STAND. COM. REP. NO. 606

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1085

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 1085 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Agriculture for the preparation of an environmental impact statement to drill non-potable water wells on individual parcels at Panaewa Agricultural Park and Panaewa farm lots.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Maui County Farm Bureau; Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy; and three individuals.

Your Committees find that Hawaii's farms need affordable and reliable water for irrigation to sustain their operations. However, access to reliable water remains a challenge for many farmers, as existing law requires a cost-prohibitive environmental impact statement to be prepared before a farmer can drill for non-potable water on their land. This measure will help subsidize the cost of an environmental impact statement for local farmers, thereby supporting the local production of agricultural products and the State's general effort to meet its self-sustainability goals.

According to testimony received by your Committees, creating a focused pilot program limited to Panaewa Agricultural Park and Panaewa farm lots would allow for a cost-effective, site-specific approach to evaluating the feasibility of developing non-potable water wells for agricultural operations without committing to a larger, more expensive initiative. Your Committees also find that the Panaewa farm lots may consist of parcels or property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Amendments to this measure are therefore necessary to address these concerns.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Establishing a pilot program within the Department of Agriculture to determine feasibility and prepare an environmental impact statement to drill non-potable water wells on individual parcels at Panaewa Agricultural Park and Panaewa farm lots;

(2) Requiring the Department of Agriculture to consult and coordinate with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on the location and distribution of water from the wells before and after the completion of the environmental impact statement;

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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 Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1085, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1085, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land,

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair