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<br />ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION <br />COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI <br /> <br />MEETING MINUTES <br /> <br />Wednesday, February 28, 2018 <br />9:08 a.m. to 11:41 a.m. <br />Aupuni Center Conference Room <br />101 Pauahi Street, Suite 1 <br />Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720 <br /> <br />Commissioners present: <br />Richard Bennett, Ph.D., Chair <br />Jon Olson, Vice Chair <br />Jamees Fritz <br />Jeffry Fear <br />Susie Osborne <br /> <br />Staff present: <br />William Kucharski, Director <br />Diane Noda, Deputy Director <br />Keyra Wong, Deputy Corporation Counsel <br />Mary Fujio, Secretary <br /> <br /> <br />1. CALL TO ORDER <br /> <br /> Chair Bennett called the meeting to order at 9:08 a.m. <br /> <br />2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 10, 2018 <br /> <br /> Motion and vote: Vice Chair Olson moved to approve the minutes, Commissioner Fritz <br />seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. <br /> <br />3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS <br /> <br /> Two people had signed up to testify: Cory Harden and Jerome Warren. <br /> <br /> Ms. Harden testified that she was glad to see the EMC was taking up the Ninth Circuit <br />Court opinion (Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund vs. County of Maui), which ruled that if there are <br />wastewater disposal sumps or injection wells, then the groundwater conveys the pollutants into <br />coastal waters and an NPDES permit is required. Honokōhau Harbor has a problem with this, as <br />does the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant, due to the wastewater that goes into the ground <br />and eventually to the ocean. Big fines can be issued, and everyone is asking where the money is <br />to fix this. She is in support of taking action to comply with the ruling. <br /> <br /> Mr. Warren testified about having seen on television Chair Bennett’s recent presentation <br />to the County Council. He noticed that Na Leo TV listed Chair Bennett as having an LLC <br />company, but there was no mention of it at the Council meeting. He feels that is cronyism, and <br />that all cronies hire consultants. Though Chair Bennett is his council district’s commissioner, all <br />his presentations are about Kona, and he has no interest in the Pāhala area. Mr. Warren would <br />call Chair Bennett’s interest in wastewater “utopias.” Regarding Pāhala, legislation is moving <br /> <br />