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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-25 Environmental Management Commission Minutes ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI UNOFFICIAL MEETING MINUTES (No Quorum Reached) Wednesday, October 25, 2017 9:07 a.m. to 11:54 a.m. Hawaiʻi County Building 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1501 Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720 Commissioners present: Staff present: James Fritz, Chair William Kucharski, Director Richard Bennett, Vice Chair Diane Noda, Deputy Director Jon Olson Keyra Wong, Deputy Corporation Counsel Luana Neff Mary Fujio, Acting Secretary Members of the public present: Jerome Warren; Gary Harrold; Cory Harden; Victoria Haili of Recycle Hawaiʻi; Jerri Napeahi; Paul Buklarewicz; Cherie Griffore As quorum was not reached, no official action was taken. 9:07 a.m.: Chair Fritz welcomed everyone and announced the lack of quorum. He explained that testimony from the public would be taken and that presentations by the Planning Department and Solid Waste Division, as stated on the agenda, would be heard. Diane Noda introduced Mary Fujio, who was substituting for Marcie Toguchi as the Commission’s secretary. Agenda Item 3: STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Cory Harden: Ms. Harden testified regarding the Solid Waste Management Plan. She said that Steve Holmes, a former Honolulu council member and former member of the Sierra Club, encourages thinking about a gas recovery project when the landfill closes, as it was listed by the EPA as a candidate site. The landfill gas can be recovered for up to 60 years, even after its quality has degraded. A private gas company could do it at no cost to the county. Honolulu did a similar project, which will generate revenue of $1.8 million. Such a project would also reduce natural gas imports. Gary Harrold: Mr. Harrold said he was not prepared at this time to give a statement. He wanted to study the issues and figure out what he supports and opposes. Jerome Warren: Mr. Warren testified first on agenda item 5a, the General Plan. He said the Kaūʻ CDP, which ties into the General Plan, has an infrastructure chapter that includes roads and water, but there is no mention of wastewater. Two businesses in Nāālehu, the 76 Gas ʻ Station and Ace Hardware, recently installed septic systems. They’re doing their own. There was a large sewage spill in Nāālehu Sʻubdivision, where he lives. There are 160 plantation homes there. The spill was above the highway, and it was reported online on September 28 in Big Island News. The spill was over 1,000 gallons and happened on September 19. The County promised the EPA that a new $16 million sewage treatment plant will be built upwind from the Nāālehu Elementary School. ʻHe wants to know whether the properties that have septic systems will be required to hook into the sewer, and where the lines will run. He said the plan presented was very vague, and the department as well as the council members have been silent. Public meetings get scheduled after the property has been acquired and the blueprint done. The County’s promise to the EPA includes federal fines if certain deadlines are not met. What are these deadlines? How much will we have to cough up? Mr. Warren next testified on agenda item 6a, the Director’s Report, and specifically item I of the report, Sewer Rate Study Update. As gang cesspools are illegal, how can the County make somebody pay for something illegal? If an owner disconnects from a cesspool, will he still have to pay? The Nāālehu people are ʻupset because they’ve been ignored. Also, how did unpaid sewer bills reach such high balances, and how much is still owed? Has Country Club Villas, which owed $113,000 in unpaid sewer bills, ever paid? In closing, Mr. Warren said that during public testimony, commissioners should hold their comments. Comments and questions can be raised during the reading of the agenda items, and then the testifier should be given the opportunity to respond. Agenda item 5a: UPDATE BY PLANNING DEPARTMENT ON GENERAL PLAN April Surprenant introduced herself and Bethany Morrison of the Planning Department. Ms. Surprenant is the manager for long-range planning, and Ms. Morrison is a senior planner and project manager for the General Plan. They did a slide presentation entitled General Plan Comprehensive Review Project Update. Ms. Surprenant explained the General Plan is the big picture, long-range comprehensive plan for our island. It is broad in scope and deals with specific topics such as the environment, community, and economy. It looks ahead in the range of 25 years into the future. Its content contains overarching goals, specific policies or directives, and implementation actions. The actions often point to different departments in terms of what they are to do or take on. Implications of the process might be future rezoning, or changing the zoning as we see it today. There are also implications on public improvements such as roads, water, and wastewater, as well as on public access programs and other programs. The process started in February 2015 and is extensive. They have gone through a myriad of things, including researching existing plans and policies. They have spoken with all involved agencies in the county and state, as well as outside the government. They have been incorporating and researching CDPs. This is the first General Plan that incorporates the regional CDPs which are in place. With all the information gathered, they have done trend scenarios, looking at what life will look like on our island in 2 2040, which is their benchmark on this update. They looked at what would happen if they changed some things, and what things did not align with the policies and goals. Last August they had technical workshops, and they have been seeking public input via extensive outreach throughout the island. They are now in the policy drafting phase; and once that is completed, they will go to the agencies again and do island-wide public outreach for comments and suggestions and also individual presentations with communities. Question from a member of the public: How will the public be notified that their input is wanted? Ms. Surprenant said they would be going as broad as they could, doing press releases, radio announcements, working with communities and their distribution lists, going on Facebook, and having a General Plan website. Question from a member of the public: If we include our email address on the sign-in sheet, will it make its way to you? Ms. Surprenant said the last slide will have the General Plan website email address, which would be more effective. People can also sign up on the website, as well as email them directly at the Planning Department. Vice Chair Bennett pointed out the flow chart and asked if there a point on it that they’ll come back to the commissioners. Ms. Surprenant said they would come back when they have draft language ready. They have already met with DEM staff and gathered research specific to environmental management. They are presenting condensed information today to give direction on where they believe they will be going based on the input received. She encouraged people to send any thoughts to them. Vice Chair Bennett said that if they had a quorum today, they would be talking about freshwater and wastewater conservation policies, as Councilmember Eoff wanted the EMC’s position. Ms. Surprenant said it would be good for her to receive that information, once the EMC has voted on it. Ms. Morrison mentioned that the commissioners can also provide feedback and comments individually, if they don’t have a quorum. Commissioner Olson asked whether they would receive benchmarks in terms of when things will be happening by district or area of impact, or will it be numbers based, on the infrastructure the EMC should consider. Ms. Surprenant said that would be a strategic plan on how to get from Point A to Point B, and the General Plan does not do that. However, there is software they are using to create models to assist in planning how to get from Point A to Point B. Commissioner Olson said a more detailed analysis of how to move forward would be good for the EMC and other commissions. Ms. Surprenant agreed, but said whether it is strategic or not all along the way might not be a part of the General Plan. However, the General Plan will look for better direct priorities of infrastructure and identify where the County and the public are saying they want roads, and prioritizing those areas for infrastructure improvements. Ms. Surprenant went back to the slide show, looking at trends and forecasts. She said they worked with a consultant to gather information on socioeconomic, housing, and population data. Growth is looking to be about 52% by 2040. The population is about 200,000 now, so it 3 should grow by about another 100,000. Software has been able to map where the fastest growth patterns are, in Kaūʻ and Puna, which are typically underserved communities. They did a comprehensive review of all the CDPs and have a huge matrix of all General Plan policies and all CDP policies so they can compare them. The good news is that they are very consistent with each other. As an island, we have consistent goals on where we want to go and what we want from a development standpoint. This helps with the future of the General Plan, which will be a new animal incorporating years of community work and outreach through the general development regional plans. The scenario software they are using has allowed them to download all the information they have gathered. They have layers of GIS mapping from all the agencies that have it— federal, state, and county—and have incorporated the data into the mapping software program. This enables them to see not only the trends, but they can also see and map information from the CDPs, including the policies. They can look at individual topic focused layers. They can look at different scenarios, modeling pieces of goals and intentions, and see how they measure against one another. The software has the ability to look at very specific indicators in order to compare different scenarios to achieve a community’s goals. On the “Network Analysis” slide, Ms. Surprenant explained how the Fire Station Network Coverage shows the particular level of service between a fire station and the communities it is to reach. The “Active Parks Network Coverage” slide shows the service areas of the parks and how many acres can be reached by a community Commissioner Olson asked whether “service area” speaks to the adequacy of the service, and Ms. Surprenant said not in this particular case. The slide showed specifically active usable park land and households reached, but not necessarily the facilities within the park. Ms. Morrison said that adequacy of the level of service would be handled in a policy, not necessarily by a map that measures distance. Commissioner Olson said that to the average person, it is the level of service that really matters. Ms. Surprenant turned the presentation over to Ms. Morrison, to walk through some of the specific research. Ms. Morrison said she is a long-range planner with the Planning Department and would be going through the research and analysis on the different topic areas and sharing some of the findings regarding wastewater and solid waste, as these are big environmental issues that need to be recognized and considered in the strategies. There are coastal water quality issues, as many older residential and unsewered areas are creating water quality issues down the coast. They need to figure out how to deal with that in the General Plan and consider potential management strategies. Vice Chair Bennett asked why they were targeting Puakō and Kapoho on the slide, and Ms. Morrison explained those areas were just being used as examples. Water quality data shows there is an environmental issue in both of those communities. Other areas may have issues as well, such as Kealakekua Bay. 4 Vice Chair Bennett said he would refer Ms. Morrison to the EPA’s 303(d) listing, which shows that virtually every water body on the west side of the island is impaired. The law requires that impairment be terminated and remediated through the TMDL process, but this island has no TMDL process. It is the State’s obligation, and they have completely dropped the ball. He said he would advise Ms. Morrison to say that basically every near shore community has coastal