2017-11-28 Environmental Management Commission Minutes

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outreach is starting in Pāhala. There will be focus groups and meetings starting in mid- December. The schedule is tight and there can’t be a lot of hiccups, or they’ll run into trouble with the EPA and their compliance schedule. They also had focus group meetings on the R-1 system in Kona. They had environmental groups, local Hawaiian groups, and business and recreational people. They discussed the system and what can and cannot be done. The meetings went well. They are proceeding on the aeration upgrade and sludge removal in Kealakehe. It should be finished in mid-January or February. The contractor went bankrupt, so DEM is dealing with the performance bond, which pays all the costs. Therefore, it does not cost the County additional money except for the oversight needed. Meetings have been held on the closure of the Hilo Landfill, which will be happening within the next year. The first phase is to stop taking waste, and the second phase is the actual closure. The closure involves capping the landfill. Public meetings were held in both Hilo and Kona. They are in reasonably good shape on this. Commissioner Olson asked about whether the methane could be captured when the landfill closes. Director Kucharski said that they’ve never been able to capture enough to have a recovery system. The landfill has passive venting which is not expected to increase once it is closed. There is no economical way to capture the small amounts of methane. In addition, the limited value and disruption to the community and area would not warrant it. It is a strange landfill that does not act like any other. The methane is just not there. Commissioner Fear asked about the compost facility in Hilo. Director Kucharski said a location had been picked, but it was rejected because the EA was not done appropriately. So they are looking at three alternative sites and evaluating them. They will come up with a preferred site and have a detailed EA done. Commissioner Fear asked about the trucking of waste to Puʻuanahulu and whether a search would be done for an East Hawaiʻi landfill site. Director Kucharski said no. The Puʻuanahulu landfill has a conservative life span of 50 years. If they really work at it, they could get, at the current rates, somewhere from 100 to 150 years’ capacity. Commissioner Fear asked whether the cost in fuel and trucks would outweigh looking for a new Hilo site, and Director Kucharski said those costs are embedded in the projected costs. The development cost for a new landfill, getting a site, doing the surveying, and going through the whole EIS would cost more than making the truck trips to Puʻuanahulu. (Commissioner Vidgen left the meeting at 11:12 a.m.) Commissioner Olson said the commercial and residential waste should be gone through at a much higher rate to further reduce what goes into the landfill and the amount of trucking being done. With point-of-purchase fees, getting stuff off the island becomes possible—it came here and it goes out, and it doesn’t live here. He would prefer the rubbish leave the island rather than be buried here. 10