HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.033 2022-2024 P/ CouncAf
5. �S12-23
12/3/2023 Gu U N T `f i1 ir. ;. i i (AM} .On
COUNTY OF HAWi i
Re: Resolution 327-23
Chair Kimball and the Hawai'i County Council,
My name is Michael Kramer. I founded the Kuleana Green Business Program of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of
Commerce in 2005 and have owned and managed sustainable and investment firm Natural Investments here on the
island since 2000,with offices on both sides of the island,Maui,and 8 other states. My firm is a Certified B
Corporation and a Public Benefit LLC that manages nearly$2 billion in investor capital,primarily for individuals
and families,in an effort to shape capitalism into a system that generates financial return for business owners and
shareholders while also valuing communities, employees and the environment.
I am writing today because to caution the County Council against using taxpayer dollars to hire attorneys to defend
illegal government activity and therefore ask you to vote "No"on Resolution 327-23. For decades we have all known
about the illegal groundwater contamination of treated wastewater at the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Hawai'i County has never applied for the proper federal permit to dispose of this effluent in this manner,as it knows
it would never receive one. This "getting away with it"approach is not pono,but more importantly,the practice
continually harms the shoreline, contaminates the fish we eat,and makes swimming and surfing along the coast
hazardous; so many people get bacterial infections when in these waters because they are contaminated, it is truly a
health hazard.
Homeowners on this island have been required to remove their cesspools in order to be in compliance with the Clean
Water Act;the Department of Health even provides $20,000 grants to homeowners to convert them.The County
needs to do what the federal government is requiring of homeowners and shift its municipal wastewater system into
compliance with federal law. Failing to do so could result in significant fines that are entirely avoidable and that
taxpayers should never have to pay due to government negligence.
We all watched Maui County lose their lawsuit on this very same issue.As this legal precedent has been established,
Hawai'i County does not stand a chance of winning such a lawsuit.This money would be far better spent on
upgrading the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plan in order to treat the effluent to a higher standard,one which
could actually make use of the water.
Taxpayer dollars could be used to create a biological wastewater wetlands that can treat the effluent with plants that
remove toxicity and further clean the water so it can sufficiently biodegrade. Communities across the world do this—
in particular I would encourage you to look at the Elk River treatment plant in Eureka CA,an effective coastal
biological municipal treatment system that is nearly 40 years old.
Considering that West Hawai'i relies solely on groundwater for all its water uses,it makes sense to recycle treated
effluent for as many non-potable uses as possible,particularly irrigation. But even if it can't all be used,the water
could at least be treated to a higher cleanliness standard so it will be less toxic once reabsorbed into nature.
Here's where my expertise can be of assistance:there are many companies that can help the County plan a biological
wastewater treatment facility: 3M, Calgon Carbon Corporation,Aquatech International LLC,Evoqua Water
Technologies LLC,Pentair,Veolia,Ecolab,Xylem and SUEZ &Dryden Aqua. I would encourage the Council to use
taxpayer funds to contact these types of businesses for assistance and invest in a better way of treating wastewater
rather than defend its current unsustainable and illegal practices.
Sincerely,
71(46/44Zerr
Michael Kramer .n
Kailua-Kona,HI Comm.
Ref. To: IL.!(1
Ref. Dote t;OEC - 6 2023