Surfrider Asked to Join Hawaii Cesspool Working Group

Last Fall, the Hawaii Dept. Of Health (DOH) release a study which estimated that the state's 88,000 cesspools release more than 53 million gallons per day of untreated sewage into Hawaii's ground water and surface waters.  Surfrider's Hawaii Chapters hoped to pass a bill during the 2018 session to mandate the conversion of cesspools whenever a homeowner's property was sold.  But real estate lobbyists and other groups blocked this effort.  So the bill was revised to create a Cesspool Working Group, which would work with the DOH to look for solutions.  We  rallied around Senate Bill 2567, and the bill eventually passed both the House and the Senate.  Because of Surfrider's work on this issue, we were the only environmental group to be included in the 11-member statewide Working Group.  We will be tasked with developing a comprehensive plan for the conversion of all cesspools by 2050 and submitting an interim report on Dec. 31, 2019 and a final report by Dec. 31, 2020.  SB 2567 became Act 132 at the end of July, and the Working Group will begin working this Fall.