2018-03-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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Director Kucharski said a main issue is with the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which is generally associated on the mainland to a watershed and surface waters. States have spent a lot of money to determine where pollution is coming from in their surface waters, because those are managed by the Clean Water Act. In Hawaiʻi, the impacts are not from rivers flowing into the ocean but from groundwater flowing into the ocean. He does not have an objection to the terminology, as it is a term of art that is probably appropriate. However, the issue of going above and beyond the regulatory requirement is not a decision he can make. It is very difficult to have a law laid out, from the federal government down to the state, which will impose a difficult financial situation, and then decide to exceed that law. It is easy to say yes, we’ll do everything, but if the money is not there, how do we follow through? In a perfect world with unlimited funds, he would fully accept this and move forward. However, in a practical sense, he cannot see the Commission’s resolution having much impact on the County’s decision- making process. It is problematic for DEM to go beyond the requirements of the law, because it would require significantly more funds. It is nice in theory, but given their financial restrictions, it would be difficult to come in and do more than is required when they’re struggling now to meet the standards. Additionally, the County’s plants and discharges are not causing the groundwater impacts, in his opinion. He believes the impacts are from individual home units and not from treatment facilities. DEM has six treatment facilities, and less than 30% of the homes are connected to those systems. What would make a difference in water quality is focusing on cesspool closures and modifications to ensure that when cesspools are replaced, they are replaced with systems that will improve the water quality rather than be a different source for the same negative impact. It is not his role to object to the resolution, but those are his thoughts. Commissioner Fritz asked why the cost would be so high, as chlorine is used to treat the water; and Director Kucharski explained the chlorine is to take care of the bacterial content of the water. It is his opinion that nutrients are impairing the water quality, and chlorine does not pull out the nutrients. Chair Bennett said we do not know what microorganisms are moving or not moving in our coastal water, because the appropriate technology is not applied there. In the absence of that data, we cannot make conclusions about anything. Director Kucharski thanked him for the clarification, saying he had expressed his point poorly. Commissioner Osborne asked whether there is a system gap between the state law mentioned in the resolution (Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules, Section 11-54) and the systems in place if the predominant polluters are not from the County level. Director Kucharski said there are significant areas of waters that are not Class A and which do not have discharges. The DOH makes the water quality determinations. Chair Bennett said this matter is on the agenda because the federal court said unequivocally that the groundwaters contaminate the ocean. The intent of the resolution is to have the County step up and say it will do everything in its power, time and money permitting, to contribute no further to the contamination. The state government, and to some extent the County, is going to ask the people to spend about a half a billion dollars, just for Hawaiʻi island, to upgrade from cesspits to septic systems. This is not a sound policy choice based on science. If people are being asked to step up, the County government should step up, too. In closing, the 3