2018-03-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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Regarding the Maui ruling (Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund vs. County of Maui, No. 15-17447), Vice Chair Olson said he heard that Maui County will be receiving funds to oppose the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling and take it to the Supreme Court. Director Kucharski said he is not surprised about the appeal, as the Clean Water Act is historically about surface water, and the ruling extended it to the groundwater and waters of the U.S. From his perspective, it was a broad extension and will have large ramifications. Commissioner Fear: He asked Director Kucharski if he had been able to look into the discharge of water on Aliʻi Drive next to Huliheʻe Palace, and Director Kucharski apologized, explaining he would need to find a hydrogeologist familiar with the area, and he has not been able to. He is not sure what is causing it, but it is not any kind of manmade discharge that he is aware of. He is not sure who to go to, as it would need to be someone familiar with both the geology and hydrogeology. Commissioner Fear asked if they could get someone to test the water, and Director Kucharski said he could send a request to the state. DEM does not have the appropriate type of sampling equipment. Commissioner Fear said the water is coming out like a hydrant. If you walk along the seawall, by Kanuha Beach, it is just outside the jetty there. The sewage plant is across the street. The discharge is milky and polluting the bay. There is an area behind the County yard where the springs were filled up, and it has to be coming right through the sewer system. Chair Bennett suggested that Director Kucharski contact Neil Mukai, as he would have instrumentation. (Neil Mukai is with the Clean Water Branch in Kona.) He also said the water quality lab at NELHA now provides testing services for the public, though it is a little pricey. A woman observing the meeting spoke up and said she is from NELHA. She said that if Mr. Mukai collects the sample, she can have it tested. Commissioner Fritz obtained the woman’s business card and contact information. Her name is Pam Madden, and she is a water quality specialist. Commissioner Fritz: He explained that one reason he wanted to be on the EMC is because he is a major user of the Puʻuanahulu Landfill. He sees load after load of wood from construction sites along the coast being dumped rather than recycled. He asked Director Kucharski if wood that is termite treated can shredded and turned into mulch, and Director Kucharski said if the wood is chemically treated and not good for termites, then it is probably not good for anything else that is alive. It would not be something to compost. Commissioner Fritz asked how the construction of the waste-to-energy plant (Waikoloa BioEnergy Hawaiʻi) is going, and Director Kucharski said he believed they were in the permitting phase with the DOH. The facility and any emissions need to be permitted, and it is handled by the DOH. He met with them about five months ago, and they indicated they had the funding and would be getting the permits. The main issue is the amount of waste the facility will require—it comes to about 60% of all the waste produced on the island. It is a big waste stream and is the same one for the food products the County is looking at for its composting facility, so there are competing interests. The County has no control mechanism over where that waste 9