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Minutes for Wednesday, October 24, 2001Page 2 of 4 <br />SOLID WASTE DIVISION CHIEF’S REPORT <br /> <br />As circulated. <br />WASTEWATER DIVISION CHIEF’S REPORT <br /> <br /> <br />Peter Boucher discussed the Brown and Caldwell Grease Disposal Study. Their recommendation for the <br />most expeditious method of handling grease would be to set up an area at the landfills, mixing the <br />grease with green waste and something else to absorb the grease, and then landfill it. <br />He received a copy of a letter from the Governor to the Mayor stating that there is no direct provision to <br />continuously appropriate money to the County for that purpose of taking over the individual wastewater <br />systems. 90% of all States run individual wastewater systems at a County level. The Governor is saying <br />there is no mechanism for the State to be funding this program on a continual basis. He is asking if the <br />County would accept a one-time payment. The County will probably not accept a one time payment for <br />that. If the State does not continue funding, the annual cost is approximately $140,000/year. By asking <br />the people of the County to absorb these additional fees, we are basically adding to the tax burden of <br />the County. It was anticipated that the money the State is spending on it now could be transferred to the <br />County to administer the program instead. It is possible to add a user fee to cover the individual <br />wastewater systems. Those users would be getting additional services such as an annual inspection of <br />the systems and better management of the overall system. This program is better run with the building <br />permit process. Most Counties’ funds come from a combination of State funding, generation of fees for <br />review purposes, along with local County revenues. Gerald Takase stated that there is a constitutional <br />mandate that says whenever the State transfers programs to the County, they need to fund those <br />programs. <br />Response to DOH Re: Kealakehe Treatment Plan is not acceptable. They need a definitive timetable for <br />implementing reuse in Kona. <br />Mayor has signed the Development Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the design of <br />the wetlands. They have conceptual plans in place and preliminary engineering design of the subsurface <br />wetlands. They are being reviewed now. <br />DENNIS TULANG, STATE DOH, WASTEWATER BRANCH – Annual Operations and Maintenance <br /> <br />Inspections of Wastewater Facilities <br /> <br />Wastewater Branch is comprised of the Grants Management Section (SRF Loans), Planning/Design Section <br />(Review Plans and Specifications), and Construction Operations Section (O & M Inspections). If your effluent <br />discharges on land or into the ground, it is the responsibility of the Wastewater Branch. Wastewater Advisory <br />Committees were set up to reevaluate the way wastewater was managed at a state level. Each committee made <br />recommendations to the Director on which areas should be prohibited or restricted from using cesspools. It was a <br />time when a cesspool was the preferred choice. Cesspools were allowed in the areas that they would least likely <br />affect drinking water or near shore waters. Those recommendations have been incorporated into the rules. We are <br />proposing new rules which are going to be sent to the Governor for approval to go to public hearing. In those new <br />rules, the proposal is to ban new cesspools entirely throughout the whole State. There is a proposal requiring <br />registration of all waste pumpers. Must keep a manifest of all their pumpings and where they dispose of it to <br />hopefully minimize the problem of illegal dumping. All public facilities cannot use cesspools. <br />DENIS LAU, STATE DOH, CLEAN WATER BRANCH – NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge <br /> <br />Elimination System) Permitting <br /> <br />Tasked to implement provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. <br />Federally delegated program. If your effluent discharges into a body of water, it becomes the responsibility of the <br />Clean Water Branch. The Clean Water Branch consists of four different functions: Engineering, Monitoring (Water <br />Quality Monitoring), Enforcement, and Pollutant Runoff Control Program. Treatment plants are inspected annually. <br />After the Wastewater Division responds to Unacceptable Rating, there should be a letter from DOH acknowledging <br />file://C:\Test1\minutes102401.htm6/22/2011 <br /> <br />