Committee advances package of cesspool and wastewater bills; funding and staffing left for further work

A cluster of bills addressing Hawaii’s widespread cesspools and other on‑site wastewater systems moved forward Thursday as the House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection advanced measures that would accelerate conversion deadlines, modify grant and loan programs, and fund testing and staffing — while leaving several dollar amounts and positions to be resolved in subsequent committee work.

Testimony was broad and well attended by government agencies, nonprofit environmental groups and industry representatives. John Nagato (Department of Health) stood on written comments and answered technical questions. Ted Bohlen of the Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and Stuart Coleman of Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations (VIE) repeatedly urged acceleration and more funding, saying nutrient runoff from cesspools is a major cause of reef decline. Oriana Leao and other representatives from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands told the committee about thousands of cesspools on Hawaiian Home Lands and urged relief for beneficiaries.

Key measures and committee action:

- HB 879 would increase the maximum grant for the Cesspool Compliance Pilot Grant Project from $20,000 to $30,000 and create DOH positions for the pilot. The committee adopted DOH’s suggested changes, removed the proposed positions from this vehicle and left the maximum grant amount blank for further consideration; the bill was passed out of committee with amendments and a defective date to allow future drafting and fiscal work.

- HB 376 would accelerate statutory deadlines for required cesspool upgrades for Priority 1 and Priority 2 cesspools (bringing some deadlines forward from the current schedule). The committee removed tax credit and grant provisions from the bill so it focuses on the deadline accelerations and moved the measure forward with technical edits.

- HB 734 directs DOH to review rules and practices to identify cost‑reducing changes for wastewater system upgrades without compromising water quality; the committee passed the measure with technical amendments and noted a $150,000 appropriation in the committee report.

- HB 736 would reestablish a technology‑testing pilot program within the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center to evaluate new wastewater technologies; the committee moved the bill forward and asked for a specific dollar amount for the appropriation to be provided to the next committee.

- HB 735 would allow an individual wastewater system to serve up to five bedrooms regardless of the number of dwelling units; the committee narrowed the bill to avoid creating new large‑capacity cesspools under federal law and passed the measure with amendments clarifying the scope and adding a defective date for drafting purposes.

- HB 1421 would create an assessable on‑bill financing program administered by the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority to provide low‑interest loans to homeowners for cesspool conversion; the committee advanced the bill and asked for further fiscal analysis.

- HB 749 would create a cesspool conversion section within DOH and appropriate positions. The committee deferred final decision making and requested DOH provide specific position titles, counts and dollar estimates for the Finance Committee.

Committee members repeatedly pressed DOH and other agencies on eligibility criteria, whether existing grant recipients would receive additional funds if maximum grant amounts increase, and on the cost range for conversions. Testifiers reported a wide range of actual conversion costs: examples cited ranged from the low $20,000s to $40,000 and higher depending on site conditions.

On denitrification and shoreline systems, HB 379 would require newly installed or modified individual wastewater systems that are near shoreline or likely to pollute groundwater to include denitrification capacity (meeting NSF/ANSI 245 where applicable). DOH told the committee it already requires NSF/ANSI 245 units in certain 50‑foot setback cases via its variance process and is reviewing whether the bill’s broader geographic criteria should be narrowed; the committee passed HB 379 with amendments and asked DOH to report back on the recommended distances and scientific basis.

Decision and next steps: the committee moved the suite of wastewater bills forward with amendments, technical fixes and multiple defective dates to allow DOH and other agencies to supply fiscal figures, staffing details and narrower technical language where requested. Several appropriation amounts and position descriptions were left for subsequent committee deliberations.