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HomeMy WebLinkAbout21-02-24 EMC minutes1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 24, 2021 9:05 a.m. to 11:23 a.m. (Online meeting via WebEx videoconferencing) Commissioners present: Georjean Adams, Chair Rick Gaffney, Vice Chair John Burns Melissa Cardwell Dee Fulton Lee McIntosh Jon Olson Justin Pequeño Staff present: Ramzi Mansour, Director Greg Goodale, Solid Waste Division Chief George Hayducsko, Recycling Coordinator Diana Mellon-Lacey, Deputy Corporation Counsel Sanne Berrig, Recycling Specialist Peter Sur, Secretary Wendy Baez, Council Legislative Assistant, District 8 Others present: Sue Aronson, Chantal Chung, Nancy Cook Lauer, Sandra Demoruelle, Jennifer Navarra, Steve Holmes, Michelle Sorenson, Jerome Warren, others. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 27, 2021 Motion and second: Vice Chair Gaffney moved to approve the minutes, and Commissioner Pequeño seconded the motion. Vice Chair Gaffney made a suggestion that the pages of the minutes be numbered. He also corrected his title so that agenda item 5-b reads in relevant part: “Commissioner Gaffney said he was willing to serve as Vice Chair.” 2 Motion, second, and vote: Vice Chair Gaffney moved to accept the minutes as corrected, and Commissioner Pequeño seconded the motion. Roll call: Ayes 6 (Adams, Gaffney, Cardwell, Fulton, McIntosh, Pequeño); Nays 0; Absent 2 (Burns, Olson). Motion carried. 3. STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR Chair Adams congratulated Commissioner Cardwell for her reappointment to the Environmental Management Commission and noted the positive compliments from Council members. The Chair said she is excited about the new County administration. There are new opportunities to do innovative things and to start looking at ways we can solve some of the issues that have been pressing on us, as hard as that is in the pandemic era, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Chair Adams said she is looking forward to working with Director Mansour and with the new Mayor’s office. She spoke with Council Member Tim Richards the previous day and he is enthused too, so let’s see what we can do. That is the primary purpose today for our own business, for what would we like to accomplish as our priorities on the Commission this year, and also to learn more from the Director about where he is thinking of heading and what assistance he would like to get from the Commission. She said we also would like to be hearing from the public, and thought the opportunity to call in and have these virtual meetings makes it easier for the public to participate. She hoped we could figure out, when COVID passes, instead of jumping on either side of the island whether there are ways to continue the virtual meeting capability to get public participation. 4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Jerome Warren commented that he had not received an agenda or a director’s report in the mail as usual. On the topic of water shutoff, the large capacity cesspool in Nā‘ālehu has been illegal for almost 16 years, he said. He wanted to hear what gives the County the authority to make people pay for an illegal service. What gives the County the authority to place a lien on a property that does not pay for this illegal sewer system? The next item is about abandoned vehicles. Senate Bill 434 and House Bill 161 will make the owner of an abandoned vehicle pay the expense of having that vehicle towed away. This legislation enables the county to halt the owner of the old vehicle before they can register any more vehicles. Commissioners should send a letter to the Legislature to endorse this law. If you want to see a nightmare, come and look at Milo Road in Nā‘ālehu. It’s an illegal junkyard that is going on there. There is another nightmare in Ainaloa Boulevard. These junk cars are terrible. Chair Adams apologized for the oversight with the agenda mailing and stated it would be sent out to him in the future. Sandra Demoruelle said the Nā‘ālehu wastewater environmental assessment is coming out in March. She said it is hard for people in Ka‘ū to get documents online. Even if they know it is online, it is hard to get online. And now it is especially difficult because both of our libraries are closed, in general, to the public. Many people use the public libraries to get online. How are they going to distribute these EAs? The problem was when they did the final EA for the Pāhala project, they put it on in March 8, 2020, and 10 days later, most of us in the community weren’t 3 able to get access to documents to look at their comments. We had hundreds and hundreds of people who commented, and people love to look for their names and their comments and how they were stated and received by others, she said. How do we distribute physical copies of the EA so people who need to see it, and do not have access online, can see it? Ms. Demoruelle needs to see things in print rather than on a screen. She cannot print out thousand-page documents. She urged the Commission to make sure the draft EA is well-distributed. Her other comment is construction on the Waiʻōhinu Transfer Station, which is going to begin in March. According to the EA, there was supposed to have been done a hawk survey. She saw no evidence of the hawk survey. The last time a hawk survey was done, it was conducted by a water bird specialist, and you cannot have a water bird specialist do a hawk survey. If they are going to begin in March to September, they have to do a hawk nest survey. So please remind them that the Endangered Species Act is an important law. They don’t want to repeat the Ocean View transfer station issue. Make sure the hawks in the back of Wai‘ōhinu are accounted for, because March through September is when they breed. On a final note, she appreciated the way meetings are handled and for being able to participate. Chair Adams asked the Department to look at making print copies available for those who do not have easy access to online copies of environmental assessments. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Adoption of priorities for EMC action in 2021 Chair Adams presented her summary of the topics that were presented by individual Commissioners at the Commission’s meeting on January 27, 2021 Motion and second: Vice Chair Gaffney made a motion to open a discussion on the Commission’s goals and priorities for 2021, and Commissioner Pequeño seconded the motion. Chair Adams read out the items, after which Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey commented that it was an ambitious list and that several items could be combined. Chair Adams said the intent is to assist and advise the Department with setting priorities, and support the Department with the Council. Some of the changes require Council approval as well. We may have a forum available through these Commission meetings to provide for public education, she said. Counsel said that was a good idea, but she also reminded the Commission of their charge, which is coming up with recommendations. Commissioner Burns stated his preference for recommendations that are practical and actionable. The large-scale discussions are excellent, but the Commission is limited in the scope of its recommendations. 4 Chair Adams said the intent would be to establish a background list of what commissioners are working on, and before each meeting she would ask if any items would be requested to be on an agenda. Counsel reminded commissioners about their restrictions under the Sunshine Law, and the provisions relating to permitted interaction groups. (The following recommendations were further reorganized under the designated lead, and presented as adopted with further nonsubstantial formatting edits)  Chair Adams o DEM reports each month on progress on ISWMP goals, with specific emphasis on reducing and recycling organic wastes. EMC provides comment and support with Council. o DEM adopts an explicit philosophy of water resource management versus wastewater management and begins to reflect this in its planning and goals. (Example – Kealakehe WWTP). o Get review from the State attorney general regarding the Konno decision that seems to unnecessarily prevent cost-effective, creative solutions to problems. o Champion cross-agency and multiple stakeholder engagement in addressing life cycle issues of waste and wastewater management. Have joint commission meeting(s). Request presentations by other departments (e.g. HDOH, HDOT). (Co-lead Olson). o Become involved in the Mayor’s sustainability planning process.  Commissioner Burns o Enhance the availability and capacity of transfer stations to ensure residents can effectively manage waste and reduce the likelihood of waste being improperly or illegally disposed.  Commissioner Cardwell o Support efforts on sustainable island-wide residential food waste composting: i. Support identification of barriers and solutions with stakeholders. ii. Pilot scalable, safe and cost-effective processes to collect and convert food waste and distribute valuable compost to users.  Commissioner Fulton o Support public-private comprehensive sewage management for the Keauhou area. o Recommend Council allow DEM to evaluate laterals to WWTP for Kailua Bay. o DEM to identify priorities for moving its infrastructure at risk of sea level rise in the Kona area (indeed all areas) as part of county sustainability/climate planning efforts.  Vice Chair Gaffney o Support public-private sustainability planning in the Keahole area, particularly to achieve sustainable water treatment for reuse. o Refocus efforts at Kealakehe WWTP to recover and use R-1 water locally.  Commissioner McIntosh 5 o DEM to re-evaluate plans for Pāhala and Nā‘ālehu wastewater treatment to identify more reasonable cost solutions  Commissioner Olson o Champion cross-agency and multiple stakeholder engagement in addressing life cycle issues of waste and wastewater management. Have joint commissions meeting(s). Request presentations by other departments (e.g. HDOH, HDOT). (Co-lead Adams) o Enhance solid waste and wastewater infrastructure, given expected population growth in the Puna district. o Review and support sufficient funding and creative cost reductions recommended by DEM.  Commissioner Pequeño o Find cost-effective solutions for managing floodwaters to avoid sewage discharge to Hilo Bay. Commissioner Olson commented that “everything is connected to everything.” One example is that our transfer stations, at least in Puna, are impacting traffic. The expansion of the Kea‘au Transfer Station and the widening of Highway 130 from two lanes to four, and the increased speed limit have led to at least 12 deaths attributable to the interaction between that transfer station and the highway, he said. Commissioner Olson said he brought that up when the County was planning the expansion of the transfer station, and he was ignored. Chair Adams noted the challenges of dealing with bureaucratic silos, and related it to the need for master planning, especially as it relates to transportation. Commissioner Olson said commissioners should look at their districts’ community development plans regarding solid waste issues. Commissioner Cardwell said that the Kalapana Transfer Station is only open on Saturdays. People have to go to Pāhoa or Kea‘au, and many community members would love to have that Kalapana Transfer Station open more than one day a week, because so much trash gets piled up outside it. Commissioner Burns said he would like to make a motion “to request to the Director that we get a breakdown of an inventory so we know where to begin on the recommendations.” He said it would be helpful to know what the number of transfer stations are, the dates and times they are open, and the waste they accept, and a brief summary of the logistical limitations, whether it’s staffing or Department of Transportation regulations. If we have some kind of an understanding about the limitations, we can start to think about recommendations to get more stations and open longer. Chair Adams said she saw the request for a motion more of an action item for Commissioner Burns’ work group to find the data. Commissioner Burns said that while some of the data are publicly available he was most interested in a summary for the nuanced reasons why the Department takes a certain action for 6 staffing or hours of operation. It is difficult to make recommendations when we do not know the actual restrictions, he said. Counsel said it would make more sense to request DEM personnel such as George Hayducsko to appear on a future Commission agenda to answer any questions. Commissioner Olson said it is a matter of budget, personnel, and equipment. Transfer stations must now be staffed, and there are logistical matters of trucks and drivers available to move material around. Chair Adams encouraged Commissioners Burns and Olson to contact Mr. Hayducsko, and place the discussion on a future agenda. Commissioner Burns withdrew his motion. Commissioner Olson recommended the request for information be forwarded to the Department; Chair Adams said Commissioners Olson and Burns discuss what items they need to know outside of the meeting. We need to organize the information request, and see what the next step would be to collect the information. The recommendation is for DEM to generate the information, because it is critical for decision-making, Chair Adams said. But, she added, the commissioners should do the homework offline. Chair Adams said she saw the list as the Commission’s “living list,” that could be tweaked as a working plan. b. Action and next steps on priorities for EMC in 2021 Commissioners engaged in a discussion with Counsel about the specific wording of a motion to adopt the recommendations, how members of a permitted interaction groups are allowed to coordinate under the Sunshine Law, and prohibitions on serial one-on-one communications. Motion, second, and vote: Commissioner Olson moved to accept the recommendations as the working priorities of the Environmental Management Commission, and that the “designated lead” is tasked with coming up with action items to present to the Commission. Vice Chair Gaffney seconded the motion. Roll call: Ayes 8 (Adams, Burns, Gaffney, Cardwell, Fulton, McIntosh, Olson, Pequeño); Nays 0. Motion carried. Chair Adams asked that those interested in joining a designated lead on a priority item let her know, and it can be approved at the next meeting. c. Status of the County Council’s authorization of the 2019 Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan and the Commission’s letter of February 5, 2021, in support. Solid Waste Division Chief Greg Goodale stated that the plan update would be introduced by Council Member Tim Richards. Secretary Peter Sur said that Director Mansour is currently reviewing the resolution. 7 6. NEW BUSINESS b. Training on roles and responsibilities of the Commission Chair Adams asked Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey to speak on this item. Counsel provided the history of the Environmental Commission and the commissioners’ role. There are different kinds of commissions in Hawai‘i; some were established by State statute, some by Charter amendment, some are by County ordinance, and some are established to be strictly advisory. Commissioners serve staggered five-year terms, following appointment by the Mayor and confirmation by the Council. Commissioners serving less than two years may be reappointed for a full five-year term. A commissioner whose term is expired may continue for up to 90 days or until a successor is confirmed, whichever is sooner. A vacancy in a term may be filled by a member who serves out the remainder of that vacant term. A chairperson must be elected annually. A majority vote of the whole membership is necessary for approval of motions. A commission must adopt rules that state the time and place of the meeting. There is a move in the Legislature to allow a continuation of remote meetings after the pandemic situation, because people realize how remote meetings have saved time and money and allowed public participation. If the districts are redrawn in a way that result in a commissioner no lon ger representing a certain district, that commissioner will be allowed to serve out the remainder of the term. Commissioner Cardwell asked if a commissioner moves to another district, whether that affects the commissioner’s eligibility to serve. Counsel said she would have to look into that. Continuing her presentation, Counsel said board activities are specified in State statute or County code. Some are advisory in nature, some are investigatory, and some are judicial. The EMC was created with the enactment of Ordinance No. 01-110 that also created the Department of Environmental Management. The ordinance stated “The environmental management commission shall advise the department on waste reduction strategies, recycling, litter control, community involvement, and other issues related to the functions of the department, and shall exercise any other powers related to the functions of the department that may be delegated to it by ordinance.” In 2005, Ordinance No. 05-22 added new language to the Commission’s responsibilities: “The commission shall hear and determine appeals from decisions of the director, including orders and denials of variances.” There are coming revisions to the Code that could affect the rules, but when we get everything in place Counsel believes that the Commission will be called upon to fulfill this appellate role. There are a lot of requirements to conduct a hearing under Chapter 91 of Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. In 2012, Ordinance No. 12-114 expanded the Commission’s advisory role to include “solid waste and wastewater programs,” and “any pilot project or program.” The commission was also newly required to provide its comments and recommendations on matters in its portfolio to the Council. Also, the following sentence was added to Section 2-207 of the County Code: “The 8 director and commission shall each submit comments and recommendations on all legislation relating to the functions and duties of the department, including any ordinance to amend chapter 20 or chapter 21 of this Code, to the council prior to council action. Comments and recommendations shall be provided to the council within forty five days of receipt. In the event that the commission fails to act within the forty-five-day review period, such inaction shall be considered as an unfavorable recommendation.” Most recently, Ordinance No. 19-112 changed the comment process again, allowing the Commission to weigh in on proposed legislation. Further, it clarified that the Director and the Commission are to submit independent comments and recommendations. It states that the Commission should provide comments and the Director should provide comments as well. It also allows the Council to continue deliberations on a bill while receiving comments, and allows for the Council to act in the absence of receiving comments from the Director or the Commission, or both, without viewing either’s inaction as either a favorable or an unfavorable recommendation. To summarize, the Commission’s role as provided in Section 6-10.5 of the Hawai‘i County Charter and Section 2-207 of the Hawai‘i County Code is 1) advisory in regards to the Department’s functions; 2) regulatory in regards to hearing and ruling on appeals of decisions of the Director; and 3) advisory in regards to proposed legislation before the County Council. Chapter 91 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes gives guidelines for how to conduct hearings, and HRS Chapter 92 is the source for public agency meetings and records. Chapter 2, Article 15, of the Hawai‘i County Code establishes the Code of Ethics. Finally, Ms. Mellon-Lacey thanked the Commissioners for serving and for donating their time and expertise. c. Sustainability Summit on March 4-5 Chair Adams said she signed up for both days. There are listening sessions around the island. 7. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE Director’s Informational Report. (Note: the report is posted online with the agenda on both the County Calendar and County of Hawaiʻi website under Our County, Boards and Commissions, Environmental Management Commission, Agendas.) Director Mansour thanked the Commissioners for participating, and he thanked Deputy Corporation Counsel Mellon-Lacey for her orientation presentation. You hit it right on, he said. He is used to coming to other commission meetings to consult on with legislative matters, and ask about how we may better serve the community. So we present plans to the Commission and we get a recommendation. So these are the things that he is used to seeing. The Director’s Informational Report has a lot of content, some technical, some informational. It could sound confusing to some people because some of the information may sound like gibberish. From the Department’s point of view we have so many challenges within our County coming, he said, in terms of funding, staffing, and meeting regulatory compliance. We have a few Administrative 9 Orders on Consent, because we have been out of compliance on a number of things. An AOC is potentially coming is because we do not have a pretreatment program in Hawai‘i County. This program that was supposed to be mandated came through as a federal law in 1998, and we should have been in compliance from the early 2000s. We still do not have a program set up to monitor what is going to our sewer system. We are supposed to have a pretreatment for any liquid that goes into our sewer collection system, so we could at least know what the characteristics are for the wastewater that goes into our treatment. We have got to be working on that, and we have so many things that are falling behind. The Director asked for Commissioners’ help and assistance in getting us through these roadblocks. Regarding prior questions and discussions about the operations of the transfer stations, there are many factors impacting their operation, including the 1997 Konno v. County of Hawai‘i decision from the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i, and also funding and staffing. All of these factors play a role in how and when we open these transfer stations. He has spent more than 30 years in the waste management business, and was shocked by how behind Hawai‘i County is. Where are we going to take Hawai‘i County and what is the level of service we are going to provide? That is where the Commission needs to come into play. We need to do environmentally safe practices and capture our resources, and know how to capture and reuse our resources. We have so many resources within the island, and we need to know how to capture and reuse it. From water to gas and compost, whatever we discard, we need to find a way to capture it and find a way to put it back to use. But how are we going to do this from a legislative point of view? That is where you as a Commission get involved in the recommendations and as an advisory committee to the Council. We have a few bills pending in the Legislature, among them Senate Bill 997. We have all these wastewater treatment plants deteriorating. We have wastewater that is not being treated well. We cannot maintain equipment. There are certain credentials that the Wastewater Division staff must have. It takes up to six years for some operators to be certified. The highest level of certification is Grade IV to run R-1 water reclamation facilities. That is why we introduced SB 997, to allow us to enter into partnerships with the private sector, so they could come in provide funding, and start getting into the 21st century when it comes to wastewater treatment plants. Private wastewater companies have the technology, the know-how, and the credentials. They could come in here and play a major role in training our staff and improving our facilities, so we could start producing R-1 water and gaining the credentials for wastewater treatment plant operators. That is what we need to focus on, how to generate revenue, how we can create economic growth within our community. Because we cannot be stagnant. We have to look outside the box. We have to look at ways to get funds into our island, into our improving our facilities. We have the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is literally deteriorating. The headwork, the concrete is corroded. And we need the funds; we need to establish sustainable funding mechanisms to generate revenue, to offset our major maintenance projects. We don’t even have a process to charge development fees as these developers come in to build subdivisions and commercial buildings. They come in and hook up to our sewer line without paying for it. So who will be paying for it? 10 These are the things that we will be coming to you as an advisory committee to find solutions. He said he wants the Commission to stay away from “small technical stuff” and rather look at the bigger picture of how we are going to take this island forward. Become creative, he said. That’s his vision as he came in to this island. He hopes he can bring his 30-plus years of experience in solid waste and wastewater to benefit this island. Working and teaming up with commissioners, we can do so much, he said. So definitely, we need to start thinking about what other legislation we could come up with to assist us as a County and as individuals. We are setting the stage for the future. We are limited in funding and cannot continue raising taxes. We cannot continue taking money from the General Fund to provide the services we need to provide. The Director’s Informational Report is very long, he said, and he doesn’t know what good that report is going to do. The idea of a commission is to get advice about how to move the County forward. The technical reporting can be left to the technical people to analyze and understand it. But if there are concerns about technical issues, please share it with him, Director Mansour said. He could it share with qualified technical people within the community, such as Dr. Rick Bennett. If there are any technical issues, he is the first one to call. If an yone has concerns because there is so much science and engineering and analysis that goes into data. Our idea is, we get the data. Let us know what you want it to achieve, and we could do a presentation for you to justify the data, and provide to you with conclusions. 1. Legislative update (No comments) a. County Council update b. Active bills in the Legislature 2. Request for updates. a. Whether the funds ($10.5 million) earmarked for the now suspended county compost facility are available for alternative approaches (e.g., smaller scale distributed composting facilities). [Requested by Commissioner Cardwell]  Director Mansour said his understanding after discussing the issue with the Finance Director is that money was earmarked for both the East Hawai‘i and West Hawai‘i facilities. So funds are available for the west side when it comes to that project. Commissioner Cardwell asked about the funds earmarked for the composting facility at the Shipman Business Park in Kea‘au. The Director said any money that comes through grants goes to the Finance Department. He did not know offhand how much money was spent in East Hawai‘i. The agreement with Hawaiian Earth Recycling is being revisited. He said we need a solid waste master plan for the whole island. b. Status of proposed DEM administrative rules. [Requested by Commissioner Adams]  The rules were approved December 4, 2020. c. Report data on water quality at wells in Kona and entry to KWWTP as an indirect measure of progress toward seepage control. [Requested by Commissioner Fulton]  Commissioner Fulton appreciated the chloride report being included in the Director’s Informational Report. She noted some cured-in-place pipe brought in along Ali‘i Drive, but the area continues to see high chlorides, especially during high tide events. 11 Director Mansour said that seawater is not the only source of chlorides. If we want to get to seawater, we need to measure for salinity in the water. Chlorides are the ions of any salt within the water. But what contributes to the chloride count? It could be water softener or reverse osmosis from the homes along Ali‘i Drive, or salt in swimming pools. There are so many parameters and factors that could contribute chloride levels. Inflow and infiltration is one issue causing high salt content in the water, but there are others that we need to control. Commissioner Fulton agreed that we cannot trace the source of the chlorides, but said we have to acknowledge the high level noted on Feb. 2-4 at the Lanihau station, and that it suggests infiltration and exfiltration in the sewer pipes. Director Mansour agreed about the infiltration but disagreed about the exfiltration because it was a closed conduit and the gravity flow of the water has little chance to commingle with the outside. When we take data, we need to analyze it and cannot just come to conclusion for the sake of conclusion, he said. There are so many ways that water could infiltrate into the system, he said. There could be pipe cleanout, or broken pipe. We have to look at all the factors, and we have to analyze it. We need to create the pretreatment program and enforce it, he said. He gave a detailed technical explanation about why engineering analyses need to be performed before reaching conclusions. In response to a question by Commissioner Fulton, Director Mansour said he presumed there are broken laterals and laterals without caps on them. Usually these laterals go out to the property line and have a cap, and can be identified above-ground. That is not always the case. Our goal is to start doing smoke testing, and to come up with a pretreatment program, and a sewer system management plan. Chair Adams asked Director Mansour about whether there is another forum or a separate stand-alone meeting that could be arranged to bring together subject matter experts to have technical discussions. The Director said that would be a good idea. Chair Adams said she would follow up on DEM-sponsored talk story sessions. d. Response to the Commission’s letter of October 26, 2020, in support of Energy Savings Performance Contracting. (No comments) 3. Solid Waste Division Projects and Updates  Commissioner McIntosh asked whether the construction at the Wai‘ōhinu Transfer Station will result in the closure of that transfer station. Director Mansour said he would have to sit down with staff to discuss the matter further. Most of the transfer stations were designed many years ago with minimal access and maneuverability. That is one reason the Department has put out fliers about trailers at the transfer stations, because of the number of accidents and delays. To answer the question, it depends. If we are able to redirect to other transfer stations, we will, but because the stations are so small, we cannot allow people to come in during construction, due to safety issues. 12 4. Wastewater Division Projects and Updates (No comments) 5. Additional comments on the presentation the Director made to the Council’s RAWEEMC of Feb. 16, 2021. (No comments, but see below, “Future agenda items.”) 6. Letter to Council in support of ISWMP. (No comments) 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Chair Adams would like to speak with Director Mansour about how to make the Director’s report an easier read. Regarding the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant, Vice Chair Gaffney said his work group has an upcoming meeting with Director Mansour. He was disappointed in the Director’s presentation and felt it could have been more positive and focused on ways to bring the cost down. Chair Adams asked Vice Chair Gaffney to consider discussing the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant on a future agenda. 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2021, and will likely be virtual. County Sustainability Summit: Director Mansour will be participating on the Waste Management breakout panel discussion on March 4, 2021. Any commissioners who wish to participate in the discussions will be speaking as individuals. Council Member Tim Richards has requested a high-level presentation about wastewater treatment plants in Hawai‘i County, in the Regenerative Agriculture, Water, Energy, and Environmental Management Committee on March 16, 2021. (Communication No. 137). 10. ADJOURNMENT Motion, second, and vote. Commissioner Olson made a motion to adjourn, to which Vice Chair Gaffney seconded. The motion was carried by unanimous consent, and the meeting adjourned at 11:23 a.m. I affirm that the above minutes were approved in final form on March 24, 2021. Peter Sur, Secretary Department of Environmental Management