2017-04-26 Environmental Management Commission Minutes

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c. Possible Input from Commission on Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Draft Environmental Assessments (EAs) • Chair Fritz cautioned that this may involve a lot of paperwork that the commission may not really want. Dr. Bennett is not suggesting that the commission has to review all documents, but the commission should at least receive notice of what is issued. Renee Schoen stated the Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) website publishes a comprehensive list. Dr. Bennett noted there is a list of County departments that receive EAs (e.g., Planning Dept., Fire Dept.) so the commission could write to the departments and request copies of the EA notices. Ms. Noda will check with the other departments about the Commission receiving notices. 7. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE: a. Director's Report - see written report • In response to Mr. Fear's inquiry regarding the reinstatement of educational funds for recycling, Director Kucharski stated there are educational funds in the HER composting contract, and he will check whether it's specifically for recycling. • Unfortunately, when budget priorities are required, the department can request the educational funds, but not all requests will be approved. For the upcoming fiscal year, the department has been instructed to keep its budget `flat' (same amount as last year). • DEM needs to fight littering, Mr. Fear shouldn't have to organize beach cleanups. Mr. Fear mentioned that a group of Minnesota kids saw a beach clean-up video, and will use one day of their vacation here to help with a beach clean up on May 19th. b. Commissioners' Reports (by district): • District 6: Dr. Bennett introduced Jim Satoris, who worked with the Department of Interior, Department of Reclamation, and the subsistence flow at Kealakehe in 2001. He's encouraged Mr. Satoris to apply for EMC. Our reclaimed water contains a lot of salt, so we need to manage it better. Director Kucharski should inform Consultants that when they prepare their water budget, they need to look at the water needed for salt management. In deserts, like the area around Kona airport, irrigation & salt management needs to be addressed pro-actively. • District 8: Mr. Fear reported there is staph (Staphylococcus Aureus) in the sand at the Old Airport and Pinetrees, as examples. More water sampling is needed, as the County sewer plant is near there. The staph goes into the sand, and kids get rashes all over their bodies when they don't rinse off well. There are many reasons/sources for bacteria; for example, people defecate in the open when the bathrooms are broken. Director Kucharski will check on test results for the wastewater discharge, because there should not be any raw sewage in the water, as all discharge is first disinfected.