COM 0492.001 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

The Project Area is a mix of single-family,duplex.apartment,vacant land,and commercial uses totaling approximately 43 acres(see EXHIBIT B). Most of the properties use cesspools with a few on septic systems. The Project will connect to and be part of the County's North Kona Sewer System that conveys the sewage to the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Project will be installed entirely within the existing County road rights-of-way,with the exception of downstream segments that will require easements over private property to connect to the sewer main in Hualalai Road. B. Purpose and Need The tmtreated cesspool leachates have a high potential to contaminate grotmdwater,especially in the highly permeable lava rock substrate of this area. Because the Project Area is within the Department of Health's Critical Wastewater Disposal Area and less than a mile from the shoreline,there is a probability for contaminated groundwater to seep into the nearshore coastal waters. To stem further water quality degradation from cesspools,the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)banned large capacity cesspools pursuant to the Underground Injection Control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act.' The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)regulations required all large capacity cesspools to be replaced by an alternative wastewater system by April 5, 2005. EPA started issuing violation notices to property owners within the Project Area in 2010. Several property owners within the Project Area have received such violation notices from EPA. One means to comply with EPA is to replace the cesspool with an onsite septic system. However,the Project Area is a higher density urbanized area where the lot sizes generally do not have sufficient area for onsite disposal systems that require leach fields. Thus,a sewer system is the most cost-effective means to comply with EPA requirements. In new developments,the County requires the developer to install the sewer system where appropriate. In this case,the Project Area is an older subdivision pre-dating sewer requirements and now needs to retrofit a sewer system. The County's primary role in terms of providing sewer service is to provide the backbone components—the main transmission lines,pump stations for these main transmission lines,treatment plants and reuse/disposal systems. The local collection systems are the responsibility of the developer or property owners. However,for retrofit situations such as this Project,while government recognizes that property owners should pay for local collection systems,government can play a proactive role to organize the community,advance costs to mobilize the process,and seek subsidies as appropriate to ensure affordability. C. Project Financing The property owners connecting to the proposed sewer system will be responsible to pay for the Project development costs through the Improvement District assessments. To assist with the financing,the County applied to the U.S.Department of Agriculture(USDA)Rural Development,Rural Utilities Water 2 EPA defines a cesspool to be a"large-capacity cesspool"as follows: Residential multiple-dwelling,community, or regional systems(e.g.,townhouse complexes or apartment buildings)that dispose of sanitary waste,or Non- residential cesspools that have the capacity to serve 20 or more persons per day(e.g.,rest areas or churches)if the cesspools receive solely sanitary waste. LOYO KO A SEWER IMPROVEMENT DISTRKT DIREC`TOR'S REPORT