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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-09-25 Meeting Minutes (EMC) ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, September 25, 2019 9:02 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. Aging & Disability Resource Center 1055 Kinoʻole Street Training/Conference Room Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720 Commissioners present: Richard Bennett, Ph.D., Chair Jon Olson, Vice Chair James Fritz Dee Fulton Rick Gaffney Justin Pequeño Staff present: Diane Noda, Deputy Director Diana Mellon-Lacey, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mary Fujio, Secretary Also present: Bradley Romine, Ph.D., Bethany Morrison, Michael Yee, Matt Kanealii-Kleinfelder, and several members of the public 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 9:02 a.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 28, 2019 Motion and second: Vice Chair Olson moved to approve the minutes and Commissioner Gaffney seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Pequeño requested correction of a typographical error on page 7. Motion and second: Vice Chair Olson moved to approve the minutes as corrected and Commissioner Pequeño seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye. 3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Jerome Warren: Regarding injection wells, Mayor Kim made a promise to Nāālehu ʻ homeowners in 2004 to use their gang cesspool as an injection well after septic tanks were installed. There are natural barriers between their cesspool and the ocean, and anyone who wants to test groundwater can take samples from the caves near the shoreline. The ocean is an infinite diluter, and the gang cesspool is not failing. The test done in 2009 proves the concrete ring structure is solid, and it can be used as an injection well as promised. He has seen two of Chair Bennett’s lectures. The scientific principles are sound, but their applications to this island are cost prohibitive, and the examples are from regions with totally different geology. The chair is from the academic world, but a good teacher will explain how principles will be applied in the real world, where costs need to be evaluated and pragmatic decisions made. It is the responsibility of students to apply the principles to the outside world once they leave the ivory tower of a college campus. Chair Bennett is still in his ivory tower, and the commissioners, politicians, and EPA will not help the citizens of Nāālehu with their wastewater situation, which ʻ is affecting all taxpayers. In sum, the present Nāālehu injection well is the pragmatic solution ʻ to Nāālehu’s EPA mandate. The county’s plan to pump wastewater uphill to acreageʻ next to the well is folly. Commissioner Fulton said she would like to respond to Mr. Warren’s statements, and Ms. Mellon-Lacey said the response would need to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Clarification of the historic review process and timelines, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, for the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant R-1 Upgrade Project. As Director Kucharski would be out until October 1, 2019, Chair Bennett said discussion on this item could not be completed today. At the previous meeting, the director had informed them there could be up to a two-year delay in getting the final EIS for the upgrade because of the Section 106 requirements. A number of people in the community took the initiative to contact Suzanne Case, the chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, to raise their concerns about the process. Ms. Case had the director (note: it was the Archeology Branch Chief who responded) of the State Historic Preservation Division respond, and she responded that nothing is delayed. Therefore, he would like Director Kucharski to speak to this at the next meeting. The concern is that a two-year delay is going to add tremendous cost to the project, and it may also cool the interest of people who have expressed interest in using the reclaimed water. Chair Bennett jumped to agenda item 6 so that the meeting could end with the presentations scheduled under agenda item 5b. 6. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE a. Chair’s Informational Report on the status of commercial sewage injection wells in Kailua-Kona and the relationship to sewer service connections. Chair Bennett said the Department of Health operates the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program by extension of federal law which has states manage underground injection wells. Some states inject very nasty material deeply into the ground, well under drinking water aquifers. However, the geology of Hawaiʻi has perched groundwater that floats on marine water which infiltrates nooks and crannies. As a result, the only thing allowed to be injected is Class V material, which is storm water runoff. Chair Bennett explained the different types of wells that exist and what they are used for. Most injection wells are not disinfected and contain pharmaceuticals and personal care products. The good news is that on the stretch of coast from Kealakehe to Keauhou, the hotels which used to use injection wells are now on sewer, except for one. In the area south of Queen Kalama, there is a large condo that is still operating a sewage injection well, and people are looking at how to get it sewered. The balance of the sewer injection wells are north of the airport and serve the resorts. It is difficult to get information on the wells from the UIC program, as most of the data is still in hard copy format, but there is some information available. The program basically only has one person working on getting agencies to comply with federal regulations on the management of underground injection wells. He will be trying to get more data to further report on this. b. Director’s Informational Report. The Director’s Informational Report has been deferred to the October 23, 2019, meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS b. Presentations by Bradley Romine, Ph.D., of the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, on the rise in sea level, and by Bethany Morrison, of the County Planning Department, on the County’s long range policy efforts to implement sea level rise adaptation. Dr. Romine introduced himself. He is with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program and is a coastal geologist by training and background. He works out of UH-Mānoa and has worked on coastal processes, beach erosion, and human impacts on the shoreline. He works closely with the Department of Land and Natural Resources and actually worked there for six years. At Mānoa his focus is on longer range projects, such as climate adaptation initiatives, and he is involved with the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. Dr. Romine did a slide presentation entitled “Sea Level Rise Observations and Outlook for Hawaiʻi Island.” A few of the highlights: • The sea level at Hilo Bay has been increasing roughly 3 mm per year, which comes to about 12 inches over a century. • The rate of global mean sea level rise is increasing and has roughly doubled from .6 mm per year in the early part of the century to 3.2 mm. Hilo’s rate is similar to the global rate but somewhat higher due to the weight of the volcanoes pushing into the earth’s crust. • There are two contributors to the sea level rise: added water from melting glaciers and ice sheets, and thermal expansion. • Sea surface temperatures are increasing and contributing to the sea level rise. • There are satellite missions that circle around the earth repeatedly, taking measurements of ice mass changes. • Greenland and the Antarctic ice mass are the two ice sheets of most concern. Greenland is losing about 300 billion tons of ice per year, and Antarctica is losing about 125 billion tons per year. • Projections: it is very likely the sea level will rise 0.5 to 1.2 feet by 2050 and 1.0 to 4.3 feet by 2100, and extremely likely it will continue beyond 2100. • The rise being experienced now is mainly from the past couple of decades’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions, and projections show it will only continue to rise. • NOAA forecasts a 1-foot rise by 2050 and 3-foot rise by 2100. • King tide events will occur more frequently and severely. • There are projections the ice mass loss may change the gravity field and possibly the rotation of the planet. • Scenario planning—how planners plan and engineers design, given the range of possible scenarios—is ongoing. Higher scenarios should be considered for a major CIP investment such as a wastewater treatment plant or power generation facility. • Hawaiʻi became the first state to enact legisla?on that implements parts of the Paris climate agreement. The Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission has been established, and it is to provide direction, coordination, and planning, develop strategies, and complete a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report. • There are websites that show the different types of sea level rise impacts. • Because of the sea level rise, king tide events will get more severe, and there may be flooding during regular high tides. • Passive models can underestimate the effect waves may have, and it is expected they will frequently overtop the coastal bench. • Coastal erosion will affect vegetation. • There is a huge potential for loss of land, structures, and many displaced people. • On-site sewage disposal systems will be flooded. Chair Bennett said seawater infiltration is currently a big problem with the sewer lines and will cause the future R-1 water to be a little salty for successful agricultural use. In addition, many sections of the sewer lines need replacing. The rise in sea level will make the situation worse, and he wonders if it would be smarter to retreat from the coastal areas. Vice Chair Olson also expressed concerns about the sewering of Aliʻi Drive. Between the ocean rise, storm surge, and all the other things that play into it, how can the county invest money knowing there is no shelf life? Dr. Romine said detailed cost benefit studies would need to be done. It would also be helpful to talk with hydrologists to get a better understanding of the geology and what the flooding looks like underground. Private sector engineers could be brought in to assess the different scenarios and cost benefits. Dr. Romine continued with his presentation: • Slides were shown showing the potential impacts of a 3.2-foot sea level rise in Hilo, Kona, Puakō, Kapoho before it was covered with the 2018 lava flows, on Oahu’s Ewa Beach, and in urban Honolulu. • Flooding impacts include drainage failures, flooded on-site sewage disposal systems, impassable roadways, loss of structures and land, loss of critical infrastructure, and displaced residents. • The island of Hawaiʻi needs a more detailed economic loss analysis of cri?cal infrastructure. • Sea level rise adaption measures should be considered in order to provide long- term cost savings when compared to the cost of “maintaining and repairing chronically threatened public infrastructure.” • Policy and planning actions are ongoing throughout the state. • The updated State Hazard Mitigation Plan includes an assessment of coastal flood hazards with the rise in sea level. • Work is ongoing to develop guides on how to better prepare for disaster recovery, as people need to be resilient for future disaster events. Dr. Romine concluded his presentation and answered several questions. Planning Director Michael Yee addressed the commissioners and made the following points: • There is a difference between mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation sits with the Research and Development Department, while adaptation policy generally flows through the Planning Department. • A lot of work is occurring among agencies because of the sea level rise, but it is not at the community level yet. • There are many issues to be looked at and many hazards that can occur. It is hoped ordinances can be crafted before disaster events happen so that policies are already in place. • The General Plan does not just sit on a shelf, but is an important guide. • The Environmental Management Commission is important, because politicians can lack the courage to do the right thing since they are always in election mode, being swayed by what their constituents want. The county needs commissioners who are not politically driven, who will emphasize that the right thing should be done, and who will bring their voices to the County Council. • What is best for the island is what needs to be done. • Everything takes money, and he is very concerned that the younger generation will have to pay for the mistakes of the older generation. • They can at least try to slow the mistakes down, although they can’t “turn them off.” • Honolulu now has a sustainability office (the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency) with staff paid to focus on sea level rise, but Hawaiʻi County employees are having to work on it as a piece of their job. • If the problem is going to be called an emergency and be taken seriously, then it needs to be backed up with money. There is a resolution that will be coming before the Council to consider this, and he urged the commissioners to not allow a “fluffy” resolution to be passed, as it won’t do anything. Bethany Morrison introduced herself as a long-range planner with the Planning Department and gave some background on how the General Plan came about. A few of the highlights of her slide presentation: • The General Plan is mandated by the state and also by the County Charter, and is an “umbrella document” that guides the county’s infrastructure, improvements, and land use decisions. • Anything the county does needs to be guided by the General Plan. • The update to the Plan began in 2015, and started with research and analysis, GIS work, and understanding all the data available about the island. Many studies were reviewed. The draft is now available to the public to review and comment on. Refinements will be done based on the input received, and the adoption of the Plan should occur in late summer 2020. • Different scenarios were run about land use development, growth, hazards, and ag lands to understand the trade-offs about decisions in those areas. Work was also done with Community Development Plans, which focus on community level priorities and information. • Sustainability is a big focus of the Plan—how the county can be more self- sufficient and rely less on others, and have social and economic mobility and community and social well-being. • There are emerging issues to address, including climate change, integrated water resource management, food security, place-based economy, healthy communities, renewable energy, and equitable housing. • Planning for sea level rise needs to be happening throughout the planning process, and the updated Plan includes drafts of new policies. • Policy 28 deals planning for sea level rise with shoreline policies. • Policy 66 is about floor elevation requirements for all new construction in vulnerable areas. • Policy 69 deals with how to incorporate the hazard areas into land use planning policies. It defines a “Coastal High Hazard Area” so that people can be informed of additional concerns or requirements. • The sustainability objective is to reduce vulnerability to sea level rise for all vulnerable communities and infrastructure. • Policy 100 implements a minimum sea level rise assumption of 3.2 feet for budgetary, land use, and other decision-making processes. • Policy 101 speaks to the fact that we need to be adaptive to whatever the science and predictions are telling us. • Policy 102 is to support local and regional climate change modeling and monitoring programs. • Policy 103 is to evaluate CIP projects for resiliency, including sea level rise and flood and storm surge. • Policy 104 is to coordinate with agencies to monitor impacts which may be specific to Hawaiʻi County. • Policy 105 is to partner with communities to develop adaption strategies for vulnerable areas. • Action 1.73 in the updated plan is to conduct detailed vulnerability mapping of existing and planned infrastructure. This will allow for prioritizing what to focus on, such as the Hilo breakwater, coastal highways, etc. • Policy 408 looks at the public access program and acknowledges that sea level rise will be taken into account when aligning coastal trails. • The draft was released in August, and large speak-out events were held to engage the public and help them understand, so they can go home and dive deeper into topics they are interested in. Workshops have been held, and they are also going into smaller communities to have conversations with them. Public comments end on October 31, and then final revisions to the draft will begin. The commissioners had many questions for Ms. Morrison and Dr. Romine. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS This was not discussed. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS No announcement was made. 9. ADJOURNMENT Motion, second, and vote: Commissioner Fulton moved to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner Gaffney seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 11:22 a.m. Respectfully submitted: Mary E. Fujio, Secretary (with her signature)