HB1673 would repeal a 2025 statutory prohibition that barred the construction, modification, or expansion of landfill units, or components of landfill units, inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than 500,000. In practical terms, the bill removes that location-based restriction from section 342H-52 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes while leaving in place the general permitting requirements for municipal solid waste landfill units and the existing one-half-mile buffer zone requirement around landfill units.
The bill’s stated purpose is to shift decision-making away from the underground injection control line standard and toward the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s “no-pass zone” framework, which the bill describes as a data-driven area over freshwater aquifers with limited caprock and greater contamination risk. The measure also retains the definition of landfill unit as including municipal solid waste landfill units and construction and demolition landfill units, but deletes the statutory definition of “underground injection control line” from the section because the repealed prohibition would no longer use that term as a trigger.
Impact
If enacted, HB1673 would amend section 342H-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by striking subsection (c) and renumbering the remaining provisions. The effect would be to remove a statewide statutory barrier on landfill development in counties over 500,000 population based on the underground injection control line, while preserving the director’s permitting authority and the separate buffer-zone rule. The bill would likely affect landfill siting and expansion decisions on Oahu, and it would give the Honolulu Board of Water Supply more room to evaluate proposed landfill facilities using its no-pass zone criteria instead of the repealed inland-of-line prohibition.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have limited visible support in the available record and no recorded votes or committee testimony are provided. The last action shows the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection recommended deferral, which suggests the measure did not advance at that stage. Overall, the available context indicates a cautious or unfavorable committee posture rather than broad momentum for passage.
Contention
The central point of contention is the proper standard for protecting Oahu’s freshwater aquifers from landfill contamination. Supporters of the bill’s approach appear to favor replacing the rigid underground injection control line prohibition with a more localized, data-based no-pass zone review by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Opponents are likely to prefer keeping the existing statutory prohibition as a clearer, more protective limit on landfill construction and expansion in sensitive aquifer areas. The tension is between local discretion and environmental protection, especially regarding whether the repeal could make it easier to site landfill facilities in areas vulnerable to groundwater contamination.