STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1393

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 329

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 329 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WATER POLLUTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require at least fifty percent of treatments works effluent to be R-1 recycled water by January 1, 2045;

(2) Extend the date after which treated or raw sewage is prohibited from being discharged into state waters from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2030; and

(3) Clarify that the prohibition on the discharge of treated or raw sewage shall not apply to sewage treatment plants that produce clean energy and have primary and secondary outfalls.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Environmental Management of the County of Hawaiʻi. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Health; Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu; and Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition.

Your Committee finds that reusing recycled water for non-potable purposes helps conserve fresh water resources and promotes sustainable resource-management practices. This measure encourages the reuse of recycled water by setting a goal for a minimum amount of treatment works effluent to be recycled and suitable for use in recycled water systems.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the percentage of treatment works effluent required to be recycled water to an unspecified percentage;

(2) Removing the extension of the date after which the discharge of treated or raw sewage into state waters is prohibited;

(3) Removing language narrowing the kind of sewage treatment plants that are exempt from the prohibition on the discharge of treated or raw sewage;

(4) Adding a requirement that by January 1, 2027, the counties shall report to the Department of Health on the feasibility of recycling treatment works effluent that meets certain standards;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 329, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 329, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

____________________________

NICOLE E. LOWEN, Chair