Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 484, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs 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 to develop a waste-to-energy facility at Pepeekeo on the Big Island.

Your Committee finds that energy demand continues to rise while solid waste accumulation puts pressure on landfills and the environment. A reasonable solution is to develop a waste-to-energy facility so that landfills do not have to be expanded and useful benefit can be made of what residents discard as part of the detritus of daily living. Honolulu's H-power plant is a perfect example of this. Expanding the Big Island's East Hawaii landfill in Hilo is not a satisfactory solution to meeting the disposal needs of its residents and it is not economical to haul East Hawaii's solid waste to Kona's Puuanahulu landfill. In addition, Hilo can use the extra energy production that would be generated from a waste-to-energy project, having suffered in the past from rolling brownouts. This measure is designed to solve both the waste disposal and the energy production problems.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 484, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.