THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	428
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that there are approximately eighty-three thousand cesspools across the State, with 48,596 on Hawaii Island, fourteen thousand three hundred on Kauai, eleven thousand thirty-eight on Maui, 7,491 on Oahu, and one thousand four hundred on Molokai. Act 125, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, requires every cesspool in the State, excluding cesspools granted exemptions by the director of health, to be upgraded or converted to a director-approved wastewater system or connected to a sewerage system by January 1, 2050.

The legislature further finds that undertaking a massive infrastructure project, such as converting eighty-three thousand cesspools by 2050, requires proper planning and administration across various stakeholders and governmental institutions, including those of the counties. According to the Cesspool Conversion Working Group Final Report to the 2023 Regular Session Legislature, the cost of conversions to most private and residential property owners is significant, ranging from a total of $880,000,000 to more than $5,300,000,000, with only three per cent of all residents unburdened by the cost to convert. Moreover, conversion programs take time and require concerted long-term efforts, planning, outreach, and adaptation. Many properties in rural areas, especially on the neighbor islands, may not be in areas where existing county infrastructure allows for easy conversion and connection to sewer systems. Therefore, the legislature finds that requiring each county to identify its respective infrastructure requirements is an important first step towards fulfilling the State's mandate to successfully upgrade or convert all cesspools in the State by 2050.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require each county to develop a comprehensive integrated wastewater management plan and financial strategy, including where connections to centralized public and private treatment systems are planned, locations where individual treatment systems will be needed, and where smaller-scale cluster treatment systems may be utilized.

SECTION 2. (a) Each county shall develop a comprehensive integrated wastewater management plan and financial strategy specific to the county. Each plan shall identify within the county:

(1) Planned connections to both centralized public and private treatment systems;

(2) Locations where individual treatment systems will be needed;

(3) Locations where smaller-scale cluster treatment systems may be utilized;

(4) Individual treatment system needs for homes having cesspools, including whether there is appropriate existing infrastructure capacity to handle the conversion of cesspools by 2050; and

(5) Financial needs, funding mechanisms, and financing strategies to assist with cesspool conversions.

(b) Each county shall submit its respective comprehensive integrated wastewater management plan and financial strategy, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2024.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

Cesspools; Wastewater Management; Financial Strategy; Plans; Counties; Reports

Description:

Requires each county to develop a comprehensive integrated wastewater management plan and financial strategy. Requires each county to submit its respective plan and financial strategy to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

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