Proposed cesspool refit too costly for most property owners
The Hawaii Department of Health has continuously approved cesspools on the Big Island and this permitting process contiunues.
They have now decided to force every landowner to retrofit a septic tank within 180 days of sale. The cost of such refit is $15,000 to a much larger amount depending on the size and slope of the land. This would mean that every homeowner with a cesspool would have $15,000 plus in equity immediately wiped out. It will be like an additional mortgage on every such property. In many cases, this equity is an elder person’s retirement or life savings.
The DOH states that this need to convert all existing cesspools to septic tanks is necessary to protect clean water. Clearly clean water is a common public good and must be protected. However, it is unconscionable for this burden to be placed on a minority of 90,000 homeowners with cesspools. If this is effectively a tax, then it should be in exclusive province of the Legislature not in the mandate of unelected bureaucrats at DOH. Furthermore, the Constitution, as I understand it, forbids government taking private property without just compensation.
Ninety thousand remediations times $15,000-plus each, equals $1,350,000,000 at least. This is a clearly unaffordable number.
If government does the right thing and takes on responsibility for such massive remediation, it must prioritize the critical areas. The DOH is trying to declare the entire state a critical wastewater disposal area without exemption or exception. This is contrary to science and the DOH’s own map showing differing risk profiles on the Big Island.
Before moving forward, the DOH should undertake a comprehensive study of the Big Island, as it did for Oahu, specifically including the economic impacts.
Rick Vidgen
Kailua-Kona