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DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT LETTER REPORT: PILOT STUDY ON LONG- HAULING TO WEST HAWAII SANITARY LANDFILL July 25, 2012 Since 1992, various studies have recommended more than one alternative for the disposal of solid waste in Hawai'i County. Among the recommendations in the 2002 Updated Integrated Resources and Solid Waste Management Plan (IRSWMP), two of the recommendations stated "construct no new landfills in East Hawaii ", and "procure a waste reduction facility for the East Hawaii waste stream using either mass -burn waste -to- energy, thermal gasification, or anaerobic digestion technology ". Subsequent to adoption of the 2002 Updated IRSWMP, the County issued two (2) requests for proposals (RFP) for construction of a waste reduction facility. The first RFP issued in 2004 was cancelled by the County prior to award. The second RFP was issued in 2006 and later awarded to Wheelabrator Technologies for the construction of a mass -burn waste -to- energy facility at the County -owned South Hilo Sanitary Landfill (SHSL). In 2008, due to higher than anticipated construction and operation costs, the County Council rejected the second RFP. The 2009 Updated IRSWMP made residual management strategy recommendations including evaluating the feasibility and cost - effectiveness of developing a new lined landfill adjacent to the SHSL site and long- hauling solid waste to the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill (WHSL) site taking into account hauling operations, haul routes, traffic issues and equipment acquisition plans. In 2011, the Department of Environmental Management executed a contract with R.W. Beck to perform this evaluation and provide a report. The Hilo Landfill Feasibility Study (HLFS) report was finalized in March 28, 2012 which evaluated the technical, economic, environmental, socioeconomic and regulatory /permitting feasibility of landfilling adjacent to the SHSL. R.W. Beck updated and refined the planning level cost estimates presented in the 2009 Updated IRSWMP for landfilling and long- hauling from SHSL to WHSL. As summarized in R.W. Beck's report, the resulting net cost for landfilling ranged from $70 /ton to $130 /ton (excluded were financing costs) depending upon the method of leachate treatment. The resulting net cost for long- hauling ranged from $53 /ton to $57 /ton depending on variations in individual cost components of loading and hauling. This also included the estimated savings derived from a lower disposal rate for landfilling the east side tonnage at WHSL. If the cost savings for landfilling at WHSL are excluded, the net cost for long- hauling would range from $67 /ton to $ 71 /to n. R.W. Beck's opinion was that while technically feasible, permitting and land use constraints, and leachate management issues made design and permitting of a landfill expansion impractical and uneconomical. Moreover, based on the updated and refined planning level cost estimates, long- hauling from SHSL to WHSL was a potentially feasible and more cost - effective disposal alternative. The report's final recommendation was to update the February 2004 traffic impact assessment prepared for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the East Hawaii Regional Sort Station. 1