SB2749 HD1.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2749
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTEWATER.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. California legislators were the first to recognize the use of composting toilets as a water conservation mechanism and enacted legislation to regulate its use. After facing devastating drought in Tuvalu, the Global Environment Facility supported the Pacific integrated water resources management project to address their serious water issues by installing composting toilets on the main island of Funafuti. According to the project manager, the current flush and septic systems are ill-suited to Tuvalu's geography and scarce water supplies.

Flush toilets use up one-third of a family's water supply, and poorly constructed septic systems pollute the ground water. Alternatively, composting toilets use no water and produce compost that can be used to enrich the soil so that families can plant their own crops. A lot of the fresh vegetables in Tuvalu are imported and expensive, so families save on costs by adopting the use of composting toilets.

At first people were reluctant to adopt the use of the toilets. However, once they saw how the toilets worked and understood the benefits, demand for the toilets increased. The work in Tuvalu has generated interest in the Pacific. Tonga has built demonstration toilets, and Nauru has installed them in schools. The Marshall Islands are planning construction soon. Composting toilets are a way for Pacific Islanders to find solutions to some of the impact of climate change by conserving water, increasing food security, and managing wastewater.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, millions of people have inadequate access to sanitation infrastructure. In the Philippines, twenty-eight million people do not have access to sanitation services needed to prevent contamination and disease. Therefore, people suffer from preventable diseases.

The Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development Foundation, a Philippine-based organization focused on eco-based solutions to human development challenges, has developed a low-cost composting toilet that uses local materials to minimize water contamination and create fertilizers from human waste. Their innovation addresses two challenges that prevail in developing countries: the unsustainable and costly use of water-sealed toilets, and the hygienic management of wastewater. Water-sealed toilets require pumping mechanisms to transport water and sewage away from a home, a method that is economically and environmentally unsustainable. Inadequate management of waste can lead to a host of health problems and impact the quality of life.

Although Hawaii is not classified as a developing country, there are regions in the State that lack adequate sewer lines or sewage treatment plants.

The purpose of this Act is to address the lack of waste disposal systems throughout the state by requiring the counties to authorize composting toilets in areas that are inaccessible to municipal wastewater systems, thereby benefiting the people living in those communities and the health and welfare of the State as a whole.

SECTION 2. Section 27-21.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§27-21.6 Functions reassigned to the counties. The following functions are hereby reassigned to the several counties:

(1) The medical care of inmates of county jails;

(2) The rendering of medical investigatory services requested by the police;

(3) Physical examinations of employees to the extent that such functions had been performed immediately prior to the adoption of Act 97, Session Laws of Hawaii 1965;

(4) The care and treatment of county workers' compensation cases to the extent that such functions had been performed immediately prior to the adoption of Act 97, Session Laws of Hawaii 1965; and

(5) The regulation of the design, construction, and operation of individual wastewater systems and private wastewater treatment works[,]; provided that [~~the~~]:

(A) The transfer of this function to each county shall take place on the date that the expenditure of start-up funds is made by the State to such county for this purpose[.]; and

(B) The counties shall authorize the installation and use of composting toilets in areas that are inaccessible to municipal wastewater systems. As used in this subparagraph, "composting toilet" means a toilet that uses no water or very little water and uses natural processes to treat waste."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2962.