HB1894

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that there are approximately eighty-eight thousand cesspools across the State, with nearly fifty thousand on Hawaii island, almost fourteen thousand on Kauai, over twelve thousand on Maui, over eleven thousand on Oahu, and one thousand four hundred on Molokai. These cesspools harm the health of Hawaii's people and environment. Cesspools are antiquated, substandard systems that can pollute groundwater and nearshore water and harm the health of coral reefs and marine resources. Hawaii's cesspools discharge more than fifty million gallons of wastewater into the environment every day. Pursuant to Act 125, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, every cesspool in the State, excluding cesspools granted exemptions by the director of health, must be upgraded or converted to a director of health-approved wastewater system or connected to a sewerage system by January 1, 2050.

Furthermore, in Act 132, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, the legislature authorized the establishment of the cesspool conversion working group to develop a long-range, comprehensive plan for conversion of cesspools statewide by 2050 and make recommendations for policies, programs, and other actions to facilitate cesspool conversions.

The legislature further finds that one recommendation of the cesspool conversion working group is to ensure that buyers of real property are adequately informed about the existence of a cesspool on a property they are considering purchasing, a requirement that would protect consumers. The legislature also finds that a property with a cesspool that must be converted by a set date is a material fact as defined in chapter 508D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that should be clearly and explicitly disclosed by the seller in a real property transaction. Furthermore, if the property does have a cesspool, the priority level of that cesspool as determined by the Hawaii cesspool prioritization tool, including the date by which that cesspool must be converted, should also be disclosed.

The legislature additionally finds that the cesspool conversion working group identified public outreach and education as an essential component of cesspool conversion and that programs in other jurisdictions found that robust public outreach was necessary for the success of their efforts. One recommendation of the working group was to fund the development and implementation of a comprehensive outreach strategy, as well as the development of a website to serve as a statewide informational clearinghouse.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Authorize and appropriate funds to the department of health to retain qualified consultants as necessary to identify necessary public outreach and education resources and tools and develop a comprehensive public outreach strategy and website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information and resources for homeowners and wastewater industry professionals related to cesspool conversion; and

(2) Require that mandatory seller disclosures in real estate transactions include whether the property has a cesspool, including the date by which state law mandates that the cesspool be upgraded, converted, or connected, and the priority level of the cesspool according to the Hawaii cesspool hazard assessment and prioritization tool.

SECTION 2. Section 342D-59, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§342D-59[]] Research, educational, and training programs. The director may:

(1) Conduct and supervise research programs for the purpose of determining the causes, effects, and hazards of water pollution, the quality of the receiving water and the means to monitor the quality of water, or to [~~effect~~] affect the proper disposal of sewage, drainage, and waste;

(2) With the approval of the governor, cooperate with, and receive money from the federal government, or any political subdivision of the State or from private sources for the study and control of water pollution; [~~and~~]

(3) Conduct and supervise state educational and training programs on water pollution prevention, control, and abatement, including the preparation and distribution of information relating to water pollution[.]; and

(4) In consultation with counties, nonprofit organizations, and wastewater industry professionals:

(A) Identify necessary resources and tools for public outreach and education, including necessary funding and timelines, to meet the requirements of section 342D-72;

(B) Develop a comprehensive public outreach strategy for the State and counties to educate homeowners on cesspool conversion options and resources; and

(C) Develop a website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information and resources for homeowners and wastewater industry professionals about resources, priority zone maps, cesspool impacts, financing options, exemptions, county plans, and any other relevant information."

SECTION 3. Section 508D-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§508D-15 Notification required; ambiguity. (a) When residential real property lies:

(1) Within the boundaries of a special flood hazard area as officially designated on flood maps promulgated by the National Flood Insurance Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purposes of determining eligibility for emergency flood insurance programs;

(2) Within the boundaries of the noise exposure area shown on maps prepared by the department of transportation in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulation part 150, Airport Noise Compatibility Planning (14 C.F.R. part 150), for any public airport;

(3) Within the boundaries of the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone of any Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine Corps airport as officially designated by military authorities;

(4) Within the anticipated inundation areas designated on the department of defense's emergency management tsunami inundation maps; or

(5) Within the sea level rise exposure area as designated by the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission or its successor,

subject to the availability of maps that designate the five areas by tax map key (zone, section, parcel), the seller shall include the material fact information in the disclosure statement provided to the buyer subject to this chapter. Each county shall provide, where available, maps of its jurisdiction detailing the five designated areas specified in this subsection. The maps shall identify the properties situated within the five designated areas by tax map key number (zone, section, parcel) and shall be of a size sufficient to provide information necessary to serve the purposes of this section. Each county shall provide legible copies of the maps and may charge a reasonable copying fee.

(b) When it is questionable whether residential real property lies within any of the designated areas referred to in subsection (a) due to the inherent ambiguity of boundary lines drawn on maps of large scale, the ambiguity shall be construed in favor of the seller; provided that a good faith effort has been made to determine the applicability of subsection (a) to the subject real property.

(c) When residential real property contains a cesspool and the cesspool is identified by the maps in the University of Hawaii 2022 Hawaii cesspool hazard assessment and prioritization tool, subject to the availability of the maps, the seller shall include the material fact information in the disclosure statement provided to the buyer subject to this chapter. The maps shall identify the cesspool priority level and the date, established by law, by which the cesspool is required to be upgraded or converted to a director of health-approved wastewater system or connected to a sewerage system.

[~~(c)~~] (d) Except as required under subsections (a) and (b), and as required under section 508D-3.5, the seller shall have no duty to examine any public record when preparing a disclosure statement."

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding section 342D-83, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or any other law to the contrary, there is appropriated out of the water pollution control revolving fund the sum of $150,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the department of health to retain qualified consultants, as necessary, to identify necessary public outreach and education resources and tools, and develop a comprehensive public outreach strategy and website to provide necessary information to homeowners and wastewater industry professionals about information and resources regarding the State's cesspool connection, upgrade, and conversion requirements and deadlines.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this section.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2024; provided that section 3 shall take effect on November 1, 2024.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1894
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII