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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0436.004 2020-2022 �SMgVwCF Mitchell D. Roth y�;�1 Ramzi I. Mansour Mayor ,? c, Director Lee Lord p +rte°r�` Brenda Joke a-Moses 't�bR'Ht''` Managing Director Deputy Director HawaiiCounty of ` DEPARTMENT F ENVIRONMENTAL NG ENT 345 Kekuanao'a Street,Suite 41• Nilo, Hawaii 96720 Ph:(808)961-8083 - Fax:(808)961-8086 Email: cohdem@hawaiicounty.gov CD s'+ MEMORANDUM 4 TO: Maile David, Chair and Member of the 14awai`i County Council k FROM: Ramzi I. Mansour Dir ' tor # 0. } t r ; Department of EnvironnibntaljManagement u DATE: January 13, 2022 SUBJECT: Re: Communication No. 436.2; Requests a discussion with the Department of Environmental Management regarding Wastewater Division priorities, challenges, and solutions. Please see the attached hard copy of the PowerPoint slides for a presentation regarding Communication No. 436.2, scheduled for the January 18, 2022,meeting of the Regenerative Agriculture, Water, Energy, and Environmental Management Committee. Please distribute copies of these slides for the Committee meeting. RIMlps Att. Comm. No, 3�' Ief. oate AN 1 4 207 County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer r - �...--. t.« M0i1.1 .... 4 � Berl` :_i � r+ A �J •'� _ M1i� �4 , i v --------------------- a Januar S, 202 �� Iy r Wastewater Priorities • Staffing • Funding for CIP program • Compliance/Environmental Protection Staffing — Current and Proposed Organizational Structure • Current Structure has one Division and two Sections (Engineering and Operations) (83 positions) • Proposed Structure will consist of two Divisions 1) Engineering and Operations and 2) Environmental Quality Control (adding 80 positions) For Reference: County of Maui: One Division with Three Branches: 1) Planning and Permitting, 2) Design and Construction, and 3) Operations. City and County of Honolulu: Four Divisions; 1) Environmental Quality; 2) Treatment and Disposal; 3) Collection System Maintenance; and 4) Design and Construction County of Hawaii and County of Maui, compared County of Hawaii (1 island) County of Maui (3 islands) • Population : 200,629 (2020) • Population : 164,754 (2020) • WW Treatment Plants: 7 • WW Reclamation Facilities: 5 • WWD personnel : 83 • WRD personnel : 122 • Sewer Fund Rev 21-22 : $ 16.2M • Sewer Fund Rev 21-22 : $71.8M • Monthly SFR sewer fee: • Monthly SFR sewer fee: • $44 flat $35 flat + $4.50/1,000 gallons (for first 9K gallons) Staffing Challenges • Wastewater supplemental budget requests have largely gone unfunded due to limited financial resources • Recruitment and retention (nationwide shortage of engineers and certified wastewater operators) • County's recruitment process and procedures (lengthy) • Salaries not competitive with Private Sector • Current Levels are not sufficient to meet: o Project Management Oversight (Konno Decision hinders staff augmentation) o Aging facilities repair and maintenance needs o Operations not up to par with Operations & Maintenance Manual's recommended staffing levels o Safety o Supporting $1.0 billion CIP program o Pretreatment Program AOC and future regulatory enforcement actions Staffing Possible Solutions • Adjust Sewer Fees need to support the increases in salaries for these additional staff. Rates will be increased over 5 years to fund full staff i ng. ■ Proposed organizational structure adds 80 positions • Hiring Human Resource support staff for recruitment • Recognize that "status quo" budget requests for Wastewater may not adequately serve the public's interest. Funding Challenges • Insufficient revenue to support operations • Insufficient number of user accounts • Although an annual CIP budget gets appropriated - funding is not guaranteed (projects get deferred) Funding Possible Solutions • Increase rates ■ Hiring a funding strategist along with performing a sewer rate study ■ Consider switching from a flat rate structure (residential) to a base charge and volume charge similar to other counties. ■ Consider imposing sewer connection fees and inspection/permit fees • Increase number of sewer accounts ■ Expand sewer collection area by increasing sewer collection system ■ Need funding for updating Facilities Plan for Hilo and Kealakehe ■ Need staff to implement expansion • For CIP funding, follow City and County Honolulu's financial commitment procedures Moving Forward Getting us the staffing and funding will allow: • Pursuing resource recovery opportunities such as methane gas utilization, biosolids reuse, and wastewater reuse. • Establishes program to control sanitary sewer overflows (SSOS) • Establishes program to control WWTP process bypasses • Perform needed maintenance on existing structures that support our WWTP and SPS • Avoiding additional regulatory enforcement actions (AOC or Consent Decree/Order) Progress since October Briefing ..............................................................."ILl"LIM............................................ Hilo WWTP Phase 1 — Design (Headworks and Solids Digestion) — 7/11/2023 Contract being Finalized $5,090,000 Pua SPS Renovation (Design) — 1/23/2023 ree i-,roposai accepteo, uratt Contract being prepared $2,400,000 Kapehu WWTP Perimeter Fence — 8/31/2022 Construction Bid RFP is being finalized with DPW $125,000 Papa`ikou (Kapu'e) Bridge Emergency Repair (Design $150K; Constr. $650K + $200K Cont.) — 12/20/2021 $1,000,000 Construction work is on-going; completion anticipated Feb. 28, 2022 Kealakehe R-1 OSFL Phase 2 — Design of North & South Pipelines PER completed, Design effort to start. $1,750,000 Project 19 SPS Emergency Repair — 3/31/2022 ,epair \Nork Completed January 6, 2022 $90,000 North Kona SPS Project (EDA Grant $19 million) Working to finalize AIS with SHPD. NTP for SA-1 issued $68,000 1/10/22 10 Progress since October Briefing ........................... Hired a Civil Engineer V (12/1/2021) and Civil Engineer IV (1/3/2022) for Kona Office Finalizing Specialty Engineering Support Contract ( to help with current engineering $200,000 staff shortage) Pretreatment Program AOC: Consultant contract NTP expected by mid-February $200,000 2022 (to help develop program) Developing Pretreatment Program Ordinance — Revise County Code and Administrative Rules Pursuing USDA Grant/Loan for Pahala LCC and Puako Force Main Replacement Project Pursuing WIFIA Loan from EPA/DOH Puna Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement — Scope of Work revieweuraccepied by EDA. Draft c.onsurianz t-oncract is being reviewed by EDA. CURRENT FUNDING PRIORITIES Additional Funding Needed for FY 21/22 Na`alehu LCC — EA SA-1 (Addt'I AIS) Norking on contract modification $180,000 Pahala LCC New EA (w/ rev. Preliminary Engineering Report, DOH Flow variance) — $500,000 Fee proposal received from Consultant. Waiting on letter from EPA on revised AOC. **Funding identified ** Kealakehe R-1 Sand Filters — Fee negotiations with Consultant has been initiated. $300,000 FEMA Generators for East side Ops (FEMA Grant of $1.3 million) $500,000 Pua FM Replace (Design) — SA-1 (Airport runway ext) — (CWSRi- Funding w/Com Ltr $580,000 for Design) Design in-progress. Funding identitied** Subtotal: $910,000 ( Note: SA = supplemental agreement) CURRENT FUNDING PRIORITIES Additional Funding Needed for FY 21/22 CM Subtotal (from previous slide) $910,000 Hale Halawai New Force Main — Design $500,000 Wailoa SPS Pump/Control Upgrade $1,500,000 Kealakehe WWTP New Headworks — Design (CWSRF funding) $3,000,000 Hilo Facility Plan Update $2,000,000 Kaloko WWTP 311 Train (Construction via CDBG) $1,300,000 Papa`ikou WWTP Clarifier Upgrade (Design/Build) $500,000 Kealakehe SPS Upgrade — Design (incl. PER, State Revolving Fund $2,000,000 Cross-cutters) Kealakehe Facility Plan Update $2,000,000 TOTAL $13,710,000 Project Priorities by Fiscal Year Budget CIP Hilo WWTP Phase 1 Construction $50,000,000 Pahala LCC Collection System Construction (Pending EPA Letter revising AOC) $7,000,000 Pahala LCC WWTP Construction 'ending EPA Letter revising AOC $15,000,000 Pua SPS Force Main — New Pipe $25,000,000 Hale Halawai Force Main - Construction $2,500,000 Keopu SPS & FM Relocation - Design $3,000,000 Project 19 SPS Upgrade $500,000 Pauka`a Force Main Replacement - Design $800,000 Wailuku Force Main Replacement - Design $800,000 Kealakehe WWTP R-1 Upgrade $5,000,000 TOTAL $109,600,000 14 Additional Staff FY22/23 Operating Budget 22 New Positions are proposed (11 Operations- Operators + Line Crew; 4 Engineering; 7 Env Quality Control) • $2,000,000 (funding for 6 months) .......... a7z"Aw. Pua Force Main — New Pipe Construction $12,000,000 Hilo WWTP Phase 1 Upgrades — Second phase of construction $30,000,000 Pua SPS Renovation - Construction $20,000,000 Wailoa SPS and FM Upgrade - Design $2,000,000 Na'aIehu LCC Wastewater System - Construction $20,000,000 Project 19 SPS Upgrade $2,500,000 Keopu SPS and FM Relocation $8,000,000 Pauka`a Force Main Replacement $8,000,000 Onekahakaha SPS & FM Upgrade - Construction $4,400,000 Kolea SPS & FM Upgrade - Construction $3,000,000 Kulai`mano WWTP Upgrade - Construction $3,000,000 Papa`ikou WWTP Upgrade — Construction $2,000,000 Subtotal $114,900,000 Project Priorities by Fiscal Year Budget (page • • Subtotal (from previous slide) $114,900,000 Kealakehe SPS Renovation $15,000,000 North Kona SPS, Dual FM, Hina Lani gravity sewer $15,000,000 Hilo WWTP Secondary Process Upgrade w/ UV Disinfection - Design $5,000,000 TOTAL $149,900,000 Additional Staff FY23/24 Operating Budget 14 New Positions will be proposed ( 1 Admin; 7 Operations; 6 Engineering) • $1,200,000 (funding for 6 months) Project Priorities by Fiscal Year Budget II ' m m m ' Various Projects $180,000,000 Additional Staff FY 24-25 Operating Budget 15 New positions will be proposed (1 Admin, 3 Operations, 10 Engineers) • $1,200,000 (funding for 6 months) 1 ZIA. ............... a ,. s Ai wa — tir, - v,' ;