2018-02-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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We’ll need to figure out what we need and get it done. The County is not going to have a voice. We are not being asked but told what to do. The consequences are going to be economic, and it is unavoidable. (2) Status of Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant Maintenance. Director Kucharski said the maintenance is essentially complete. There are some issues with punchlist items. The dredging has been terminated. (3) Discussion of R-1 water management. Beginning in 2020, DEM will be creating R-1 water. Once that happens, they will need to expand their capacity and capabilities to manage its distribution. They will be required to ensure that anyone connected to it has appropriate DOH permits, and they will need to bill, meter, and repair meters and service lines. None of this is being done yet, as the system doesn’t exist. They will need to essentially create a new division of the Wastewater Division to deal with the R-1 management. They will also need to upgrade their operators to Class IV operators, and they will need another crew for the R-1 treatment. They have a hard 2020 deadline for this. They are not there but are working toward it. Chair Bennett said this is a brilliant step in the right direction and a breath of fresh air. Commissioner Fritz asked whether storage facilities are a part of the plan, and Director Kucharski said they have storage tanks but not additional storage facilities. The discharge volume is 1.8 million gallons per day. The current users max at about 500 million gallons per day. They need a plan to discharge 100% of the production, denitrified and with phosphorous removed, via the sump. He speculated that because of the Ninth Circuit decision, some private facilities may get out of the business and use the County’s R-1 water, and there are potential developments and parks coming up. Water sustainability is something that is required for our survival. It is not optional. (4) A brief report on where all the wastewater treatment plants are that the County owns or manages, the communities they serve, and how the water is processed and disposed of (requested by Chair Bennett). Director Kucharski had provided a handout that summarized all the facilities the County has with maps of the services areas showing what is sewered and what is not. He said the commissioners were also provided, via email, with copies of every NPDES permit, discharge permit, and injection well permit for all the identified facilities. Chair Bennett said this information was good to know, and it showed communities what they could do to reduce the impacts from wastewater discharges. Director Kucharski said there is an organization that provides information for homeowners on what they should and should not put down their drains and how to use garbage disposals wisely.