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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-08-23 Environmental Management Commission MinutesENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2017 Hawai'i County Building, Puna Conference Room, Hilo, HI COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: James Fritz, Chair Jeffry Fear Luana Neff Jon Olson Susan Osborne STAFF: William Kucharski, Director Marcie Toguchi, Private Secretary Jessica Yeh, Deputy Corporation Counsel 1. CALL TO ORDER & ANNOUNCEMENTS: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. by Commission Chair Fritz. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 26, 2017 MEETING: Commissioner Olson moved to approve the July 26, 2017 minutes. Commissioner Osborne seconded, and it carried unanimously. 3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON ITEMS LISTED ON AGENDA: • Cory Harden stated there are some researchers that exposed European larvae to polystyrene, and the fish ate the plastic instead of their normal food. When they produced eggs, fewer eggs were hatched and the eggs that did hatch were smaller, slower and more stupid compared to fish in clean water. They were then exposed to predators. About half of the fish that were raised in clean water survived, while all the fish that were raised with high plastic concentration in the water were eaten. There is a list of several hundred local governments that have some kind of polystyrene ban. There is also a list of over 100 food establishments on the Big Island that don't use polystyrene. • Jerome Warren posed questions regarding Styrofoam: how many hours has the County Council spent banning plastic? If you add the plastic bag ban plus the previous Styrofoam attempt plus the hours spent so far on this ban, what is the running total? What is the hourly cost if we call these billable hours? This is a politicians dream and a taxpayer's nightmare. The most powerful economic force on earth is the government's ability to tax their citizens. This ban on plastic is an abuse of that power. It's not County business to make manufacturers pay an impact fee. An investment company, Ka`u Royal Coffee and Tea bought industrial land behind Punalu`u Bakery in Na`alehu. They also bought agricultural acreage above the town, where they plan to build houses and plant crops. Mr. Warren stated that Director Kucharski stated at last month's meeting that he didn't know how big Na`alehu's sewer would be, but did mention future expansion. Last year Commissioner Bennett mentioned the possibility of irrigation from a plant upslope. Will the developer pay for the sewer system or will the public? We learned from Commissioner Bennett's public access show that wastewater can irrigate crops. Commissioner should report on district 6, Na`alehu wastewater issue but he doesn't. Instead he reported on an issue happening in district 7. The EPA consent order and the County's compliance solution should have been an agenda item months ago. 1 4. OLD BUSINESS: a. Review and comment on Bill 13, Draft 3 — An ordinance amending Ch. 20 by adding a new article relating to reduction of polystyrene foam "Styrofoam" food containers and food service ware o No discussion 5. NEW BUSINESS: a. Discuss how to resolve the extent of unsewered dwellings in the Alii Drive area mauka and makai, and to the south of Queen Kalama o Commissioner Olson stated this has been a topic of discussion for over 40 years now but nothing of significance has been done. We need to move this along in any way possible. o Commission Chair Fritz asked Director Kucharski what the first step would be to extend a sewer line. Director Kucharski stated there are two things that come in to play. One thing is the Community Development Plans (CDPs) that calls for sewered areas within a mile of the coastline. Meetings are being set up with the Planning Department and Mayor to discuss what the department's approach will be. Funding is also an issue. Structuring out our priorities for our expenditures is difficult. o Director Kucharski stated the primary issue with Ali`i Drive south of Queen Kalama is the fact that we broke the planning at Queen Kalama Street. Everything north goes to Kealakehe, everything south does not have a County owned facility. Currently the issue of sewer is on the developer. o Director Kucharski stated the sooner we get groundwater and near shore discharges to stop, the better. How we're going to do that, is something we're still trying address comprehensively. Unfortunately there is no quick and cheap answer. Whatever we do will need to be well thought out. If we did everything in the Kona area that's good for the environment, it would cost about $900 million. This problem has been ignored for a while, but can't afford to ignore it any longer. o Commission Chair Fritz asked if the procedure would be for the County Council person of that area to put forth a resolution to create a bond situation where monies are raised through that. Director Kucharski answered you could come in and do a sewer district. However, the cost would be extremely expensive especially for people on a fixed income. The cost per month could range anywhere from $100 to $800 a month depending on square footage. These issues can be resolved, just can't be resolved without a great deal of investment. o Commissioner Olson stated eventually water quality will decrease to a point where we will incur federal sanction and will do it anyway under the gun. At the moment bonds are as cheap as you're going to get them. Need to bite the bullet and do it. o Director Kucharski stated our sewer fees have not been raised since 2007. We currently have the lowest sewer fees in the state. Even if we doubled our fees, we would still be the lowest. The department is in discussion with getting the sewer fee to a reasonable amount in a short term. o Commissioner Fear asked if Commissioners should start letters to their respective Council Members to raise the sewer fees. Director Kucharski stated he thinks the sewer fees are set by County Code, but he'll need to double check on that. County Council may have to approve the sewer fee increase. This topic is ongoing and not only being discusses at the Commission level. So far there has not been any resistance with raising the fees. o Chair Fritz moved to draft a letter asking County Council to raise the sewer fees and send this letter to the Environmental Management Committee. Commissioner Osborne seconded, and it carried unanimously. 