STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3016

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2043

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2043, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTEWATER,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the counties to:

(1) Implement a sewer monitoring program that includes county inspections of sewer laterals connected to county sewers located on public or private property to detect saltwater infiltration, after the property owner is provided written notice; and

(2) Compel private property owners to inspect sewer laterals for saltwater infiltration and perform repairs as necessary.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Management for the County of Hawaii, Department of Environmental Services for the City and County of Honolulu, and O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i.

Your Committees find that proper maintenance of wastewater facilities is essential for maintaining public health and welfare. Your Committees also find that the maintenance of wastewater facilities is made more difficult by infiltration from saltwater and other contaminants, leaking lateral lines, and inflow. Moreover, your Committees find that the counties' ability to address these problems is hindered by the lack of explicit statutory authority to inspect and require necessary repairs of lateral sewer lines on private property that are connected to county sewers. Accordingly, your Committees find that in order for the counties to properly maintain wastewater facilities, the counties need appropriate authority to conduct inspections of lateral sewer lines connecting to county sewers, including those lateral lines on private property, and to compel private property owners to make any necessary repairs to stop leaking lateral lines, and prevent infiltration and inflow.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the sewer monitoring program includes inspections of lateral sewer lines to detect leaks from laterals, infiltration, and inflow;

(2) Providing definitions for "infiltration" and "inflow";

(3) Changing the effective date to upon its approval; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2043, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2043, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair