to continue to use or expand the Hilo landfill. Accordingly, the development of a waste-to-energy facility at Pepeekeo could provide a substantial benefit to the East Hawaii community.

Your Committees adopted the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Finance by amending section 4 of the measure by changing the date of lapse of the authorization from June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2004.

The purpose of the amendment to the measure is to provide consistency with the Department's submission of related legislation proposing to require special purpose revenue bond authorizations that have not been issued within three years of enactment to lapse.

Your Committees have also amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments to this measure for clarity.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 484, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 484, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.