STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2948

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2096

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2096, 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 establish testing procedures to detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Requires certain wastewater treatment works to test sewage sludge and other residual material for the presence of PFAS;

(2) Requires the Department of Health to adopt administrative rules for the monitoring, sampling, and testing of, and data collection on, sewage sludge and other residual materials that contain specific amounts of PFAS; and

(3) Prohibits, if testing yields PFAS, the issuance or renewal of permits authorizing the land application of sewage sludge or other residual materials on land:

(A) Used for agronomic purposes;

(B) Where drainage tiles have been installed;

(C) That drains into the waters of the State; or

(D) In a five-hundred-year floodplain.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, Hawaii Food+ Policy--Purple Maia Foundation, Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii Chapter, and three individuals.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they do not break down easily in the environment. These chemicals are known to pose severe risks to human health and the environment. Your Committee notes that PFAS can enter the marine environment through various pathways, including wastewater runoff and agricultural runoff. Your Committee finds that this measure will help to reduce the amount of PFAS entering the environment, thereby reducing the harmful effects on human health and marine life.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

Should a Committee in the House of Representatives hear this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider the written comments provided by the Department of Health recommending that section 4 of the measure be deleted until there is greater clarity on regulatory standards.

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. 2096, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2096, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair