The cruise ships have handled their wastewater discharges under voluntary guidelines outlined in a state memorandum of agreement signed by former Gov. Ben Cayetano in October 2002.

State Health Department officials and the North West CruiseShip Association are proposing changes to the agreement that would set stricter guidelines on cruise ships. The changes would provide, for example, that ships report pollution incidents within 10 days and prepare for oil spills.

The guidelines would also require that the cruise lines tell the state by year's end about any discharges that violated the agreement since it was signed last year.

The public will see a presentation on details of the agreement and the proposed amendments at tomorrow night's meeting. Representatives from the Health Department, cruise-industry association and the Coast Guard will be available to answer questions.

Some lawmakers and environmentalists say the cruise industry should be regulated by law instead of provided guidelines under an agreement that carries no penalties for violations.

But cruise-ship association representatives said the memorandum of understanding holds the cruise lines to a higher standard of environmental practices than existing law. They also said they know of no violations of the agreement.

One key provision in the existing guidelines prohibits any wastewater discharge in the state's marine areas surrounding the Islands. That requirement would not change.

Larry Lau, state deputy director for environmental health, said the Health Department has started accompanying the Coast Guard on its inspections of cruise ships. The state and cruise lines also plan a working group to study the effectiveness of advanced on-board wastewater treatment systems that are used by ships in Alaska. If deployed here, the systems would allow cruise ships to discharge wastewater closer to shore.

House Energy and Environmental Protection chairwoman Rep. Hermina Morita, D-14th (Kapa'a, Hanalei), Rep. Brian Schatz D-25th (Makiki, Tantalus) and other lawmakers are drafting legislation that would impose stricter regulations on cruise discharges of blackwater and graywater — sewage and wastewater from ship cleaning and other activities.

A cruise-industry environmental-protection bill proposed last session in the Hawai'i Legislature did not make it out of the two transportation committees.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Cal Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City), has said he is opposed to the environmental proposals and will not consider them unless the cruise lines violate the memorandum of understanding.

But House Transportation Chairman Joe Souki, D-8th (Wailuku, Waiehu), said he plans to propose legislation that would either impose fines for violations of state environmental protections or codify the memorandum of understanding, with fines of $25,000 to $50,000 a day for infractions.

He said another option would be to add fines to the existing agreement.

"I don't have any major agenda at this point. ... I just want to put it up and have a hearing and see where it goes," Souki said of his proposal.