2019-08-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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Chair Bennett reiterated that the commission could do an educational piece about sewer connection, explaining how it will be costly but ways are being looked at to offset the costs. Ms. Mellon-Lacey said the commission per se is not charged with developing educational pieces but with advising the department to do things. Chair Bennett said they could develop recommendations for education and give them to the department. c. Discuss having future meetings scheduled for a Tuesday or Thursday. Chair Bennett explained that Commissioner Burns’ current schedule at the university has him teaching on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so he is asking if changing the meetings to a Tuesday or Thursday would present any problems. Commissioner Pequeño said it would be a problem for him and the only other day it might work would be the third Tuesday. Councilmember Kanealii-Kleinfelder said Tuesdays are not good for him, as he often has committee meetings on Tuesdays and council meetings on Wednesdays. For him, Thursdays are the best day. Chair Bennett said they would table this for further discussion later, as Commissioner Burns’ schedule may change next semester. 6. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE a. Chair’s Informational Report: • Chair Bennett said he has been involved in water quality monitoring for decades, and the indicators the state uses are fraught with error. He has been scouring scientific literature, looking for better indicators. Sucralose, which is the chemical name for the artificial sweetener Splenda, has popped up on the horizon. It is in over 400 products and is remarkably stable in the environment. Researchers have worked extensively in other areas of the world and are able to measure it in the water with great accuracy and precision. He contacted a university in Florida, and they informed him the charge is $50 to test a sample. He will be working on a privately funded project outside of the commission. It will involve about eleven cities around the coast who will be testing for sucralose, which may be the best fecal contamination indicator. When the results are in, he will share them with the commission. • The Planning Department is going through a General Plan update process. People can comment online, and he encourages the commissioners to comment where appropriate about water and wastewater planning. Director Kucharski pointed out that his department is commenting on both the wastewater and solid waste issues in the plan and working with the Planning Department on it. Once it is completed, he can extract their comments and provide them.