2017-10-25 Environmental Management Commission Minutes

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Vice Chair Bennett asked if there are guidelines presently that are impediments, such as the Water Reuse Guidelines. Ms. Morrison said there are some Greywater Guidelines that are not adopted in our County, so they would ask to have that done so the systems are put into residential use. Vice Chair Bennett said the Green Amendments should be included, as they speak in much greater detail about wastewater reuse. However, when the County adopted the 2002 UPC, they chose not to ratify a number of the chapters. Ms. Morrison said they would like a lot of amendments to the Code. They could potentially require water reuse for large developments through the Zoning Code, depending on how large the lot is. They could require a connection to a private sewer system, if available, instead of to a public system. For example, in Waikoloa they have a private system, but not all folks are required to connect. It is another potential direction. For wastewater funding, they could look at adding some fee adjustments to recuperate some of the costs, as well as proactively seek grant funding for wastewater development. There is also a potential for private/public partnerships in building expansions or new facilities. For solid waste, again the issues need to be understood and attention paid to laws of particular note. The state requires there be an Integrated Solid Waste Management Report, which she understands is being started. The report will provide them with some targets and goals. Annual reports are also required, so they can check on how well the goals are being met. On recycling efforts, there has been discussion on how to increase commercial recycling. Again, they are working with DEM to understand what the challenges are and how to overcome them to increase recycling efforts. The enforcement of illegal dumping and littering laws does not necessarily fall into a DEM bucket, and they are working with the Police Department and Prosecutor’s Office to understand the implications of those laws. Comment from a member of the public: A woman suggested looking at the Environmental Court. Comment from a member of the public: A man said there should be some public education propaganda from the department regarding under-consumption. Our habits need to be looked at, such as our single use of plastic bottles. Ms. Morrison said she heard a disturbing snippet on Hawaiʻi Public Radio that the USA produces the most waste of any country in the world. Michael Yee, the Planning Director, spoke. He said he did not know if the comment was inferring that the Planning Department should be doing the education. Planning puts the framework into a plan. The plan is owned by every department in the county. If education is needed, he would generally say it is not a Planning function. 7