Bill Text: HI SB848 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Desalination.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-12 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB848 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2025-SB848-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
848 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to desalination.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 2. (a) There is established within the department of land and natural resources a desalination planning task force for administrative purposes.
(b) The task force shall comprise the following members:
(1) The director of health or the director's designee;
(2) The chairperson of the board of agriculture or the chairperson's designee;
(3) The chairperson of the commission on water resource management or the chairperson's designee, who shall serve as chair;
(4) The chief executive officer of the office of Hawaiian affairs or the chief executive officer's designee;
(5) The chairs of the senate and house of representatives standing committees on water and land or their designees; and
(6) The director or manager and chief engineer of each county's department or board of water supply.
(c) The task force shall:
(1) Conduct a study to determine the water demand for housing, agriculture, and industrial uses throughout the State, including in high-need areas;
(2) Examine the feasibility of using desalination as a source of clean and safe drinking water to supplement the State's existing groundwater and surface water resources;
(3) Determine the extent to which the use of desalination will:
(A) Assist the State in meeting its projected future water needs; and
(B) Improve the resiliency of the State's water systems, considering in particular the impacts of the water crisis caused by the contamination at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility;
(4) Determine whether it is feasible for the commission on water resource management to integrate desalination into its overall water management plans;
(5) Consider the extent to which the construction of desalination plants may affect or interfere with historical sites and Native Hawaiian cultural sites and practices, including burial sites; and
(6) Address environmental concerns associated with the operation of desalination plants, including high energy consumption.
(d) The members of the task force shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.
(e) No member of the task force shall be subject to chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statues, solely because of the member's participation in the task force.
(f) The department of land and natural resources shall provide administrative assistance to the task force.
(g)
The task force shall submit a report of its findings and
recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2026.
(h) The task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 2026.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Potable Water; Desalination; Planning Task Force
Description:
Establishes a Desalination Planning Task Force to examine the feasibility of, and develop a plan and timeline for, the use desalination as a source of potable water in the State.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