2 Commissioner Osborne stated this topic was brought forward during the previous administration and Council was opposed to it. However, this is a different era so hopefully things can change. Commissioner Osborne would like to request that as Director Kucharski goes along is journey of discussions, if he could come back to the Commission with things they can do that will be effective. Commission Chair Fritz stated he will draft the letter and have it ready for review at the next meeting. 6. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE: a. Director's Report (attached to original minutes): o The Wastewater Division (WWD) is making progress on the Pahala & Na`alehu LCC project. Properties have been identified and will be going to landowners regarding purchase of the properties. The Pahala property may have to be a condemnation because it's owned by Kamehameha Schools and they are not allowed to sell property. Progressing with the preliminary designs for both facilities. o We are working with USDA on the Lono Kona Sewer project. The preliminary design is out and under review. Will have more information at the next meeting. Commissioner Fear asked for clarification on where Lono Kona is. Director Kucharski stated it's the area in downtown Kona between Kuakini and Alii Drive. It will be about a mile of sewer that will go to Kealakehe. o WWD will be upgrading and replacing the cast iron pipes in the Hilo and Kona areas. Will be upgrading the piping system that collapsed by the King Kamehameha Hotel. The division was able to find funding for this. However if we can bundle all these together as one package there is a possibility that we could receive SRF funds. Currently working with the State on this. Cast iron pipes will be replaced with PVC. o Modifications and repairs at Kealakehe WWTP remain ongoing. The new contractor is in place, as the original contractor went bankrupt. Traveler's was responsible for fmding the new contractor. Only additional cost to the County was having the construction manager onsite for this extended period of time. Commission Chair Fritz asked where the sludge goes. Director Kucharski stated the sludge is dewatered then transported to the Pu'uanahulu Landfill for disposal. o The Solid Waste Division (SWD) is proceeding with the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the South Hilo Sanitary Landfill closure. o Greg Goodale, SWD Chief will provide an update on the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (ISWMP) at the October meeting. The SWMP will look at increasing the tipping fees. He will also discuss the new road our trucks will take when hauling rubbish from East Hawai`i to West Hawai`i. o Still in the process of revising the compost facility contract with Hawaiian Earth Recycling Looking at sites and getting a contractor on board to do the EA's for alternate locations for the facility. o There is continued activity with abandoned vehicles because of the scrap metal price. The County pays $680.00 to dispose a vehicle, excluding the towing cost. Commissioner Olson stated it doesn't seem like the fee on our registration isn't enough. Director Kucharski stated there is sufficient money to deal with vehicles, but there are also other expenses associated with that. Right now there is not a need to increase the fee. Commissioner Fear asked who the metal salvage contractors are in East Hawai`i and West Hawai`i. Director Kucharski stated he believes it's only one (1) contractor for the whole island but will double check and report back at the next meeting. 3 b. Commission Member District Update Reports: o District 4: Commissioner Olson stated the wastewater issues in Pahoa still need to be addressed. Received a report that the new owners of the complex will start construction for the new shopping center. Starting a planning session in HPP. At some point, HPP may need a transfer station because the current facility won't be able to handle the population. Commissioner Olson asked Director Kucharski if there is any population data flowing to him so the department can start planning for future needs. Director Kucharski stated the ISWMP will cover that. o District 8: Commissioner Fear stated they got a lot done at the old Kona airport with the clean-up. There is now a security guard there 24/7 so the homeless people can't come back. The clean-up accumulated 17 tons of trash on the first day. It's now much safer to go there. The road is getting closer, they're going to open up a couple lanes. On August 12th there was the first Ala Kahakai Trail canoe race from to bring awareness for cleaning the trail that goes all around the island. The water well is still down. o District 9: Commission Chair Fritz stated the Puako Transfer Station gate was broken down on Monday, and still is. There is also a staffing issue there as no one arrives until 6:30 a.m., even though the transfer station opens at 6:00 a.m. Director Kucharski stated he will look into that as there should be a security guard there until our employee arrives at 7:00 a.m. o District 1: Commissioner Neff stated her district is uneventful. She has noticed that there is a lot more traffic at the Papa`ikou Transfer Station. o District 5: Commissioner Osborne would like to make sure the Department has a strong voice in the CDP so that we can tell them about all the issues we face. Director Kucharski stated he will be meeting with the Planning Department to discuss CDP's. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a. Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan — October b. Discuss options on how to receive additional funding for department • Commission Chair Fritz asked Commissioners to bring up any ideas for future agenda items. The Commission is here to make things better. • Commissioner Fear requested discussion about the wastewater at Kealakehe being discharged by the Police Station. We need to check to see if it's treated or not treated. Need to get this clarified between the workers and County Council as they believe different things. Director Kucharski stated he can speak about that at next month's meeting. • Commissioner Osborne requested for a presentation about the General Plan. Director Kucharski stated the General Plan falls under the Planning Department but will need to find out who the contact person is and ask if they can present at a future meeting. 8. MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS September 27 Kona WHCC Council Room A October 25 Hilo Puna Conf. Room, County Bldg. November 22 Kona WHCC Council Room A December 27 No meeting 4 Dates are selected per the Commission Rules. 9. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Olson moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Neff seconded, and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:14 a.m. Minutes Respectfully Submitted by: MARCIE TOGUCI I Environmental Management Secretary 5