HI SCR141

Request county district health officers to convene a regional cesspool modernization task force in each county to investigate feasibility and impacts of cesspool replacement recommendations from the Department of Health's December 2017 report.

Task force membership must include the county district health officer, one state senator, one state representative, one county council member, representatives from economic development and wastewater management, one agricultural representative, and one community member.

Each task force must hold its first meeting by July 1, 2018, elect officers, and work with a third-party consultant studying cesspool upgrade and conversion issues.

Each task force must submit findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the 2019 Regular Session and cease operations on June 30, 2020.

Background: Hawaii has approximately 87,900 inventoried cesspools depositing 53 million gallons of raw sewage daily into groundwater and surface waters; estimated upgrade cost is $1.75 billion with 14 priority areas containing 42,730 cesspools.