2018-03-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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resolution recognizes that absent funding, nothing is going to happen. There are programs in the U.S. where local governments partnering with nonprofit entities have decided to step up and exceed the legal requirements and not operate at the lowest common denominator. Suggesting here that we step up and raise the standard is not the law, but it would further the stewardship of our lands and waters. Vice Chair Olson said they needed to exceed the standard and not go below it. Commissioner Neff said the resolution would raise the bar. It would be a collective, unified way to address the problem. Education is key, and perhaps students could be used to take samples. Structure is needed. Commissioner Osborne said they needed an advisory council or something like it, and Chair Bennett said that was the logical next step. Commissioner Neff said you start with taking a step and progress is built on many, many steps. They were taking a step to help implement this. Commissioner Osborne said that if the County does not have the money, support mechanisms are needed, and an advisory council to address the constraints might help. The County needs some out-of-the-box thinking and support. It is the EMC’s kuleana to help Director Kucharski do the very best job he can do on behalf of the County. Vice Chair Olson said if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so they will ask and hopefully come up with ideas to motivate the broader community. Chair Bennett said the EPA has historically favorably looked upon community organizations to help with funding. They have an opportunity here to say, as a community, this is the ethic we want with our waters and we are willing to do what it takes to elevate the bar. He suggested placing on the next agenda the formation of subcommittees, which he believed he has the authority to appoint. Ms. Wong said committees would need to consist of two or more commissioners but less than a quorum, and the agenda would have to specify exactly what the scope of work will be. At the meeting after that, the committee would report back on their findings. Committee meetings are considered permitted interaction, and minutes are not required. Chair Bennett said he would be contacting Ms. Wong for more guidance on this. Vice Chair Olson said all the efforts they were talking about were made more than two decades ago. Files should be searched, and he will try to contact Peter Boucher, who worked on this issue for the department years ago. Chair Bennett said an organization called Waterkeeper Alliance International recently opened an Oahu chapter, and the editor is interested in forming a chapter for the island of Hawaiʻi. As a 501(c)(3) organization, they can request funds to do the kind of planning they were talking about. They may be able to facilitate a process that would be less governmental and more objective oriented. Their focus is stewardship of Hawaiʻi’s water resources, and they are very grassroots oriented. 4