Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water, Land, & Ocean Resources, to which was referred H.B. No. 1760 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow the Director of Health (Director) to determine the disposal facilities for solid waste that is delivered to any regional transfer station.

Idaho Waste Systems supported this bill. The Department of Health and Covanta Energy Group opposed this measure.

Your Committees find that the disposal of solid waste continues to be one of the most critical problems facing the State. Issues such as landfills that are near full capacity and the myriad of problems that they cause, the illegal dumping of solid waste along public streets and other areas, and a recycling program that struggles to reach full stride, all exacerbate a seemingly insolvable problem.

This bill, as referred to your Committees, is an attempt to address the problem of solid waste disposal by allowing the Director to, conceivably, direct the disposal of solid waste to out-of-state facilities. However, your Committees are inclined to agree with the Director's testimony that the counties, and not the Director, should determine the best and most efficient method of disposing solid waste.

Therefore, your Committees have amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water, Land, & Ocean Resources that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1760, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1760, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.