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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-22 Meeting Minutes ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, January 22, 2020 9:04 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. West Hawaiʻi Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway Building G Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Site Visit: 12:05 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill 71-111 Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway Waikoloa, Hawaiʻi Commissioners present: Richard Bennett, Ph.D., Chair Jon Olson, Vice Chair Georjean Adams John Burns, Ph.D. Dee Fulton Rick Gaffney Staff present: William Kucharski, Director J Yoshimoto, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mary Fujio, Secretary Others present: Jerome Warren, Sandra Demoruelle, Kristine Kubat, and several other members of the public. Chair Bennett introduced new commissioner Georjean Adams and asked her to speak briefly on her background. Ms. Adams said she is from District 9 and lives at Mauna Lani Resort. She has observed several of their meetings and is also currently serving as a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Her career started with the EPA in Washington, where she worked on writing regulations. She later moved to Minnesota and worked 24 years for 3M Company as a corporate environmental, health and safety manager, and later became a consultant on her own. She moved to Hawaiʻi five and a half years ago to get away from the snow. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Bennett called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 27, 2019 Motion and second: Vice Chair Olson moved to approve the minutes as drafted and Commissioner Gaffney seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Gaffney wanted a correction made to the last paragraph on page 4. He asked the secretary to replace the “council of municipal and county governments” with the proper name of the agency. Vote: All commissioners voted aye to approve the minutes with the requested correction. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Chair Bennett told Sandra Demoruelle, who had signed up to testify, that the Commission is looking for recommendations and requests they can act upon, and he would appreciate if she could provide comments or a request upon which they could take action. Ms. Demoruelle said there is a request at the end of her comments. Sandra Demoruelle: She stated that when you mess with public testimony, you are messing with constitutional rights. She welcomed the new members and the deputy corporation counsel that was present, and said that the Nāālehu and Pāhala ʻlawsuit is no longer active. The lawsuit was based on her UIPA request for environmental assessments. The case was dismissed. In the meantime, she wanted to address two problematic projects. The first is the EA for the Pāhala project. For some reason it is with a FONSI when it should have an EIS. On the Nāālehu project, she would point to ʻPearl Ridge Estates vs. Siegler. The BLNR should not approve the set aside of the conservation land in Nāālehu. ʻThe land is located behind the hongwanji and is right on top of a right of way for the new highway and powerlines. It is also on top of the Nāālehu well reservoir, which would mean a sewage treatment plant ʻ being placed on top of well water. It would also be in a flood zone. It is a huge tract of land that is being put into the hands of the trail people, and it is a big piece of land the county asked to be set aside. The BLNR approved this without any EA being done. The project has been kicked down the road since 2007. There was a final EA with a finding of no significant impact in 2007 to do sewer conversions, but it got out of hand. She is requesting the Commission find out how much has been spent on the EAs and studies since 2007. Jerome Warren: Mr. Warren spoke on several agenda items. Regarding item 5b (the election of chair and vice chair), the chair must have a degree in some science field. Having a science degree will give the EMC credibility, because the director of the department must have a degree. The department must stop wasting money on esoteric projects that won’t fit into the island’s population. A degree in science means the director understands economic principles and how tax dollars can be well spent to solve basic functions of waste management. On item 4c (long sewer lines), Nāālehu’s 2006 FEIS has short sewer lines going to a septic system and ʻ injection well. This concept was approved by Mayor Kim and the homeowners. The DOH signed off on the design done by SSFM Engineering, and it would satisfy EPA regulations. Previous commissioners obfuscated his request for the plan to be reviewed. When Harry Kim was reelected, his staff told him that Mayor Kenoi stole the plan when he left office. Councilmember David took down his homeowner information, but she did not have anything in her office when he went back there. Director Kucharski told him he would bring the file to the commission meeting, but he did not follow through. Brown and Caldwell also told him they would have the original plan when discussing the current one at the community level. They also did not follow through. It will take a commissioner to bring the skeleton out of the closet. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Continued discussion on waste-to-energy proposals or alternative uses for waste, including recommendations drafted by Vice Chair Olson and Commissioners Gaffney and Cardwell. Chair Bennett turned this item over to Vice Chair Olson and Commissioner Gaffney. Vice Chair Olson said the Pfizer corporation has made a significant investment in collecting plastics and wants whatever they can get their hands on. It would make sense for the county to start separating plastics from the waste stream so this resource doesn’t get thrown away. The broader picture of how to go about doing this needs to be looked into. Commissioner Adams said there is a high demand for plastics in some circles, but here in the middle of the Pacific, we do not generate a significant enough volume for a ship to come and pick it up. A complex market place system would need to be set up from beginning to end, and although it can be explored, she is not sure our island can push this. If they were to start stockpiling plastics, it would entail setting up a storage facility to store them for an unknown amount of time. Vice Chair Olson said they could make the broad strokes at this level and start talking about how to move forward; and Commissioner Adams said there are different choices that could be explored, but a mature enough market system has to be in place for the island to begin to participate. Commissioner Gaffney asked the director if there is unused space anywhere in the system where plastics could be stockpiled. Director Kucharski said there is space if they created a cell for storage. However, before that is done there would need to be a way to separate the plastics from the waste stream and ensure they are clean. Also needed would be a process to compact the plastics. As budget cuts are likely, he does not know how this can be done, although he would like to do something positive. DEM does not have a buffer of staff to put on a project without taking them off of something else. However, this discussion is helpful in giving the department direction. Further discussion was held on separating plastics from the waste stream and stockpiling them as a resource. Chair Bennett requested that Vice Chair Olson and Commissioner Adams put together some thoughts on it and bring it to the next meeting. Commissioner Burns said it is important to respect the limitations of what budgets are set aside to do. He asked if the County Council is the right body to pursue funding, and Director Kucharski explained that the mayor submits budget requests, and the Council either approves or disapproves a submitted budget. Both the executive and legislative branches need to come together. Discussion was held on the wasteful packaging of many large stores and how some of the costs to recycle should be collected from the manufacturer rather than the consumer. Commissioner Gaffney said the Research and Development Department is supposed to be tasked with helping to find solutions to these kinds of public problems, but they have the same budget constraints as DEM. An option would be to pursue NGO or private funding to support the research effort necessary to get closer to a solution. Commissioner Burns said the concept of using a monetary system to reduce packaging would be optimal, but it comes with a large amount of legislative work. There is a zero packaging system being used now in Germany, and it has been taking off. It came about without legislation, but from public awareness of the need to move to zero waste. Commissioner Adams said she is frustrated because Hawaiʻi has a small popula?on and is far from transportation routes, so what works in other areas does not work here. People in Hawaiʻi need to be realistic about how much influence they have. Chair Bennett said that Kristine Kubat had signed up to provide testimony on the current agenda item and called her up. Kristine Kubat: • Plastic is not benign and is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, and people need to reduce their dependence on it. • As for separating plastic from the waste stream and stockpiling it, there are models created for this, it happens in other municipalities, and the public should be given the chance to do it. • The idea that the markets have collapsed is a myth. What has collapsed is the acceptance of contaminated materials. • She hopes the EMC can take a strong position in favor of considering options like stockpiling. Politics should not enter into any considerations. • Any plans to take these things and burn them or hydrolyze them will be met with strong opposition from the zero waste community. • She strongly supports “EPR,” or extended producer responsibility, and the DOH is also in favor of it. • Recycle Hawaiʻi and other nonprofits are here to a?ract private funding. They are in a position to take on risks that DEM cannot take on. They are here to partner with DEM, and DEM needs to take advantage of them. • Reduced packaging is a future they should be looking toward. b. Continued discussion on the status of the County of Hawaiʻi’s recycling contract and review of commissioners’ lists of ideas and options. Chair Bennett asked if any commissioners had made a list, but no one had. He said he met with Councilmember Richards earlier this morning, and they spoke on a variety of subjects, one of which was gasification and incineration of waste. Councilmember Richards was not necessarily for it, although he is aware other areas do it at a net loss in order to reduce the footprint. Chair Bennett informed him the EMC did not appear to be in favor of incineration for a variety of reasons, so perhaps it could be taken off the table. Commissioner Adams said incineration if not a panacea, but it is an option to look at. If it is done right, pollution control exists to deal with emissions, and there is also emerging technology being piloted in various places. Chair Bennett said she is probably correct, but in the real world application of technology, things often fall apart. Carefulness is needed. c. Continued discussion on the Commission’s research into alternatives to centralized treatment plants and long sewer lines, and review of a motion drafted by Vice Chair Olson encouraging the County Council to look at how septic systems and/or sewage treatment can be improved. Chair Bennett asked Vice Chair Olson if he had done anything on this, and Vice Chair Olson said he had spoken to a few councilmembers. It comes down to the money. The waste systems are overburdened, there is a lack of personnel, and more waste is coming as the population continues to expand. Chair Bennett said when he raised the issue with councilmembers, they boomeranged it back to him and said the EMC should educate and inform them. There does not appear to be initiative on the Council’s part to study this. Vice Chair Olson said the situation is not going to get easier. His district, which has 60,000 vacant lots, will be growing in population. Everyone has a right to a certain level of service, and the county has is not prepared to deliver the level of service to all the lots they created. Chair Bennett noted the second part of this item was to encourage the County Council to look at how septic systems or sewage treatment can be improved. Septic and sewage matters are the purview of the DOH’s Wastewater Branch, and the county has no say about what is approved. Director Kucharski said the county can be stricter than the DOH, but not more lenient. Chair Bennett said the state’s Cesspool Working Group has been meeting for over a year and has a subgroup looking at alternatives to cesspits. It does not appear a priority alternative has been proposed yet. Director Kucharski said there are already approved systems that are better than cesspits. The subgroup is looking at other available technologies that have not yet been adopted. Chair Bennett said that by and large, the issue is outside the purviews of the EMC and county. If a viable alternative is identified, the EMC can inform the Council about it but not advocate for it, as it would not be a function of DEM. This balkanization of authority hampers the EMC, but commissioners can advise the Council on their own volition as individuals. d. Continued discussion on the costs and financing of the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant R-1 upgrade. This is to include the financing costs, breakdown of the component cost, including but not limited to the UV system, the treatment wetlands, the nutrient removal beds (aka SAT ponds), and the irrigation system. Chair Bennett asked Director Kucharski if he was prepared to address this, and Director Kucharski said he could do so but not specifically as it is written on the agenda. As far as funding, DEM is in the process of getting grant funds from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. A feasibility study and EIS are needed before funds can be granted to start construction. The R-1 system is at 90-95% design completion, but they have been hit hard by SRF rule changes. A contract cannot be done until there is a promise of SRF funds or the county comes in with bond money. All the money needs to be guaranteed before a contract can be issued. Previously the county did not have to tap into bonds, but now they do. He cannot move forward, because the R-1 program’s estimated budget could exceed the bonding capacity of the county. All the extraneous items have been separated out from the basic R-1 treatment system. If they look at the wetlands and SAT, it would be another $50-60 million for something the county may never use. A disposal system is also necessary, but it is not known whether an NPDES permit will be required due to the Maui injection well lawsuit. If the NPDES permit is required, there will be potentially greater costs due to new treatment and discharge standards. For these reasons, the project is on hold. There are very serious financing issues, and he cannot give them the costs because what is going to be done is unknown. Chair Bennett said he has researched the project extensively. In 1991 the EPA funded the Kealakehe WWTP and a water irrigation recycling program. For reasons that are obscure and ludicrous, the recycling component did not happen. He has a letter from the DPW director at the time, informing the county that if the irrigation component was not built, the EPA would want the money back. He filed a complaint with the EPA’s inspector general, asking why the money was never accounted for, and the EPA basically responded that it was too small of an amount to worry about. Director Kucharski responded to several questions from Commissioner Gaffney: • Regarding the regional park that is supposed to be accepting a significant amount of the R-1 water, he believes the EA/EIS is under way. • Regarding the delivery system from Kealakehe Parkway to the plant and back to Kohanaiki, the line is already in place up to Hina Lani. However, they are running into delays due to not yet receiving SHPD’s approval. Alternative routing is also being looked at. • He cannot speak for the QLT project other than they indicated the SHPD review took two years. His understanding is that QLT plans three phases on their development, and the county is looking to provide R-1 to them as well. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion on Kristine Kubat’s November 27, 2019, comments on recycling issues. Chair Bennett asked Ms. Kubat to elaborate on the $400,000 left over from the Business Service Contract. Ms. Kubat said that at the previous meeting, a comment was made that DEM saved $400,000 when the Business Service Contract was rolled back. DEM is spending less because services are cut. That $400,000 has been freed up, and it needs to remain in the recycling budget. An effort will need to be mounted to keep the money in recycling. She has been assured by some councilmembers that DEM cannot just use that money for something else. However, when she spoke with George Hayducsko, DEM’s Recycling Coordinator, he informed her the money is not available. It is important for the EMC to find out where it is and what is happening with it. It needs to be used for recycling as originally intended. Part of the $400,000 should be used to set up some recycling demo projects where people can turn in high quality materials that would be acceptable. Part of the money could also be used to hire people to move the RFP process along. Chair Bennett asked Director Kucharski if he had any comments, and he said not really. Vice Chair Olson said the money was set aside to accomplish a specific goal, and it should remain there. He asked Ms. Kubat for a suggestion on the wording of a motion. Ms. Kubat suggested the EMC issue a directive or recommendation that the $400,000 saved from the rollback of the Business Services Hawaiʻi contract be kept and reserved for recycling programs. A demonstration project could be added for improved source separation. Motion and second: Vice Chair Olson “so moved,” and Commissioner Gaffney seconded the motion. Commissioner Adams asked Director Kucharski if there was $400,000 sitting somewhere. Director Kucharski confirmed there was a reduction in the contract amount, and DEM was able to keep the Finance Department from taking it and putting it into another pot. The money was used within the Solid Waste Division. It was redirected from recycling to provide basic services. The salaries of six new solid waste attendants and drivers, who were hired to try and mitigate the closures that have been happening, will come out of that $400,000. Vice Chair Olson said the goal was to keep it in recycling, and that purpose should remain. Chair Bennett called for a vote. Vote: All commissioners voted aye except for Commissioner Adams. Chair Bennett said he wanted County Council relations placed on the next meeting’s agenda, as sometimes councilmembers will ask him for information on matters that, per Corporation Counsel, are outside EMC’s purview. He has been having to work around that and would like to clear up the fuzziness. b. Election of Commission chair and vice chair for 2020. Vice Chair Olson said he is not in a position this year to take on more, and Commissioner Gaffney said he was not either. Commissioner Gaffney said that Commissioner Pequeño, when he spoke with him before, seemed to be willing, though he was unable to attend today’s meeting. Motion, second, and vote: Commissioner Gaffney nominated Vice Chair Olson as vice chair again, and Commissioner Fulton seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye. Motion, second, and vote: Commissioner Gaffney nominated Commissioner Pequeño as chair, and Commissioner Fulton seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye. 6. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE a. Chair’s informational update: A summary and reflection of his tenure on the Commission. Chair Bennett said that as his chairmanship passes, he has reflected on some wonderful successes of the Commission as it has evolved. He began four years ago, and there is a huge difference. He had hoped that as chair he would have the power to make changes across the county, but that was a pipe dream. He has some persistent ideas that remain and are emboldened today. He expressed his gratitude to the staff and acknowledged the secretary, Mary Fujio; Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey, who he hopes appreciated when he had to push back; and Director William Kucharski. Director Kucharski has been the biggest fresh breath of bureaucratic air. He has two engineering degrees and vast experience, and he enjoys speaking with him as a scientific peer. In the beginning, Director Kucharski had a “we’ve got to do it” attitude. Over time and inside of the constraints of budget and staff, that attitude has been understandably tempered, and he beseeched Director Kucharski to find that attitude again wherever he can. Since the 1970s, the Pentagon has drained $20 trillion out of taxpayer funds. When that kind of money is taken out of the public coffers, infrastructure at the county level suffers. The county has to pick up crumbs wherever they can be found. This leaves the county unable to serve the people’s infrastructure needs and the ʻāina in a way that is righteous. The burden is being shifted to our children and grandchildren. Since 2017, the way the EMC works has changed dramatically. The commissioners do not just show up and comment on matters. They have made their own agendas, they have questioned past practices and assumptions, and they have made recommendations for improved wastewater management. They have always focused on the environment and public health. They have recommended complete wastewater irrigation reuse to create something useful, they have raised scientific questions about the appropriateness of a SAT system in Kona’s lava plains, and they have pushed for zero waste recycling. Commissioners took on special projects and invested their own time. This kind of homework outside of meetings is essential for effective leadership. The EMC has been able to attract new and talented people with great experience to serve on the Commission. He is very proud of how they work together and strive for consensus. They see the common good, and the civility they practice has been sterling. It saddens and frustrates his aging activist soul that the sump in Kealakehe, which has conveyed tons of nutrients into the coastal waters, will continue. He is not proud that the county remains, for 27 years, the single largest source of nutrient pollution on the Kona Coast. No matter what the Supreme Court decides in the Maui injection well case, we must find a way to clean up our act, because it is the right thing to do. Leaky sewers and a myriad of cesspits degrade our ecosystem daily. He prays that sewer service will be extended to all Aliʻi Drive and that the waste of the hundreds of homes in that area will be captured. Chair Bennett implored the commissioners to not let the balkanization of departments interfere with being forward-looking. Department lines need to be cut across and water issues addressed as a whole. Water connects us all. Integrated, holistic solutions need to be looked at. Commissioners should go to their councilpersons and have them ask the EMC to make policy recommendations. On a personal note, he said it was an honor to be their chair and that he hopes he served them well. His last meeting will be in March, but he is stepping down as chair today. He will be going back to the scientist advocacy life, and he will become chair of the Kona chapter of Waterkeepers, which is an international organization. He will continue to press on as long as his aging body will let him. b. Director’s Informational Report. A summary of Director Kucharski’s report: • Regarding the infiltration on Aliʻi Drive, the Wastewater Division is in the process of checking all the lines and laterals, but they are not making great progress because of limited personnel. • An area of the seawall on Aliʻi Drive has been undercut, and there is about six to eight feet of erosion under the roadway. This is DPW’s responsibility. DPW is working to get a permit to fix and plug the breach, and then it will be backfilled. The sewer line is about two feet from the erosion cut. If the line breaks, alternate routes have been set up, but they are hoping it does not get to that point. • He stands corrected regarding commercial recycling operators—they do not pay a fee to dispose of what cannot be recycled. It is disposed of at no charge. It comes to about eight to nine tons per year. • Public hearing are being held regarding the update to the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan. He has the recommendations and prioritizations available if anyone wants to see them. • As it is an election year, he reminded the commissioners about political campaign restrictions. They are not to politicize any discussion or discuss any candidate. They were provided the Corporation Counsel’s memo regarding this. Several questions were asked by commissioners. A summary of the director’s responses: • Yes, they have been having meetings with the public about the transfer stations. There will be limitations placed on the loads, as the stations are set up for residential use, not commercial operations. There has been abuse of the free use of the transfer stations. • Greenwaste is also limited to residential use only. • The operating days of some of the transfer stations may be changed. • They are restating the recycling limitations on cardboard, brown paper, and glass. • Yes, the new truck that examines sewer lines is in use. He will provide the number of feet it has checked at the next meeting. Once they have new software, they can create a repository of CCTV files. They will be able to see what a section looked like six months ago compared to what it looks like today. • They are trying to get new analytical equipment for their chemists to do additional testing. • He will check on the new CCTV’s truck instrumentation and whether it can do conductivity testing. Discussion was held regarding conductivity data, inflow and infiltration, the sewer pipe in the area of the Aliʻi Drive sinkhole, and how the sea level rise affects the sewer system. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Chair Bennett said recycling can be a continuing item on the agendas under Unfinished Business, and Commissioner Adams said it could be about new activities, updates, and breakthroughs on recycling. Mr. Yoshimoto said it could be listed as a general item, but if there is specificity, it should be included so the public will know what is going to be discussed. Otherwise, the discussion must remain general. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting date was not announced. Chair Bennett announced they would recess for the commissioners to travel to the West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill in Puʻuanahulu to view the various facili?es there. The mee?ng would reconvene at the landfill. The meeting recessed at 11:22 a.m. * * * * * * * 12:05 p.m.: The meeting reconvened at the West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill. Present: Chair Bennett, Vice Chair Olson, Commissioners Gaffney and Olson, Director Kucharski, and Deputy Corporation Counsel Yoshimoto. Several members of the public were also present. The landfill and greenwaste operations were viewed. 9. ADJOURNMENT The site visit and meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted: ___________________________________ Mary E. Fujio, Secretary