STAND. COM. REP. NO. 931

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 605

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 605, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTEWATER,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the installation or use of household aerobic units that discharge directly to groundwater, unless the Director of Health approves that the units meet National Sanitation Foundation/American National Standards Institute (NSF/ANSI) Standard 245 certification for class I aerobic units.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that improved wastewater treatment is one of the most effective ways to reduce nitrogen pollution in surface water.  Current law requires household aerobic units to meet NSF/ANSI Standard 40 certification, which does not address nitrogen reduction in the treated effluent.  NSF/ANSI Standard 245 includes performance measures that reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged into surface waters by at least fifty percent in some watersheds.  Your Committee further finds that requiring household aerobic units to meet NSF/ANSI Standard 245 certification could help meet the growing demand for nutrient reduction in coastal areas and sensitive environments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making it effective upon its approval.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 605, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 605, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair