Bill Text: HI SB2675 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 2675

Bill Title: Relating To Renewable Energy And Food Security.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-16 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB2675 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2675-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2675
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY AND FOOD SECURITY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that food insecurity remains a significant challenge for many individuals and families throughout the State. Food insecurity impacts approximately one in six Hawaii residents, including nearly one in four children. In 2022, more than eighty-two thousand children were projected to struggle with hunger, and Hawaii had the second highest projected rate of child food insecurity in the nation.

The legislature also finds that the State has committed to increasing the amount of locally grown food to help improve food security and self-sufficiency. The legislature further finds that there are many acres of suitable farmland currently being used solely for renewable energy projects that could simultaneously help support both the State's renewable energy and food security goals.

Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to increase food security throughout the State by requiring the Hawaii state energy office, in collaboration with the department of agriculture and department of land and natural resources, to facilitate the private sector's development of renewable energy projects that also support agricultural food production.

SECTION 2. Chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§196- State support for achieving local renewable energy development and food security. In collaboration with the department of agriculture and department of land and natural resources, the Hawaii state energy office shall facilitate the private sector's development of renewable energy projects that also support agricultural food production by:

(1) Identifying and publishing a list of lands hosting renewable energy projects that also have the potential to concurrently support local agricultural food production;

(2) Developing a program to maximize the agricultural use of lands hosting renewable energy projects; and

(3) Working with federal agencies to obtain research, funding, and technical assistance to help the State achieve its local renewable energy and food security goals."

SECTION 3. Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Within the agricultural district, all lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B and for solar energy facilities, class B or C, shall be restricted to the following permitted uses:

(1) Cultivation of crops, including crops for bioenergy, flowers, vegetables, foliage, fruits, forage, and timber;

(2) Game and fish propagation;

(3) Raising of livestock, including poultry, bees, fish, or other animal or aquatic life that are propagated for economic or personal use;

(4) Farm dwellings, employee housing, farm buildings, or activities or uses related to farming and animal husbandry. "Farm dwelling", as used in this paragraph, means a single-family dwelling located on and accessory to a farm, including clusters of single-family farm dwellings permitted within agricultural parks developed by the State, or where agricultural activity provides income to the family occupying the dwelling;

(5) Public institutions and buildings that are necessary for agricultural practices;

(6) Public and private open area types of recreational uses, including day camps, picnic grounds, parks, and riding stables, but not including dragstrips, airports, drive-in theaters, golf courses, golf driving ranges, country clubs, and overnight camps;

(7) Public, private, and quasi-public utility lines and roadways, transformer stations, communications equipment buildings, solid waste transfer stations, major water storage tanks, and appurtenant small buildings such as booster pumping stations, but not including offices or yards for equipment, material, vehicle storage, repair or maintenance, treatment plants, corporation yards, or other similar structures;

(8) Retention, restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings or sites of historic or scenic interest;

(9) Agricultural-based commercial operations as described in section 205-2(d)(15);

(10) Buildings and uses, including mills, storage, and processing facilities, maintenance facilities, photovoltaic, biogas, and other small-scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, and vehicle and equipment storage areas that are normally considered directly accessory to the above-mentioned uses and are permitted under section 205-2(d);

(11) Agricultural parks;

(12) Plantation community subdivisions, which as used in this chapter means an established subdivision or cluster of employee housing, community buildings, and agricultural support buildings on land currently or formerly owned, leased, or operated by a sugar or pineapple plantation; provided that the existing structures may be used or rehabilitated for use, and new employee housing and agricultural support buildings may be allowed on land within the subdivision as follows:

(A) The employee housing is occupied by employees or former employees of the plantation who have a property interest in the land;

(B) The employee housing units not owned by their occupants shall be rented or leased at affordable rates for agricultural workers; or

(C) The agricultural support buildings shall be rented or leased to agricultural business operators or agricultural support services;

(13) Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

(14) Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity. For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

(15) Wind energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;

(16) Biofuel processing facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and refining of biofuels that is normally considered directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the energy feedstock; provided that biofuel processing facilities and appurtenances do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural uses in the vicinity.

For the purposes of this paragraph:

"Appurtenances" means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock, fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities.

"Biofuel processing facility" means a facility that produces liquid or gaseous fuels from organic sources such as biomass crops, agricultural residues, and oil crops, including palm, canola, soybean, and waste cooking oils; grease; food wastes; and animal residues and wastes that can be used to generate energy;

(17) Agricultural-energy facilities, including appurtenances necessary for an agricultural-energy enterprise; provided that the primary activity of the agricultural-energy enterprise is agricultural activity. To be considered the primary activity of an agricultural-energy enterprise, the total acreage devoted to agricultural activity shall be not less than ninety per cent of the total acreage of the agricultural-energy enterprise. The agricultural-energy facility shall be limited to lands owned, leased, licensed, or operated by the entity conducting the agricultural activity.

As used in this paragraph:

"Agricultural activity" means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this subsection.

"Agricultural-energy enterprise" means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility.

"Agricultural-energy facility" means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes renewable energy as defined in section 269-91 or renewable fuel including electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State.

"Appurtenances" means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for the economic commercial generation, storage, distribution, and other similar handling of energy, including equipment, feedstock, fuels, and other products of agricultural-energy facilities;

(18) Construction and operation of wireless communication antennas, including small wireless facilities; provided that, for the purposes of this paragraph, "wireless communication antenna" means communications equipment that is either freestanding or placed upon or attached to an already existing structure and that transmits and receives electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of wireless communications services; provided further that "small wireless facilities" shall have the same meaning as in section 206N-2; provided further that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to permit the construction of any new structure that is not deemed a permitted use under this subsection;

(19) Agricultural education programs conducted on a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the education and participation of the general public; provided that the agricultural education programs are accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use of the parcels or lots on which the agricultural education programs are to occur and do not interfere with surrounding farm operations. For the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural education programs" means activities or events designed to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural activities and practices conducted on a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

(20) Solar energy facilities that do not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser or for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205‑6; provided that this use shall not be permitted on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

(21) Solar energy facilities on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that:

(A) The area [~~occupied by~~] under and adjacent to the solar energy facilities [~~is also made available for~~] and appurtenances shall:

(i) Be put into compatible agricultural activities by a farm operation that derives revenue from the sale of the production from agricultural activities; and

(ii) Be made available at a lease rate that is [~~at least fifty~~] not less than seventy-five per cent below the fair market rent for comparable properties;

(B) Proof of financial security to decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the appropriate county planning commission prior to date of commencement of commercial generation; and

(i) Removal of all equipment related to the solar energy facility within twelve months of the conclusion of operation or useful life; and

(ii) Restoration of the disturbed earth to substantially the same physical condition as existed prior to the development of the solar energy facility.

For the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural activities" means the activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3)[;] and "farming operation" as defined in section 165-2;

(22) Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

(23) Hydroelectric facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of hydroelectric energy, subject to section 205-2; provided that the hydroelectric facilities and their appurtenances:

(A) Shall consist of a small hydropower facility as defined by the United States Department of Energy, including:

(i) Impoundment facilities using a dam to store water in a reservoir;

(ii) A diversion or run-of-river facility that channels a portion of a river through a canal or channel; and

(iii) Pumped storage facilities that store energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher elevation from a reservoir at a lower elevation to be released to turn a turbine to generate electricity;

(B) Comply with the state water code, chapter 174C;

(C) Shall, if over five hundred kilowatts in hydroelectric generating capacity, have the approval of the commission on water resource management, including a new instream flow standard established for any new hydroelectric facility; and

(D) Do not impact or impede the use of agricultural land or the availability of surface or ground water for all uses on all parcels that are served by the ground water sources or streams for which hydroelectric facilities are considered; or

(24) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species."

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the Hawaii state energy office to facilitate the private sector's development of renewable energy projects that also support agricultural food production, including the establishment of one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent interagency liaison position within the Hawaii state energy office for the purposes of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii state energy office for the purposes of this Act.

PART II

SECTION 5. The legislature finds that certain corporate farming practices in the early twentieth century resulted in the contamination of soils and groundwater, adversely affecting land use and human health. Notwithstanding, scientific studies have shown that phytoremediation--a process of using non-food crops to alter and remove contaminants--can help return contaminated lands back to productive agricultural use. In addition, non-food crops used for phytoremediation can be used for biofuel production until the land is suitable again for agriculture, providing a separate benefit that also furthers the State's renewable energy goals.

Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to establish a phytoremediation biofuels pilot program to determine whether phytoremediation can be implemented as part of a long-term strategy to support the State's local renewable energy and food security goals.

SECTION 6. (a) There is established within the Hawaii state energy office a three-year phytoremediation biofuels pilot program. The Hawaii state energy office shall collaborate with the department of agriculture and department of land and natural resources to create a pilot program that shall:

(1) Identify suitable phytoremediation crops that can be used as biofuel feedstocks;

(2) Identify contaminated agricultural lands that are suitable for phytoremediation; and

(3) Implement the planting of one or more of the identified crops in selected contaminated agricultural land areas for the purpose of phytoremediation.

(b) The Hawaii state energy office shall submit to the governor and legislature a report no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027. The report shall describe the overall effectiveness of the pilot program and shall include a cost-benefit analysis and recommendation as to the feasibility of pursuing phytoremediation as part of a long-term strategy to support the State's local renewable energy and food security goals.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 to establish and fund the phytoremediation biofuels pilot program established pursuant to this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii state energy office for the purposes of this Act.

PART III

SECTION 8. In accordance with section 9 of article VII of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii and sections 37-91 and 37-93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in this Act will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be exceeded by $ , or per cent. The reasons for exceeding the general fund expenditure ceiling are that the appropriations made in this Act are necessary to serve the public interest and to meet the needs addressed by this Act.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2060.

Report Title:

HSEO; DOA; DLNR; Renewable Energy Development and Food Security; Phytoremediation Biofuels Pilot Program; Report; Expenditure Ceiling; Appropriations

Description:

Requires the Hawaii State Energy Office, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources, to facilitate the private sector's development of renewable energy projects that also support agricultural food production. Makes various amendments to the requirements of solar energy facilities on lands with certain soil classifications. Establishes within the Hawaii State Energy Office a three-year Phytoremediation Biofuels Pilot Program to be conducted by the Hawaii State Energy Office in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources and requires a report to the Governor and Legislature. Declares that the general fund expenditure ceiling is exceeded. Makes appropriations and establishes an Interagency Liaison position within the Hawaii State Energy Office. Takes effect 1/1/2060. (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.