2019-06-26 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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and should be assured they are getting nutrient reduction. Commissioner Burns agreed they could keep it a simple plan to see how it is going. Chair Bennett said another reason for the monitoring is because they have the opportunity to do so. It cannot be done with the cesspools, and now that Kealakehe has been chosen as the primary wastewater treatment site for West Hawaiʻi, it is incumbent on them to assure that the already degraded waters immediately off shore are not being further degraded. Those waters are critical to the future. They do not want to lose the opportunity to do monitoring. A focal point is being created which is going to create concentrated discharge, and they need to know what the long-term ramifications are. Vote: All commissioners voted aye. Chair Bennett said that on multiple occasions they are told how horrible the cesspool problem is, and no one disputes that. However, the EMC cannot do anything about it, as it is outside their purview. They are going to work on what they can work on, as provided by the Charter. This does not mean the cesspool problem is any less important, however. 5. NEW BUSINESS Discuss possible options for providing sewer service to the non-sewered residences on Aliʻi Drive and in the Keauhou Makai areas. Chair Bennett said a number of people in the community are talking about this, and he does not know all the options. He asked the director about grant funds to hire an engineer to look at the options. Director Kucharski said he does not recall a grant for Aliʻi Drive. Although the legislature spoke about providing such monies, he is not aware that they came through. Puakō also has issues. If sewering could be done, an issue to address is whether the public sewer could be connected to a private treatment system. Either the private system would need to be condemned and turned into a county system, or the county would build and sell a public sewer to a private entity and make people connect. It sounds simple, but the devil is in the details. The technical solution is simple, but the political solution is more difficult. Director Kucharski spoke on a $2.2 million state CIP grant for Puakō, which requires a 20% match from the county, to look at all the engineering issues. As the Mauna Lani system is near, the options on how it can be used will be looked at. It is possible that what happens with Puakō can be applied to Aliʻi Drive, which is in the same situation. DEM will be putting out a professional services contract on Puakō, and he is looking at draft language. Commissioner Gaffney said the parallel process is under way in Kona. Cindi Punihaole Kennedy of the Kahaluʻu Bay Education Center, part of the Kohala Center, met with Councilmember Villegas and Roy Takemoto of the Mayor’s Office, who was there to answer some of the questions from the administration’s perspective. Mr. Takemoto is seeking answers on some of these concerns, and Councilmember Villegas is very interested