STAND. COM. REP. NO. 923

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 946

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 946, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt treatment plants that have a capacity of less than ten million gallons per day from the prohibition against discharging wastewater or raw sewage into state waters after December 31, 2026.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, and Maui County Council.

Your Committee finds that the measure as received by your Committee substituted the word "wastewater" for the words "treated sewage," and so appeared to increase the scope of the prohibition on wastewater or raw sewage discharge to include aquariums, hotels, office buildings, and other facilities that are currently allowed to discharge wastewater to state waters under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Your Committee finds that clarifying that the prohibition applies to treatment plants will avoid these unintended consequences.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the prohibition against discharging wastewater or raw sewage into state waters after December 31, 2026, applies to treatment plants; and

(2) Deleting the exemption for treatment plants that have a capacity of less than ten million gallons per day.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 946, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 946, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair