Executive Summary of Integrated Resources & Solid Waste Management Plan Update - Dec 2009

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After these studies are complete, the County will be able to decide whether trucking waste from the Reload Facility to the WHSL or construction and operation of a new landfill within the quarry site adjacent to the SHSL is the preferred solution for managing the County's waste stream. In addition to these two primary options, during each subsequent solid waste management plan review period, the County should continue to evaluate whether or not to issue an RFP for a conversion technology for part, or all, of the County's residuals management stream. This Plan outlines the future direction for County programs during a 5 -year implementation period. It is expected that other opportunities will no doubt arise that the County may find advantageous to pursue. One such opportunity currently in the preliminary planning stages is partnering with other counties to implement collaborative programs that may result in improved efficiency and benefits not available through each county's current waste management systems. Other Big Island projects may develop that would provide opportunities to process organic materials and convert them into soil products that could be used to support land development (including commercial projects and County projects such as regional parks), especially in West Hawaii. It is important that the County continue to consider future long -term options that may have synergy with other County needs and opportunities. This section provides a draft implementation plan for the County of Hawaii IRSWMP update. During preparation of this Plan, the County has become immersed in a fiscal crisis resulting from the current worldwide economic recession. The County general fund has shrunk considerably affecting all County services, including solid waste management. In this environment, the funding and implementation of both existing services and the new initiatives outlined in this Plan are in question. Thus, the implementation plan that follows will be modified as the County works its way through this fiscal crisis. The DEM will make every effort to implement programs as shown below, but fiscal realities are likely to slow and alter the implementation plan outlined in this document. Further, the County may elect to use any and all funding methods that become available, rather than relying on a PAYT system. The implementation plan includes a series of recommendations by Plan topic, and includes estimated expenditures for each recommendation during each year of the 5 -year planning cycle. Implementation plan recommendations are grouped by funding mechanism into two categories: 1) those that would be implemented and funded through the County's solid waste fund (operations), and 2) those that would be implemented and funded through the County's capital improvement program (CIP). The draft implementation plan for operations is shown in Exhibit ES -1; the draft CIP is shown in Exhibit ES -2. The expenses are organized by Plan section, with a page number reference to indicate where the recommendation is discussed in the Plan. Programs that SWAC felt were of a high priority for implementing December 2009 ES -7