Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 2516 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to broaden the range of parties eligible for loans and to assist in the financing of eligible programs through the drinking water treatment revolving fund and the water pollution control revolving fund.

Specifically, the bill establishes a wastewater systems special fund to finance operations of the Department of Health's wastewater systems program; adds a definition of "eligible party" to include a county, state agency, or private person, thereby expanding the scope of those eligible for loans to include the private sector; and provides for interest rate subsidies.

In the early years of the water pollution control revolving fund, emphasis was placed on loans to public systems that treat and discharge domestic wastewater, the so-called point sources of pollution. More recently, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has documented the fact that over fifty per cent of water pollution is caused by the so-called nonpoint source pollution, such as that caused by run-off from construction sites, agriculture, and cesspool and septic tank leaks. The vast majority of these occur on private land.

The State has developed a program called the linked deposit program to be able to expand assistance to private landowners to resolve pollution situations on their property. In essence, under this program the Department would work with a financial institution to provide an interest rate subsidy for loans by depositing revolving fund moneys into interest-bearing accounts at the financial institution.

Your Committee finds that broadening the class of recipients eligible for pollution control assistance to include private entities is appropriate and in the public interest as the pollution of state waters affects the public.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee has amended this bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2516, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2516, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.