HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0036.000 2016-2018 -JN," oc p Wilfred M.Okabe
�,Idis Managing Director
aNs .Af
Harry Kim + ^ sem/•}
Mayor
.,_ + •�
•
,,•• 7t•a bo•.,1
Barbara J.Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
(Count. of
Offirr of fir 4 ur
25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg.C • Kailua-Kona,Hawai`i 96740
(808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440
December 13, 2016
COUNTY CLERK
Honorable Chair Valerie Poindexter COUNTY OF HAWAI'I
RECEIVED
and Members of the Hawai'i County Council Time !.'llPxt By SAL,
County of Hawai'i Date 20/b Dc13—
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Dear Chair Poindexter and Members of the Hawai'i County Council:
It is my pleasure to submit for your confirmation the appointment of William Kucharski as Director of
the Department of Environmental Management for the County of Hawai'i, pursuant to Section 6-10.3
of the Hawai'i County Charter. This appointment was effective at 12:00 noon on Monday, December
5, 2016.
Mr. Kucharski has over forty years of experience as an engineer and program management
professional. He has held the position of the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality
for the State of Louisiana and was the program Director for the Environmental Claims process for
Kuwait against Iraq for damages from the 1989 invasion. Mr. Kucharski obtained a degree in MS
Civil Engineering (Water Resources Engineering) in 1975 and a degree in MS Chemical Engineering
in 1974 at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). His resume is attached for your information.
Mr. Kucharski will serve a term co-terminus with my tenure, which will end on December 7, 2020.
Pursuant to Rule 5(6)(g) of the Rules of Procedure and Organization of the Council of the County of
Hawai'i, we respectfully request a waiver of this nomination through committee so that it may be
considered by the full County Council on January 5, 2017. Thank you for your favorable
consideration of this appointment. If you have any questions about this matter, please feel free to call
me.
Aloha,
C
Harry Kim Council Action Due By: February 2, 2017
Mayor Last Council Meeting: January 25, 2017
Comm. o. 3 •
Attachment Ref.To: I IMINIMIN,
County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Ref.Date LAMM _
Name William A. Kucharski, PE
Title:
Sr. Project Engineer
Education
MS Civil Engineering (Water Resources Engineering), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), May 1975
MS Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), May 1974
BS, United States Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, June 1966
Training and Certifications
Internal Training and Certifications
Professional Registrations
Professional Engineer, Wisconsin, Cert.No.18512-006; 1978, 7-31-2014
Professional Memberships
Environmental Council of States (associate member) ECOS
Awards
From 1993 to 2008, an adjunct professor with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Technical Papers (partial list)
Kucharski, W.A., 1987, Electric Utility Perspective of the Cleanup of Petroleum Contaminated Soils,
Amherst, Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts.
Kucharski, W.A., 1993, A State Regulatory Perspective on Soil Contamination Issues, in Hydrocarbon
Contaminated Soils, ed. Calabres and Kostecki, Amherst, MA, Lewis Publishers, Vol. III, Page Nos?
Kucharski, W.A., September 1993, Environmental Justice Initiatives along the Mississippi, Amherst,
Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts.
Kucharski, W.A., March 1994, Environmental Justice: Where Are We Going?, paper presented to Soil
and Groundwater Contamination Conference, Long Beach, California.
Kucharski, W.A., February 1995, The Environment: Where Are We Going?, Louisiana Civil Engineer,
Journal of Louisiana Section of American Society of Civil Engineers, 3(2):
Kucharski, W.A., and W.R.Weissman, fall 1985, The New Law on Leaking Underground Storage Tanks,
Electric Perspectives,
Experience Summary
Kucharski has over forty(40) years experience as a technical project manager and engineer.
Kucharski is Director of Renewable Energy, Pacific Region; AECOM Technical Services, Inc., Honolulu,
HI with the responsibility to develop energy projects in the Pacific region
Assigned as the Project Manager for the"Interisland Wind Project and Undersea Cable, Environmental
Impact Statement" program. Primary liaison between project personnel and State of Hawaii Department
of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT)and US Department of Energy(DOE).
Primary tasks include movement of the program from a project specific to a programmatic EIS.
Page 1 of 3 1/21/2010
Project Experience
Vice President of Operations for the Pacific Region AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., Honolulu,
HI, 2008—2010.
Responsible for environmental, construction management and engineering design groups for Hawaii,
Alaska, Guam, Japan and Korea. During tenure as VP, won the$900 million ($US) Global Multiple
Award Construction Contract(GMAC) issued by NAVFAC Pacific. Kucharski managed the teaming effort
with Nan, Inc of Honolulu for this contract and in addition, the JV won the Child Development Center seed
project. He also led the strategic effort to obtain teaming partners for the Guam MACC, a $4 Billion IDIQ
contract also issued by the NAVFAC Pacific office. He played a key role in the creation of an LLC with
Core Tech and SKEC for this project. The Pacific Region of AMEC saw a doubling of the gross income for
the Honolulu office in 2009 with increased emphasis on Construction Management and GC contracts with
the Federal sector.
Remediation/Chemical Analysis
Client: State of Kuwait
Project: Kuwait Monitoring and Assessment (M&A) Project
Location: Kuwait
Role: Program Manager(Ecology& Environment, Inc-Buffalo, NY)
Value: $40 million
Responsibilities: Managed over$40 million in contracts for the State of Kuwait's claims against Iraq for
the environmental damages done to Kuwait by Iraq after the 1991 illegal invasion. Responsibility
included: terrestrial damage assessments (tarcrete, oil lakes, military fortification and OB/OD sites);
Marine coastal damages (900 km of shoreline)and a full service environmental analytical laboratory.
Scope:
A five (5)year program was initially negotiated with the Kuwait Agency(PAAC); this contract was
modified during the first 6 months because of an accelerated UN decision schedule. Kucharski managed
the shortening of the original schedule from 5 years to 18 months without a reduction in sample volume,
quality or price. Kucharski had an office administrative group of 10 permanent staff and over 90 full time
professionals assigned to collect, evaluate and process over 50,000 samples. As a result of the re-
scheduled program, multi-million dollar budget variations were prepared, submitted and approved within
the first six months of the project. Multiple international consultants are part of the team, with French,
British, Australians, New Zealanders, Lebanese and Americans participating. Preparation of the
remediation terms of reference and oversight of construction activities required for the remedial activities
was also accomplished. The entire sampling program was paperless, with some of the first PDA/GPS
usage for work in this hostile environment.
Position required daily interaction with Senior Kuwaiti personnel and scientific personnel. Total claims
total over$10 billion and direct liaison with Kuwait's law firm in support of these claims was also required.
Preparation of testimony before the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC)was managed as well as the
supervision of multiple short turnaround queries from the UNCC. Logistics, office setup, local interface
with Kuwait agencies and the de-mobilization and re-mobilization from the last Iraq war were also
managed. Required making contact with Kuwait construction firms, negotiating terms and conditions for
construction activities related to the Kuwait claims. As a result of the work done by the M&A program,
Kuwait was awarded over three billion ($3 billion US) dollars for the cleanup.
Director of Engineering-Ecology& Environment
Prior to moving to Kuwait in January 2002, Mr. Kucharski was Director of Engineering and manager of
the San Antonio office for E&E. He provided civil and chemical engineering leadership for facility
siting; air, water, and waste permitting; process and environmental regulatory compliance; remedial
investigation/feasibility studies (RI/FSs)and development and implementation of risk-based corrective
action (RBCA)strategies; remedial cost estimation; and technical training. Responsibility for turn-key
remediation design and construction projects, as well as long term maintenance and operations. He
has provided expert guidance in environmental indicators, UST regulatory compliance, remediation of
Page 2 of 3 1/21/2010
petroleum-contaminated soil, and bioremediation to DoD, federal and state environmental agencies,
and industries in the United States and abroad. He designed the re-organization and upgraded the
engineering group within E&E. He reviewed and evaluated water treatment systems such as
Phytoremediation, reverse osmosis, ultra filtration, anerobic and aerobic systems.
Other
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Secretary, 1994-1996;
Deputy Secretary, 1992-1994
As Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality(LDEQ), Mr. Kucharski reported
directly to the Governor and was a member of the state cabinet. He worked directly with members of
the state legislature and Louisiana congressional delegation.
DoD/State Cooperation Initiative: Mr. Kucharski created the first statewide federal facility/state
partnering process. This initiative—which subsequently has spread into over 15 other states—
involved creating mechanisms to enable representatives of all DoD facilities to meet with LDEQ staff to
resolve problems; staff from the United States Air Force (USAF) Center for Environmental Excellence
(AFCEE)were major participants in the process. Lessons learned in Louisiana were implemented in
Texas and the rest of EPA Region 6. In addition, in 1995, Mr. Kucharski was a keynote speaker for
the USAF Pollution Prevention Conference in San Antonio, which had over 3,000 attendees.
Environmental Council of States (ECOS): Created in 1993, ECOS is the organization of the heads of
all state and territory environmental agencies in the United States. As a charter member, Mr.
Kucharski participated in meetings to discuss common problems, develop positions on proposed
federal legislation, and trade programs. He chaired the Federal Facilities Subcommittee (1994-1995)
and, as a former LDEQ Secretary, remains an ECOS associate (charter) member.
EPA/State Interaction: As Secretary of LDEQ, Mr. Kucharski met monthly with the EPA Region 6
Administrator, senior agency personnel, and the heads of other Region 6 state environmental
departments in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Regional issues were discussed and cooperative
programs were developed to address interstate and state/federal problems.
Environmental initiatives: He instituted LDEQ's RBCA/closure program and prepared/published the
State's first RBCA guidelines, for use as an alternative to site cleanup to background levels. He
instituted a statewide program to develop measurable environmental indicators that could be used in
evaluating the effectiveness of existing environmental programs.
International Liaison: At the request of the Louisiana Economic Development Department, Mr.
Kucharski joined trade missions to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Taiwan, and Japan. He
explained the American environmental regulatory process to international companies that were
considering the construction of manufacturing facilities in the United States. In addition, he was an
advisor to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Nicaragua (1995-1996).
Staff Training: Under Mr. Kucharski's direction, the number of LDEQ staff training sessions was
significantly increased. Topics ranged from computer applications, including statistics, to
environmental field skills, including geophysical techniques.
Twenty years of experience included environmental engineering, permitting and program
management for electric utilities; mathematical modeling for low BTU coal gasification process;
and environmental consulting in Europe
Page 3 of 3 1/21/2010
EILEEN O'HARAAARON S. Y. CHUNG
Chairperson . MAILE MEDEIROS DAVID
��� • KAREN EOFF
HERBERT M."TIM" RICHARDS, III \' ••"•'' DRU MAMO KANUHA
Vice Chair SUSAN L.K.LEE LOY
;•:; ==o::••r . VALERIE T.POINDEXTER
•''`. % JENNIFER RUGGLES
HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai`i
Hawai`i County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
December 15, 2016
Valerie T. Poindexter, Chairperson
Hawai`i County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai`i 96720
RE: Communication no. 36 Confirmation of the appointment of William Kucharski as
Director of the Department of Environmental Management
Pursuant to Section 2(g) of Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of the County of
Hawai`i, this written request is submitted with my approval that the above-referenced matter be
waived from the Committee on Environmental Management to the full Council for immediate
action. In reviewing this matter, timely approval is crucial. It is therefore advantageous that
approval is granted and the matter be placed onto the next Council agenda for review. However,
in the event this request is denied, for whatever reason, I understand the matter shall be referred
to the Committee on Environmental Management for placement on its future agenda.
Sincerely,
'Eileen O'Hara, Chairperson
Committee on Environmental Management
Approve. Date/Waive to Council: Disapproved/Date/Refer to EMC:
4'Aek7/2/
• J
Valerie T. Poindexter, Chairperson /2.11511. Valerie T. Poindexter, Chairperson
Hawai`i County Council Hawai`i County Council
•
Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer