HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-25 EMC testimony - (08-23) Demoruelle, Sandra - DEM Request to EPA May 2021Mitchell D. Roth
Mayor
Lee Lord
Managing Director
County of Hawai'i
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345 Keki)anao'a Street, Suite 41 - Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
Ph: (808) 961-8083 - Fax: (808) 961-8086
Email: cohdem@hawaiicounty.gov
May 24, 2021
Mr. Jelani Shareem
EPA Region 9 Compliance Officer
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901
(Via E-mail: shareem.jelani@epa.gov
Ms. Kate Rao
EPA Region 9 LCC Project Coordinator
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901
(Via E-mail: rao.kate@epa.gov)
Ramzi I. Mansour
Director
Brenda lokepa-Moses
Deputy Director
SUBJECT: Request for Change to Compliance Milestone for the P5hala Wastewater
Treatment Plant and Collection System
Federal Administrative Order on Consent
EPA Docket No. SDWA-UIC-AOC-2017-0002
P5hala Large Capacity Cesspools (LCC)
Dear Mr. Shareern and Ms. Rao:
The State of Hawai'i's historic preservation process (established under Chapter 6E, Hawai'i
Revised Statutes) comprises a multi -step consultation and review system with the State Historic
Preservation Division (SHPD). The process has proven to be cumbersome on the Pdhala project
resulting in significant uncertainty and delays.
The draft Pdhala archeological inventory survey (AIS) was approved by SHPD on February 20,
2020. A copy of the approval letter is attached for reference. SHPD requested that the AIS
document be finalized and submitted to SHPD. The final AIS was completed and submitted on
April 24, 2020.
Then SHPD required the preparation of an archeological monitoring plan (AMP) as a condition
of the AIS approval. A draft AMP was submitted to SHPD on May 5, 2020 and was
subsequently approved by SHPD on November 4, 2020 (attached).
County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Unfortunately, the AMP requirement was not anticipated when the EPA approved modifications
to the remaining Pahala milestones on September 9, 2019. The County could not proceed with
the required geotechnical investigations at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) site and
within the collection system until the SHPD AMP approval was obtained. The geotechnical and
archeological monitoring teams mobilized as soon as possible after the AMP approval was
received, and the invasive field work consisting of borings, probing for underground voids which
were discovered earlier by geophysical methods, and infiltration testing, commenced on January
18, 2021. The total schedule impact from the unforeseen AMP requirement was 9 months.
The preliminary data from the recent geotechnical investigations indicates that the site is feasible
for the intended use, but a large number of voids (indicating presumed lava tubes) were
identified by subsurface probing. Most of the voids that were found are small (less than 2 feet in
height), but there were indications of connections between some of the voids, suggesting a
network of voids may be present. A large void measuring 6 feet in height was found under the
proposed location of one of the lagoons, as suggested by the earlier geophysical reconnaissance.
The width of the void could not be determined but may be 10 feet across or more based on
results of adjacent probes. This void represents a significant obstacle to construction of the
lagoon as originally designed, and our team continues to work to identify the best path forward
for the County with respect to the WWTP configuration at the site. Besides being an obstacle to
construction, lava tubes could also present a cultural resource obstacle because of their
importance to Native Hawaiians and any archaeological findings could halt the project.
In addition to the lava tubes, the WWTP site's topography was discovered to be sloped at a much
higher degree than what was assumed in the preliminary engineering report. This new
information also will significantly affect the cost of construction.
Per your suggestion during our quarterly update call on April 16, 2021, the County will submit
an updated plan to EPA with the WWTP option selected from the approved preliminary
engineering plan. In the meantime, the County of Hawaii respectfully requests a milestone
extension to the July 28, 2021 complete design milestone to July 24, 2022 (to account for the
unforeseen nine -month delay caused by the AMP requirement) and an additional three-month
extension because of the new information received regarding the site's topography and new
geotechnical data.
We are on schedule to meet the deadline for the collection system plan and have made great
strides with the acquisition of the parcel. The latest information on the land acquisition is we
ordered an updated appraisal anticipating the geotechnical findings were forthcoming and that
the property would still be acceptable. The final appraisal was completed on April 26, 2021.
Negotiations with Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE) have resulted in moving forward
with a friendly condemnation. The office of Corporation Counsel is drafting the complaint. As
we cannot anticipate if there will be any delays in the courts, we are asking for an additional 9
months (from June 28, 2021 to March 28, 2022) but hope to have the land secured before that.
Please contact Dora Beck at dora.beckLa�hawaiicounty.go or me at
brenda.iokepa-moses@hawaiicounty.gov, phone (808) 961-8099, should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
r n-L-- `dah)�a-.o' �' NP
Deputy Director
Attachments: SHPD February 20, 2020 letter
SHPD November 9, 2020 letter