2020-05-27 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Advertiser was written by a Kona resident who said the County of Hawaiʻi’s plants have similar operations to the Lahaina plant. Commissioner Gaffney said the Supreme Court’s decision is a huge topic being discussed throughout the state. The bottom line is that Maui County has essentially been told they can no longer use groundwater as a dumping point because of its clear connection to the ocean. It is a violation of the Clean Water Act to dump barely treated sewage into the groundwater. The ruling has a direct impact here, because the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant is putting 1.8 million gallons per day into an open pit which is basically a lava tube that is .6 of a mile from Honokōhau Harbor. The USGS and others put tracers in the sump behind the Kealakehe Police Station, and it is clear the water is moving directly under the ocean. There are also other places on our island that likely have similar violations of the Clean Water Act. The Honokaʻa sewage plant uses injection wells less than a half mile from the ocean, which is a clear violation. There are also private examples, such as the Mauna Lani Resort, which uses injection wells close to the ocean. This is a major issue for the commission and for the Environmental Management Department. It is his strong hope that Hawaiʻi County will not take the same attitude as Maui County, which argued that it was okay to do what they were doing in Lahaina despite it being pointed out as wrong at various court levels. It is clear that what Hawaiʻi County is doing is wrong, but the county could decide to do what Maui County did, which is to continue to fight it. This would be wrong in several ways. It would be a violation of the public trust if our elected officials were to allow what is a clear violation of the Clean Water Act to continue. It would also be a clear violation of the Clean Water Act itself, and therefore potentially very expensive for the county to continue to do. Lastly, it is just flat wrong. It is not pono to be taking water resources, polluting them, and pumping them into the ocean. For all these reasons, it is incumbent on the commission to push very hard on the county, elected representatives, mayor, and administration to do the right thing and proceed to solutions rather than argue that the law does not need to be followed because the county is not doing what Maui was doing, or because the Ninth Circuit has not been heard from regarding the solution to the Supreme Court’s ruling. It is time for this to be taken on. The commissioners discussed what approach to take to put pressure on the county. Commissioner Gaffney felt a multi-pronged approach was needed. The commissioners should communicate with their respective councilmembers, with DEM, and with the administration, and they should get the word out to the public to educate them on why it is wrong and has to be fixed. The common thing for the county to do is hire a consulting firm like Brown and Caldwell and ask them to come up with solutions. However, this has led the county to the current situation with the Pāhala and Nāālehu treatment plantsʻ, and it may not be the best solution. The county has not seemed to grasp the opportunities presented by public-private partnerships. This is a solution-oriented presentation that needs to be made to the County Council and administration continuously so that the county can get to the point where they can provide reclaimed water, upgrade it to the point where it is legal for reuse, and create the necessary distribution lines. Motion and second: Commissioner Fulton moved that a letter be sent to Councilmember Richards and the County Council, requesting they invite private entities in to 5