SR74 SD1

WHEREAS, the counties are responsible for constructing, operating, and maintaining the public wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal systems under the oversight and regulation of the Department of Health and the United States Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency issued to the City and County of Honolulu on March 28, 2007, a tentative denial of a 301(h) waiver for the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant; and

WHEREAS, the tentative denial was issued almost 12 years after the City and County of Honolulu applied for the waiver; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu deemed the tentative denial "unreasonable, unfair, unnecessary, untimely and more than the taxpayers of Honolulu can afford"; and

WHEREAS, the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant operates with a 301(h) waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency and continues to provide primary treatment; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu expects Environmental Protection Agency to issue its tentative denial of the 301(h) waiver for the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in the fall of this year; and

WHEREAS, supporters of the 301(h) waiver say that additional treatment of sewage at Honouliuli and Sand Island wastewater treatment plants is unnecessary and would be very costly; and

WHEREAS, opponents of the 301(h) waiver say that additional treatment of sewage at Honouliuli and Sand Island wastewater treatment plants is required to protect our marine environment; and

WHEREAS, the current mayoral administration has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health on a $300 million program of accelerated improvements to the most vulnerable part of Honolulu's wastewater system, the collection system, which includes six critical force mains; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu has committed to almost a billion dollars in sewer work during the current mayor's first three years in office, to be funded by sewer fees that have already been increased and will be increased yet again to finance the force main work; and

WHEREAS, any mandate by the Environmental Protection Agency requiring immediate compliance on the part of the current City and County of Honolulu administration for secondary treatment after decades of neglect by previous administrations could be unworkable and enormously expensive; and

WHEREAS, City officials estimate the denial of a 301(h) waiver for Honouliuli will require another $400 million in construction at that facility, and a similar denial of a waiver for the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant would require an additional $800 million in construction at that facility; and

WHEREAS, City officials estimate those denials could drive monthly residential sewer fees to $300 within 20 years to fund those improvements; and

WHEREAS, almost three-fourths of the State of Hawaii's resident population resides within the City and County of Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye and other members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation have urged the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the City and County of Honolulu to reach a global settlement of all wastewater issues; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department of Health, and the City and County of Honolulu are encouraged to:

(1) Enter into a global settlement to address issues, including but not limited to recognizing the priorities of the City and County of Honolulu with respect to improvements to the wastewater system;

(2) Establish a reasonable and workable timeframe for compliance with any applicable Environmental Protection Agency approved settlement relating to the City and County of Honolulu's wastewater system; and

(3) Identify potential federal and state sources of funds that could be used to supplement city and county funds to finance improvements implemented pursuant to an approved settlement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii supports the ongoing efforts of Hawaii's Congressional delegation to achieve such a settlement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii urges the Environmental Protection Agency to grant 301(h) waivers for the Honouliuli and Sand Island wastewater treatment plants to give the named parties time to enter into a global settlement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Director of Health, the Director of Environmental Services, the Regional Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Environmental Protection; Wastewater; Honolulu

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	74
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII