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Home My WebLink About2024-08-28 EMC agenda County of Hawai‘i ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION 345 Kekūanāo‘a St. Suite 41 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 • Ph: (808) 961-8083 • Fax: (808) 961-8086 County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Georjean Adams Chair Dorothy Norris Vice Chair Mitchell D. Roth Mayor Ramzi I. Mansour Director, Department of Environmental Management MEETING AGENDA Pursuant to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 92, this meeting will be online with a location available to the public. The public may attend either in person, online, or by telephone. DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 TIME: 9:00 a.m. IN PERSON: Community Meeting Hale (Building G) West Hawai‘i Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona ONLINE: Via Zoom https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16031058165 (Meeting ID: 160 3105 8165) PHONE: +1 669 254 5252 (Enter the meeting ID, see above) STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: To ensure timely delivery to commissioners, written testimony must be submitted before 12:00 noon on the business day prior to the meeting by (1) email to peter.sur@hawaiicounty.gov or (2) facsimiles to (808) 961-8086. When submitting written testimony, please specify for which agenda item it is being submitted. All written testimony will be part of the permanent record. Pursuant to HRS §92-3, interested persons who want to provide oral testimony may do so either at the time the Commission takes public statements on items on the agenda, or at the time the specific agenda item is called, subject to applicable statutes and rules of procedure. I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR AUGUST 2, 20241 III. STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR IV. PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Permitted Interaction Group on Cesspools and Sanitation – Deliberation and decisionmaking on the findings and recommendations2 presented by the permitted interaction group on cesspools and sanitation at the meeting of the Environmental 1 II: Draft minutes: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/DocView.aspx?dbid=1&id=137937 2 V.1: PIG report: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/DocView.aspx?dbid=1&id=137939 2 Management Commission on August 2, 2024. The draft recommendations of the permitted interaction group that the Commission will discuss are shown below: 1. Wastewater Division should require that i. All properties within _ feet of a public or private sewer line should be required to connect, instead of the current 300 feet. ii. The County should establish a connection fee for all new connections to a public sewer. 2. The County should conduct a formal legal review/interpretation of the Konno decision outlining its application/misuse for private sector partnerships regarding County Wastewater projects. 3. The County should support a Sewer Connection Special Fund to provide sewer connection assistance to homeowners who have insufficient income. 4. The County should support and encourage the County Council to adopt the Chapter 21 county code changes proposed by DEM. 5. The County should identify the potential for EPA Technical Assistance Program to address innovative financing strategies such as enterprise funds, franchise organizations, Energy Saving Performance Contracts, and Service Contracts. 6. The County should support a Water Technician Certification Program to address the workforce shortage. 2. Discussion with DEM regarding Inflow and Infiltration of water at the Hilo WWTP system and Wastewater Division’s efforts to address it. Postponed August 2, 2024. 3. Update on state Functional Equivalent Discharge Strategy Workshops hosted by DOH and any additional comments Commissioners would like to be addressed. VI. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE • Update on the Sustainability Summit Solid Waste Reduction workshops (Adams) Postponed from August 2, 2024 • Director’s Informational Report 1. Legislative update 2. Solid Waste Division Projects and Updates 1. Recycling, Greenwaste, and Landfill Diversion updates3 2. Solid Waste Operational Study update 3. Wastewater Division Projects and Updates. 1. Pāhala and Nā‘ālehu Large Capacity Cesspool Closure AOC4 2. Countywide Wastewater AOC 3. Hilo WWTP upgrades and bid unsealing 4. Wastewater Plans 1. Integrated Wastewater Management Plan and Public Engagements5 4. Status of existing staff vacancies and recent hires 1. Solid Waste Division Chief and HR specialist interviews were held 2. Other vacancies 5. Questions from Commissioners 3 VI.2.1: Greenwaste: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/DocView.aspx?dbid=1&id=138013 4 VI.3.1: Ka‘ū - https://www.dem.hawaiicounty.gov/projects/pahala-na-alehu-large-capacity-cesspool-closures 5 VI.3.4.1: IWWMP - https://www.dem.hawaiicounty.gov/projects/integrated-wastewater-management-plan 3 1. What is the impact to Department of Environmental Management operations and finances of opening Kalapana Transfer Station two days a week? (Adams) Postponed from August 2, 2024 2. What is happening regarding the decentralized wastewater pilot project at Puakō? (Perez) 3. Has there been any follow-up discussion with DOH and County Administration on public notice for spills? (Adams) VII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 1. Follow up on action items determined today. 2. Other (Commissioners may suggest items they would like placed on the next agenda.) VIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, at the Puna Conference Room of the Hawai‘i County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, and via Zoom. Please contact the Board Secretary or review the agenda posted on the County Calendar within six days of the next meeting for confirmation.6 IX. ADJOURNMENT Note: A meeting held by interactive conference technology shall be automatically recessed for up to 30 minutes to restore communication when audiovisual communication cannot be maintained with all members participating in the meeting or with the “in person” location identified in this agenda. The meeting may reconvene when either audiovisual communication is restored, or audio-only communication is established after an unsuccessful attempt to restore audiovisual communication. If it is not possible to reconvene the meeting as provided in this subsection within 30 minutes after an interruption to communication, the meeting will be in recess and will attempt to reconvene at 1:00 p.m. on the same day, using the same meeting ID listed on Page 1 of this agenda. If at that time a quorum of remote members and the in-person members are unable to establish and maintain at least an audio-only connection by 1:15 p.m., then the meeting shall be automatically terminated. The regular meeting place is accessible to persons with disabilities. To request an auxiliary aid or language translation, please call (808) 961-8083 five days prior to the meeting date. Comments may be sent to the Department of Environmental Management, 345 Kekūanāoʻa Street, Suite 41, Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720, or emailed to cohdem@hawaiicounty.gov. Notice to lobbyists: If you are a lobbyist, you must register with the Hawaiʻi County Clerk within five days of becoming a lobbyist. [Chapter 2, Article 15, Section 2-91.3(b), Hawaiʻi County Code.] A lobbyist means “any individual engaged for pay or other consideration who spends more than five hours in any month or $275 in any six-month period for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action by communicating or urging others to communicate with public officials.” [Chapter 2, Article 15, Section 2-91.3(a)(6), Hawaiʻi County Code.] Registration forms and expenditure report documents are available at the Office of the County Clerk-Council, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720. 6 VIII: Hawai‘i County Calendar: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/our-county/county-calendar