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Home My WebLink About2022-05-25 EMC testimony (05-15) Cooper, KristinaEnvironmental Management Commission Public Meeting Written Testimony May 25, 2022 According to the Hawaii Department of Transportation study from 2017, approximately 80% of the litter and debris on our roadways comes from unsecured truck bed loads. We know that unsecured loads are a problem. Sadly, every day people are losing their loads on the roadways because their load is not secured. Within minutes, a lost rubbish bag can be strewn everywhere – hundreds of pieces of litter everywhere within seconds. Worse yet, lost loads can be dangerous and even deadly. The litter and other dangerous objects blow onto our highways, and then into our storm drains, and often end up in the ocean. The litter that doesn’t end up in the ocean takes hundreds to thousands of years to decompose into our soil. During the last decade, there have been many statewide campaigns to educate the public on the Hawaii code regarding a secured load. Unfortunately, these campaigns never gain enough traction with local County Councils to affect any real change. It has been consistently shown that education campaigns, press releases, banners at the transfer stations, and other efforts to educate the public on the law have failed to produce any real, long-term results on the issue. Without consistent enforcement of unsecured loads, there has been no real progress in solving this problem. This press release is from HDOT in 2017 (this specific campaign was spearheaded in 2004 by a mother whose daughter was injured from an unsecured load, and to honor a 29-year-old man killed due to a 10-pound piece of scrap metal that flew out of a truck bed): The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is joining 43 states and territories to raise awareness of the importance of securing your load on June 6, 2017. On the island of Oahu alone, HDOT crews respond to an average of 5,000 callouts a year for potentially hazardous debris on state roads. HDOT would like to remind the travelling public that, per the Statewide Traffic Code: “No vehicle shall be moved on any highway, unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its load… from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping…” A year ago, I founded Trash Free Hawaii Big Island, a volunteer organization that has adopted a section of Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway in Kona. The highway down the street from my house was filled with litter when I drove past it every day from bags of litter and other debris, and I couldn’t take it anymore. It was infuriating, and I had to do something. During the last six highway cleanups of this two-mile section of highway, volunteers have collected 187 bags of litter; hauled 76 truckloads of large and dangerous debris and trash bags to the transfer station; and spent countless hours in the heat and the rain to clean up our highway and our aina. Most recently, three large rubbish bags were blown out of truck beds onto the highway while volunteers were cleaning the highway (May 7, 2022). Two of the bags were retrieved by volunteers before they were strewn everywhere; however, one was strewn on the highway everywhere within minutes (see pictures). Not one of the vehicles stopped to retrieve their lost load. While the volunteers’ efforts address the immediate issue of removing the litter, these efforts do nothing to solve the underlying causes of littering and people losing their loads/debris out of truck beds. I’ve been reaching out to state and county departments, as well as Mayor Roth’s office, during the past year in the hope of addressing the increasing problem with litter and unsecured loads lost on our roadways here on the Big Island. In September of 2021, I requested a meeting with Mayor Roth to discuss my suggested five-point plan for addressing the unsecured load/litter problem. In addition to “Adopting-A-Highway,” I also created an educational brochure, a “10- on-Tuesday” Big Island campaign, a community social media page for “Trash Free Hawaii,” as well as getting media coverage for our “Secure Your Load” efforts in West Hawaii Today. I was never given a meeting with Mayor Roth. The Deputy Managing Director, Bobby Command, has since communicated to me that “unsecured loads aren’t really a problem…”; that he would “like to take a look at the ordinances that cover this subject…”; and that maybe I “should hold off on having another highway cleanup so that we can see if there really is a problem.” Alternatively, I appreciate the conversations that I have had with individuals in various state and local agencies that are interested in addressing this problem. I have spoken with several officers in the Kona Police Department (Officer Sluss and Officer Pukahi and the community policing officers help clean up the highway on their day off); the Hawaii District DOT Engineer; employees at the Department of Environmental Management; members of the Environmental Management Commission; and employees at the Solid Waste Division transfer stations. From the conversations that I have had with individuals in the various agencies, the consensus is the same. Bureaucracy and red tape are preventing us from addressing the issue. The highest levels of our tax-funded, elected Hawaii County officials are passing the buck to the HPD for addressing the litter issue and enforcing the laws. Changes to the County Code in 2020 have made it far more difficult to address this issue. This is nonsense. The DEM recently changed its definition of "unsecured load.” If there is no enforcement of the rules at the SWD transfer stations, a “definition” is pointless. Dozens of vehicles pull into the transfer stations every single day with unsecured loads. One day recently I sat for 20 minutes at the Kona transfer station and counted 17 trucks that pulled in with an unsecured load. I have spoken with several transfer station attendants who told me point blank that trucks with unsecured loads are never enforced -- they have no authority to issue citations or turn away unsecured loads. If they were to attempt enforcement of unsecured loads arriving at the transfer station, it is a cumbersome process that would require referral to the police department. The attendants thanked me for my efforts and said they wish they could do more to help. The HPD is currently understaffed. The HPD is not only responsible for the enforcement of unsecured loads on our roadways, but also are responsible for a host of other non-emergency issues, such as tagging abandoned vehicles, the homeless problem, noise ordinances, alcohol prohibitions and a wide swath of other community general welfare issues – not including high-priority crime and traffic issues. We know what we need to do. Let’s get our elected officials to do the right thing, change the County Code, and fund positions in the DEM that will enable consistent enforcement of the current law and departmental rules for unsecured loads. Mahalo, Kristina Cooper Trash Free Hawaii Big Island (808) 498-5210 kristinacooper@hotmail.com References: Five-point plan ideas to address unsecured loads/littering on Hawaii Island: • Amend the changes from the 2020 Hawaii County Code to reinstate the county's littering ordinances in chapter 20, re-fund the initiatives and give authority to the DEM to enforce the law and departmental rules. • Sign placement on our highways regarding the fines/penalties for not securing loads (like the “Click It or Ticket” highway signs and “No Littering” signs) • Enforcement of current state law and DEM department penalties for unsecured loads at the county transfer station facilities – every load, every time. License plates should be documented, and first-time offenders get warnings/turned around at transfer stations (although the law states that first-time offenders are fined no less than $250). Repeat offenders get fined a minimum of $500 and suspension of licenses – (as per Hawaii Revised Statute 291C-131, see below) • Education to the community about the effects and the dangers of unsecured loads (social media campaigns; signage; articles in local newspapers) • Community support for the "10 on Tuesday" and “Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup” campaigns, including local business owners, educators, community leaders, parents, and residents. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-131 – Spilling loads on highways; penalties 291C-131 Spilling loads on highways; penalties. (a) No vehicle shall be moved on any highway, unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its load other than clear water or feathers from live birds from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that sand may be dropped for the purpose of securing traction, or water or other substance may be sprinkled on a highway in cleaning or maintaining the highway. (g) Violation of this section shall be considered an offense as defined in section 701-107(5), shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 291D, and shall subject the owner or driver of the vehicle, or both, to the following penalties without possibility of probation or suspension of sentence: (1) For a first violation, by a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $500. (2) For a second violation involving a vehicle or driver previously cited under this section within one year: (A) Suspension of the vehicle registration or suspension of the license of the driver, or both, for not less than five working days but not more than ten working days; and (B) A fine of not less than $500 and not more than $750. Recent lost bags/litter/debris on the roadways: