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MR. KUROHARA: Thank you. <br />CHR. HAITSUKA: We have Mr. Lee here, I believe. <br />MR. MASUDA: Mr. Chairman, before you go to Public Works, is the Commission going to <br />recall Environmental Management? We have Mr. Torigoe here. <br />(Note: At this time, Ivan Torigoe, Deputy Director, Department of Environmental Management, <br />came forward to address the members of the Commission.) <br />CHR. HAITSUKA: Mr. Torigoe, you wanted to address the Commission? <br />MR. TORIGOE: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Not necessarily, but I just wanted to report to <br />you that last time I was here I said we were going to have a meeting of the Environmental <br />Management Commission on May 27, 2009. Unfortunately, we had a quorum until the night <br />before, and then that fell apart. We have not been able to consult with that Commission. We <br />are hoping to do so at the next meeting, which is going to be July 29, 2009. Unless you have <br />any questions, that's all I had to report. <br />MS. JARMAN: I think I had asked you to go back and talk to the Director, and maybe the <br />Commission, about adding Energy to you instead of having it in Research and Development. <br />Did you have a chance to have that discussion? Or is that still planned, and you can report <br />later? <br />MR. TORIGOE: I can tell you, just generally, what the Director's leans are at this point. As <br />this Commission has noted, Research and Development is a pretty broad spectrum, as <br />opposed to Environmental Management, really being focused on controlling certain basic <br />impacts on the environment and people on the island, namely solid waste and wastewater. <br />The Environmental Management Department's expertise is focused in that way, and we are <br />really not equipped or staffed to take on the primary role in helping in terms of energy and <br />food sustainability. In that sense, we would tend to rather see it stay with Research and <br />Development, which I think is better geared toward attacking these sustainability types of <br />questions. That's the general direction that I've gotten from the Director at this point. <br />Again, these are all matters that we want to take to the Environmental Management <br />Commission to get further input. <br />MS. KAWAUCHI: As a follow up to Casey's comment, energy also consists of waste to <br />energy as well. There is sustainability as well as waste to energy, so do you have any <br />comment on that? <br />MR. TORIGOE: Again, that would be kind of a by- product of the general mission of the <br />department, to control the solid waste flow. That's just one small part of the entire <br />sustainability and energy equation. We think that broader questions or approaches about <br />energy sustainability would probably be handled better by Research and Development. <br />21 <br />