HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEPC minutes 020614
LEPC MEETING MINUTES
NEW CHINA RESTAURANT
February 6, 2014 10:00am
Members Present: Henry Silva, Chairperson; Gerald Kosaki, Vice-Chairperson; John
Bowen, Hazmat Consultant; Newton Inouye, DOH; Tracy Aruga, Hilo Medical Center;
Michel Uchida, HFD Hazmat; John Peard, DOH HEER; John “Jack” Roney, Civilian
Representative; David Cummings, Hamakua Energy; Geoffrey Lauer, BEI Hawaii; Cliff
Townsend, PGV; Ron Quesada, PGV. Non-Members: Reyn Cabarloc, HMC; Sharon
Leonida, DOH HEER; Lucas Parrish, BEI; Abel Costa, PGV
I.Call to Order – 10:04 am by Vice-Chair Gerald Kosaki
II.Approval of minutes from November 21, 2013 meeting – No objections to
minutes, minutes accepted and adopted
III.Tier II project report – John Peard gave an update to the status of tier II
reporting. March 1, 2014 is the reporting deadline. John also spoke about
some options to help increase tier II reporting in our county. We currently
have a $1,500 budget to increase Tier II awareness. We solicited input from
the committee and summarized a list. (see attached)
IV.School labs and chemicals update – Henry gave an update for the school clean
up in our county. Inspections are being conducted by Grace Simons. He
stated that although Mark Behrens had stated that the DOE was doing training
in identifying hazardous materials and conditions but there were still many
schools that needed to be inspected as the DOE is still not complying. Sharon
Leonida cited schools on the mainland that had some lab fires; however, it
was not clear as to the cause of these fires. John Bowen inquired as to what
criteria is being used to identify this hazardous waste. He stated that anyone
with expertise can identify a product as a hazardous waste. Henry will try to
get Mark Behrens to come to the next SERC meeting.
V.County reports:
Civil Defense – CD-1 Darryl Oliveira discussed the recent incident
regarding a tanker overturned on Kawaihae Road that occurred on
November 15, 2013. He stated that the truck involved in this incident was
the same company of a past incident that occurred on the Hamakua
highway. HEER was notified and there was good interagency
coordination at the incident.
Fire – Mike Uchida reported that Liz Galvez was conducting training
using our Hazmat sampling kits. The CST drill will commence in March
and the next Hazmat technician class is scheduled for April 7-18 and May
5-16, 2014. This class is largely paid for by the HMEP grant.
Police – no report given
VI.Industry partners reports –
PGV – Ron Quesada reported that during the last storm, they got a call
from Fire but no incident occurred.
BEI – Geoff Lauer stated that they were audited by DHS who reviewed
their site safety plan. They also made some recommendations on the
security of their facility based on the types of chemicals stored. BEI will
also be certifying the HFD coffins.
Hilo Med Center – Reported that they will be participating in the
upcoming drill with the CST team
Hamakua Energy Partners – David stated that EPA gave them feedback on
their inspections and reviewed their risk management plan. This plan is
required for HEP, PGV, and BEI
VII.Department of Health HEER report – John Peard reported of Hakalau site
pesticide clean up contaminated from the past sugar mills. He stated that the
current owners will be burdened with the clean up costs. Other reports
included: Pier 4 beginning construction and excavation, Big Island asphalt
was sold to a Bio fuel company, and the results of Waiakea pond will be out
in the spring sometime. Henry also mentioned the incident involving the
Aloha Petroleum fuel spill.
VIII.Announcements – Henry spoke about the NASTTPO conference and of what
the LEPC is all about which it is not to identify the levels of government. We
then held a networking session and worked on suggestions to stimulate tier II
compliance.
IX.Next meeting - The next LEPC meeting will be held on May 21, 2014 at the
Civil Defense office.
X.Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 12:15 pm.