Six bills that seek to prevent new solid waste landfills to be placed above fresh groundwater sources anywhere in Hawaii are under review by the state Legislature.

The legislation emerged after Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration announced Dec. 10 it intends to site the city’s next dump on an active pineapple field in Central Oahu, directly over the island’s freshwater aquifer.

That site — west of Kamehameha Highway and north of Paalaa Uka Pupu­kea Road near Wahiawa — is on agricultural lands currently owned by Dole Food Co. Hawaii.

The city says it hopes to negotiate a purchase of about 150 acres — the amount of land needed for a solid waste landfill — out of what it described as an approximately 2,360-acre parcel now owned by Dole.

Dole has stated its opposition to having a landfill on its active farming property.

But city officials say their actions are due, in part, to a state-­imposed Dec. 31, 2024, deadline to find an alternate dump site, ahead of the planned closure of the 35-year-old Wai­manalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei, in accordance with a 2019 decision and order by the state Land Use Commission.

That West Oahu dump is set to close in 2028, though the landfill will not reach full capacity until 2032, the city said.

City officials say they also want the state Legislature to change a state law, Act 73.

The 2020 law places restrictions on locating waste-­disposal facilities, particularly those close to conservation lands or half-mile “buffer zones,” near residential areas, schools or hospitals, as well as near airports or tsunami inundation zones.

City officials say amending Act 73 could do one of two things: reduce buffer zones to a quarter-­mile or eliminate them altogether, thereby opening up more land for potential city dump sites.

But the Wahiawa area site in question, according to the Board of Water Supply, is about 800 feet above Oahu’s prime groundwater source.

BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau in a Dec. 17 letter to the city rejected the proposed landfill site within its so-called no-pass zone, an area that covers the interior of the island where Oahu’s potable water aquifer is located.

In response, the city provided a letter dated Jan. 13 that rejects Lau’s authority to reject the Wahiawa area landfill site.

Lau confirmed that the city Department of Environmental Services could appeal his decision to the BWS’ board of directors — the entity that also hired him.

Still, the six state-level bills — two House, four Senate — could upend the city’s plans for its proposed landfill site.

Those bills include:

>> House Bill 748: Prohibits the construction, modification or expansion of any waste or disposal facility on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the state Department of Health. Reduces the required buffer zone around waste or disposal facilities.

>> House Bill 1228: Prohibits the construction, modification or expansion of waste or disposal facilities that are near or above a significant aquifer. Allows counties to apply for exemptions to state siting standards if they meet certain criteria.

>> Senate Bill 438: Prohibits the construction, modification or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous waste or solid waste on land that is near or above a significant aquifer as determined by the DOH, in consultation with the Commission on Water Resource Management. It would also prohibit waste or disposal facilities on class A and B agricultural land.

>> Senate Bill 446: Prohibits landfills in no-pass zones, which are areas determined by the county where the installation of a waste disposal facility could contaminate groundwater. Requires counties to identify no-pass zones in county integrated solid waste management plans.

>> Senate Bill 550: Establishes the Landfill Advisory Committee within the DOH. It requires the DOH, in consultation with the Department of Land and Natural Resources and each county’s department or board of water supply, to create maps of the state’s drinking water aquifers.

SB 550 also prohibits the siting, construction, modification or expansion of any waste or disposal facility for hazardous or solid waste on land that is near or above an aquifer as determined by the DOH in consultation with the affected county’s department or board of water supply; expands buffer zones from one-half mile to one mile around a waste or disposal facility; establishes penalties; and expands the definition of buffer zone to include aquifers, hotel or tourist accommodations, and businesses.

>> Senate Bill 622: Requires landfills to have dust-monitoring stations. The legislation would amend state health laws to require the owner or operator of a new landfill to periodically report the data collected from the dust-monitoring stations to DOH, among other requirements.

All six bills passed their first readings, while five were referred to committees for further review.

During a Jan. 15 town hall meeting at Wahiawa Elementary School that drew scores of people mostly opposed to a new landfill near their community, state Rep. Amy Perruso — whose House District 46 includes the Wahiawa area — cautioned that the Legislature’s latest bills “can be modified at any point in the process.”

At the same meeting, area residents also wanted the U.S. military — which operates multiple bases on Oahu and contributes to the island’s solid waste stream — to offer its lands for a city landfill.

But ENV Director Roger Babcock indicated prior efforts led by the mayor and managing director to gain federal lands for a dump, including on the Waipio Peninsula, where the city currently leases property from the Navy for soccer fields, had proved unsuccessful.

Perruso later told those gathered at the meeting that state Sen. Mike Gabbard intended to reengage with the military on this issue.

This week Gabbard — chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment — confirmed he’s begun an initial outreach to the military over the city’s next landfill.

However, he claimed many unanswered questions remain, including the exact amount of land owned by the military — particularly, the Navy — on Oahu.

“Apparently, about 21% of the island of Oahu’s land area is controlled by the military — roughly 80,000 acres — and that’s what I want to confirm,” Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “I’ve seen two figures: One is 60,000 acres, one is 80,000 acres of Oahu.”

“So when I’m reaching out to the Navy, I want to get more precise numbers,” he said. “And the city and county, too — I want to see what their numbers are, and I want to find out specifically which of those lands are not over aquifers.”

“I find it hard to believe that the military can’t spare 150 acres of land that’s not over an aquifer for our next landfill,” said Gabbard, “especially after the Red Hill fiasco in 2021 where all of this petroleum gets leaked into the water, and close to 100,000 people are affected by it, and it just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“That’s why I want to reach out and get some answers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday is expected to review for approval a resolution meant to uphold a more than 20-year-old city policy over solid waste landfills and their proximity to Oahu’s drinking water supply. The Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Co-sponsored by Matt Weyer and Radiant Cordero, Resolution 3 reaffirms a prior Council’s 2003 policy against siting dumps near fresh groundwater sources.

That year, Resolution 9 — introduced by then-Council member Gabbard — was adopted to supposedly safeguard Oahu’s important water resources.