HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	969
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO WASTE OR DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§342H-52 Prohibitions; buffer zones. (a) No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director. All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

(b) No person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit, on land that is above a significant aquifer as determined by the department.

[(b)] (c) No person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility, including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit, without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the waste or disposal facility. This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing waste or disposal facility that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the facility requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

(d) For the purposes of this [subsection:] section:

"Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

"Significant aquifer" means any aquifer sitting below class A or B agricultural lands as designated by the land use commission.

"Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, [state certified,] state-certified, non-industrial redemption centers."

SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Waste or Disposal Facilities; Prohibition; Significant Aquifers

Description:

Prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of any waste or disposal facility on land that is above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health. (SD2)

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