2017-10-25 Environmental Management Commission Minutes

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Vice Chair Bennett said he would refer Ms. Morrison to the EPA’s 303(d) listing, which shows that virtually every water body on the west side of the island is impaired. The law requires that impairment be terminated and remediated through the TMDL process, but this island has no TMDL process. It is the State’s obligation, and they have completely dropped the ball. He said he would advise Ms. Morrison to say that basically every near shore community has coastal impact issues. Ms. Morrison said one of the things they could look at is land use and how it could be planned that new coastal communities need to be sewered. Vice Chair Bennett said they need to think outside the box. Ms. Morrison said the state legislature passed various rules and regulations, and there was a recent act requiring that household aerobic systems not discharge directly into the groundwater. Where that might be happening here and working with the DOH might also be considered. Vice Chair Bennett asked what a household aerobic unit is, and Director Kucharski said the ones here do essentially secondary treatment. It is not a septic system. Ms. Morrison said it has implications in places like Kapoho, where there is groundwater near the surface. Ms. Morrison said they wanted to highlight the overlap of water use and conservation issues, recognizing that all water is a resource to be conserved and used appropriately. Water issues are not limited to coastal areas, as there are urban areas with cesspools that may be failing. They could query the DOH on the failure rates. Vice Chair Bennett asked what constitutes a failing system, and Ms. Morrison said a cesspool that does not function properly. Commissioner Olson said cesspools are just a hole in the ground with a lid on it, and they are collapsing in on themselves. Vice Chair Bennett said there are some places where a cesspool fails when it fills up and you get standing water on your lawn. He said the state does not have good data on failing systems. UH-Manoa did a study looking at failing septic systems, and about 60% are failing right now. It is a huge problem. Ms. Morrison said the General Plan encourages inter-agency collaboration, so even though some issues fall under the state, we all need to work together on solutions. Comment from a member of the public: Jerome Warren commented that according to the EPA, a cesspool fails when the plume reaches groundwater. Ms. Morrison continued with the presentation. Another issue is the use of large capacity cesspools and the efforts under way to convert them. A section of Act 125 talks about qualified cesspools and how they can be certified to be appropriate for connection to a sewer system. She said this is an example of where our state legislators are well intentioned, but a county like ours is left with lots of questions on how to deal with a law like this. 5