STAND. COM. REP. NO. 720

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 878

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 878, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTEWATER,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to benefit residents in communities that have areas inaccessible to municipal wastewater systems by authorizing the counties to approve the installation and use of composting toilets in those areas.

     Your Committee finds that there are certain areas of Hawaii, such as Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, that due to geographic challenges, such as proximity to the ocean, hard volcanic rock, and groundwater two feet below the surface, are ill-suited for the installation and use of flush and septic systems.  Your Committee further finds that composting toilets are a useful way to address sewage needs throughout the State because they use no water and produce compost that may be used to enrich the soil.  Your Committee believes that composting toilets are an effective way to address the lack of waste disposal systems and that authorizing the counties to approve the installation and use of composting toilets will benefit the public health and welfare as a whole.

     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. 878, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair