Hawaii Senate Bill SB668

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/17/25
• Refer: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/21/26

Caption

RELATING TO WASTE OR DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

Summary

SB668 amends Hawaii’s landfill and waste facility siting rules in Section 342H-52 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. The bill would prohibit the construction, modification, or expansion of waste or disposal facilities, including municipal solid waste landfill units and construction-and-demolition landfill units, on land that is above a significant aquifer as determined by the Department of Health. It also retains the existing permit requirement for municipal solid waste landfill units and continues to allow the director to impose permit conditions needed to protect human health and the environment. The bill also changes the required buffer zone for new or expanded waste or disposal facilities. Current law requires a one-half mile buffer zone; SB668 reduces that minimum to one-quarter mile. The buffer zone is measured from the edge of waste or waste activity to the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line. The bill exempts continued operation of an existing, properly permitted facility so long as it does not require physical expansion that would trigger additional permitting review, and it excludes individual, state-certified, non-industrial redemption centers from the definition of waste or disposal facility. The measure is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Impact

SB668 would directly amend Hawaii’s landfill siting and permitting statute by adding a new prohibition on siting waste or disposal facilities over significant aquifers and by narrowing the statutory buffer-zone requirement from one-half mile to one-quarter mile. The change would affect the Department of Health’s permitting and siting review for municipal solid waste landfills, construction and demolition landfills, and related facility components, while preserving existing permit authority and environmental-health conditions. It would also create a specific exemption for certain redemption centers and limit the reach of the buffer-zone rule for existing facilities that continue operating without expansion.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of floor or committee debate. Based on the bill text and the official description, the measure appears to balance environmental protection concerns related to aquifer protection with a regulatory relaxation of setback requirements for waste facilities. The referral history suggests the bill remained under active consideration in Senate health, water, land, and ways-and-means committees, but the available record does not show whether support or opposition predominated.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the tradeoff between groundwater protection and landfill siting flexibility. Environmental and public-health interests would likely support the new prohibition on facilities over significant aquifers, while waste management operators, counties, or developers may favor the reduced buffer zone because it makes siting or expanding facilities easier. Another likely issue is the definition and measurement of the buffer zone, especially its relationship to nearby homes, schools, and hospitals, and whether the reduced setback sufficiently protects surrounding communities. The exemption for existing permitted facilities may also draw attention from both sides, depending on whether it is viewed as a reasonable grandfathering provision or an exception that weakens the new protections.