THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2769
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to landfill units.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the State must ensure that Oahu's freshwater aquifers are protected from landfill contamination. The legislature further finds that Act 255, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (Act 255), established a prohibition on the construction, modification, and expansion of landfill units, or any components of landfill units, inland of an underground injection control line designated by the department of health in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand. The legislature also finds that after Act 255 was passed, the city and county of Honolulu updated its Parcels and Zoning Information App by adding a pass/no-pass zone layer developed by the Honolulu board of water supply based on research and data analysis, which may be used as guidelines for the manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu board of water supply in determining whether to approve a proposed waste disposal facility. The no-pass zone represents areas over the freshwater aquifer with a smaller or nonexistent caprock, meaning that these areas are susceptible to contamination, which may be a basis for the manager to withhold approval of the proposed facility.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to, beginning July 1, 2026, prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, within the no-pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.
SECTION 2. Section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
"(c) Beginning July 1, [[Struck through: 2025,]] [Underlined: 2026,] no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit [[Struck through: inland of an underground injection control line]] [Underlined: within the no-pass zone] in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand. This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
"Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of the landfill unit or component of the landfill unit and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.
"Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.
[[Struck through: "Underground injection control line" means the line determined by the department under rules adopted or regulations promulgated pursuant to section 340E-2.]]
[Underlined: "No-pass zone" means areas over the freshwater aquifer with a smaller or nonexistent caprock, as designated by the city and county of Honolulu board of water supply in the version of the Parcels and Zoning Information App, or a subsequent application with the same purpose, that is published as of the date of submission of any permit or other request for approval to construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit.]"
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
INTRODUCED BY:
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Report Title:
Landfill Units; No-Pass Zone; Parcels and Zoning Information App; Prohibition; City and County of Honolulu
Description:
Beginning 7/1/2026, prohibits the construction, modification, or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, within the no-pass zone in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand, with certain exemptions.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.