2018-07-26 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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• He ran an idea past Dr. Roger Babcock of UH, which is to retrofit cesspits with the Stony Brook Sand System. It is a crude idea, but he is hopeful they can get some funding to test it out. In closing, Chair Bennett quoted a New York senator who said they are committed to developing and commercializing something affordable to replace their hundreds of thousands of aging septic systems. The state of New York is actively seeking to remove septic systems, while the state of Hawaiʻi is talking about installing them. Something is amiss here. If any commissioners are aware of funding sources, let him know so that he and Dr. Babcock can get started. Also, commissioners should keep their eyes open for alternatives to traditional septic systems that are more appropriate for the state and the County of Hawaiʻi. Commissioner Gaffney thanked Chair Bennett for the presentation and added that he volunteered at the last meeting to look into international options for wastewater management. He had no concept of how vast and complex this would be. He found out there are numerous international associations of wastewater management which are combining the resources of multiple nations toward this end. It may be appropriate at some point to recommend that DEM become a member of one of these associations. Regarding Chair Bennett’s presentation, Commissioner Gaffney said it struck him that there really could be a simple solution. With the Long Island issue, using wood chips is not a permanent fix, as they will eventually break down. The chips could also become fully saturated and not work. Chair Bennett said he had the same concerns, but spoke to a Stony Brook researcher, who believes they’ll get 40 years out of the chips. If the carbon is exhausted, a liquid source can be added. It would behoove him to get better data on how long the system is anticipated to work. Vice Chair Olson said it always surprises him there are not more people on this island working on this, as we have numerous climate zones. There are a lot of questions to be asked and so many variables. Puna gets 300 inches of rain, and Kona gets 12 if it’s lucky. He also learned that most of the world looks at waste as an asset, not a liability. Chair Bennett said that from his perspective, dislike of waste has been driven for a couple of hundred years by fears of an epidemic. The fear of an epidemic is wholly misplaced, and the potential for disease in our society from human waste is negligible because it is not allowed to contaminate drinking water. It is a problem in other parts of the world, but not in the United States. 6. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Director Kucharski reported on the following: • Status of the proposed Nāālehu Wastewater Treatment Plantʻ: Geotechnical samples and surveys will be taken the first and second week of August. Potential new locations are being looked at, and if the geotechnical reports are satisfactory, they will try to move forward with additional site selection and acquisition. Once