HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1966

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to solid waste.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the COVID-19 pandemic made apparent the many threats to the State's food systems and self-sufficiency.  The pandemic also exacerbated the food insecurity experienced by some residents whose purchasing power had declined because of reduced employment.  To ensure that the State's residents are able to meet their basic needs during future economic downturns and disasters, it is imperative that the State prioritize food security.

     The legislature further finds that food safety is an essential component of food security.  Each year, forty-eight million people in the United States get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and three thousand die from foodborne diseases.  Reducing the risk that contaminants from waste and disposal facilities blow, flow, spill, or otherwise affect plants and animals on agricultural lands will enhance food safety.

     The purpose of this Act is to require a buffer zone around agricultural districts and important agricultural lands with respect to the construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility.

     SECTION 2.  Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(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 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.

     For the purposes of this subsection:

     "Agricultural district" means the land use district identified in section 205-2.

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest property line of a residential[,] lot, school, [or] hospital [property line.], land designated as important agricultural lands, or land within the agricultural district.

     "Important agricultural lands" means land identified and designated as important agricultural lands pursuant to part III of chapter 205.

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

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

Waste or Disposal Facility; Buffer Zone; Important Agricultural Lands; Agricultural Districts

 

Description:

Requires the one-half mile buffer zone between construction, modification, or expansion of a waste or disposal facility and a residential lot, school, or hospital to also apply to land designated as important agricultural lands and land within the agricultural district.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.