HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
878
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to landfills.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, in Hawaii, landfills can pose environmental, health, and safety risks to nearby communities and ecosystems. Of particular concern is the proximity of landfills to conservation areas that are designated to protect native species, habitats, and cultural resources. The legislature further finds that extending the landfill buffer zone to one mile and applying the buffer zone to lands classified as conservation areas will ensure the protection of Hawaii's people and fragile natural environment.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Extend the landfill buffer zone from one-half mile to one mile; and
(2) Require the landfill buffer zone to apply to lands in the state conservation district and lands designated as national conservation areas.
SECTION 2. Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) No person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a waste or disposal facility including a municipal solid waste landfill unit, any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, a construction and demolition landfill unit, or any component of a construction and demolition landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than [[Struck through: one-half]] [Underlined: one] mile around the waste or disposal facility. This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing waste or disposal facility that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the facility requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.
For the purposes of this subsection:
"Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of waste or waste activity and the nearest residential[[Struck through: ,]] [Underlined: lot,] school, [[Struck through: or]] hospital [[Struck through: property line.]][Underlined: , land within the conservation district, or land designated as a national conservation area and managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management through the National Landscape Conservation System pursuant to title 16 United States Code section 7202.]
[Underlined: "Conservation district" means the state land use district established pursuant to chapter 205.]
"Waste or disposal facility" excludes individual, state certified, non-industrial redemption centers."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
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Report Title:
Landfills; Waste Management; Buffer Zone; Conservation Lands
Description:
Extends the landfill buffer zone from one-half mile to one mile. Requires the landfill buffer zone to apply to lands in the state conservation district and lands designated as national conservation areas.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.