STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.1569

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.C.R. No. 153

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 153, S.D. 1, entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING AN INVESTIGATION ON THE STATE AND COUNTIES' LAND USE POLICIES WITH REGARD TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to assess the adequacy of existing land use policies that are used to determine where landfills are sited.

Your Committee finds that society continues to produce prodigious amounts of solid waste to be dumped in our landfills. As one result, the existing solid waste landfill on the leeward coast of Oahu is at capacity.

Your Committee further finds that while solid waste management is an issue that must be incorporated into any comprehensive land use plan, present laws do not directly address the issue of how to determine the location of any new landfill site. Accordingly, your Committee believes that it is necessary for the State to reassess its solid waste management and landfill policies.

This measure will request that the Auditor investigate, among other issues, the following:

(1) An assessment of the State and counties' existing total landfill capacity and the criteria by which existing capacity and future needs are determined;

(2) The urgency of establishing another landfill on Oahu;

(3) An assessment of whether the State and counties and public and private waste disposal programs are in compliance with existing state laws and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act;

(4) An assessment of the potential risks of siting landfills over potable aquifers;

(5) A review of state and county code provisions focusing on the siting of landfills; and

(6) Consider the issue of environmental justice, that is, whether a community should bear more that its fair share of landfills because of its lack of political or economic power or influence.

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 concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 153, S.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

		____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair