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Committee approves amendments to prohibit reuse of incinerator ash and restrict landfills near aquifers
Summary
After extensive testimony from environmental groups, community organizations and county officials, the Senate Committee on Water and Land passed SB 4-38 with amendments that add a definition of significant aquifer and restrict reuse of municipal solid‑waste incinerator ash in unlined settings.
The Senate Committee on Water and Land on Feb. 10 passed SB 4-38 with amendments that broaden protections for aquifers and prohibit certain reuses of municipal solid‑waste incinerator ash.
Witnesses from local and statewide environmental groups, county agencies and community organizations raised concerns about landfill siting and the reuse of ash from waste‑to‑energy incinerators. Mike Ewell of Energy Justice Network told the committee that “a double lined landfill full of H‑Power’s trash incinerator ash can still ultimately lead chemicals into the aquifer” and urged the Legislature to adopt an amendment to prohibit reuse of incinerator ash for road building or other fills without liners.
Testimony from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Climate Protectors Hawaii and other groups pressed for language explicitly requiring municipal solid‑waste incinerator ash to be disposed of only in lined landfills and to ban ash reuse in road construction or fill placed over aquifers. Multiple county officials, labor union representatives and conservation groups filed written testimony in support; a small number of individuals filed opposition.
In committee deliberations the chair incorporated amendments to add a definition of a “significant aquifer” (a freshwater aquifer with potential as a drinking-water source), to accept the Climate Protectors/Democratic Party language on ash disposal, and to set a defect date for continued consideration. The committee adopted the amended bill recommendation during decision-making.
The chair said the committee’s changes were intended to reduce the risk that contaminants in ash or landfill leachate could reach groundwater or be reused in ways that expose workers and the public.
Ending: The amended bill advances to the next legislative stage with new restrictions on ash reuse and stronger protections for aquifers; sponsors and environmental groups said they will continue to press for strict disposal rules in subsequent proceedings.