impact issues. Ms. Morrison said one of the things they could look at is land use and how it could be planned that new coastal communities need to be sewered. Vice Chair Bennett said they need to think outside the box. Ms. Morrison said the state legislature passed various rules and regulations, and there was a recent act requiring that household aerobic systems not discharge directly into the groundwater. Where that might be happening here and working with the DOH might also be considered. Vice Chair Bennett asked what a household aerobic unit is, and Director Kucharski said the ones here do essentially secondary treatment. It is not a septic system. Ms. Morrison said it has implications in places like Kapoho, where there is groundwater near the surface. Ms. Morrison said they wanted to highlight the overlap of water use and conservation issues, recognizing that all water is a resource to be conserved and used appropriately. Water issues are not limited to coastal areas, as there are urban areas with cesspools that may be failing. They could query the DOH on the failure rates. Vice Chair Bennett asked what constitutes a failing system, and Ms. Morrison said a cesspool that does not function properly. Commissioner Olson said cesspools are just a hole in the ground with a lid on it, and they are collapsing in on themselves. Vice Chair Bennett said there are some places where a cesspool fails when it fills up and you get standing water on your lawn. He said the state does not have good data on failing systems. UH-Manoa did a study looking at failing septic systems, and about 60% are failing right now. It is a huge problem. Ms. Morrison said the General Plan encourages inter-agency collaboration, so even though some issues fall under the state, we all need to work together on solutions. Comment from a member of the public: Jerome Warren commented that according to the EPA, a cesspool fails when the plume reaches groundwater. Ms. Morrison continued with the presentation. Another issue is the use of large capacity cesspools and the efforts under way to convert them. A section of Act 125 talks about qualified cesspools and how they can be certified to be appropriate for connection to a sewer system. She said this is an example of where our state legislators are well intentioned, but a county like ours is left with lots of questions on how to deal with a law like this. 5 Vice Chair Bennett said he was confused about what a qualified cesspool is. Commissioner Neff said it alludes to the idea that the County has okayed the cesspool. Ms. Morrison said that in order to be open-minded and inventive, other examples of small scale treatment systems should be considered. Commissioner Olson asked if that was something DEM should be working on. Ms. Morrison said it needs to be done, but the bigger question is who has the staff and time to do it. They met with DEM staff, and they all recognize there is an opportunity for smaller systems to serve the communities, possibly through a public/private partnership. Those options should be considered and evaluated. Commissioner Olson said that with Kapoho, for example, the state was the primary responsible body, and they just handed the ball to the county with Act 125. He asked whether the state wants to maintain some kind of oversight or if they’re just walking away. Ms. Morrison said the DOH still regulates the individual septic systems, but if a community wants to move away from individual systems, they’ll need to look at alternative strategies. Question from a member of the public: Jerome Warren asked if there was anything about wastewater in the plan. He said he looked through it and saw nothing but a vague reference. Ms. Morrison said that Kaūʻ, Nāālehu, and Pʻāhala have large-capacity cesspools that are being converted. Mr. Warren said they are not, they are being ignored, and the gang cesspools are dysfunctional because they create a plume large enough to contaminate the groundwater. Chair Fritz said they needed to move along and informed Mr. Warren that he could not pick apart everything during the meeting. Ms. Morrison moved to the next slide, regarding a 2016 amendment to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Section 174C-31. It is requiring 100% use of reclaimed water in state and county facilities by December 2045. This is another example of legislation that is well intended but may not be feasible. Ms. Morrison said there will be General Plan policy directions in order to deal with some of the issues. The language is not cast is stone yet, but is meant to give direction on things to consider. For wastewater, they will talk about prioritization and developing systems that are cost effective for smaller communities. They will develop a criteria based infrastructure prioritization tool to develop or expand wastewater systems. Possible criteria to consider would be having a mix of residential and commercial uses, redevelopment opportunities, existing built out areas facing regulatory constraints, or areas to focus on affordable housing. Again, advocating to the legislature, County Council, and DOH are options. The water reuse guidelines need to be revised to expand on the uses of reused water. The cesspool conversation tax credit possibly should be expanded, and standards need to be adopted for what those systems could look like to achieve the goals. 6 Vice Chair Bennett asked if there are guidelines presently that are impediments, such as the Water Reuse Guidelines. Ms. Morrison said there are some Greywater Guidelines that are not adopted in our County, so they would ask to have that done so the systems are put into residential use. Vice Chair Bennett said the Green Amendments should be included, as they speak in much greater detail about wastewater reuse. However, when the County adopted the 2002 UPC, they chose not to ratify a number of the chapters. Ms. Morrison said they would like a lot of amendments to the Code. They could potentially require water reuse for large developments through the Zoning Code, depending on how large the lot is. They could require a connection to a private sewer system, if available, instead of to a public system. For example, in Waikoloa they have a private system, but not all folks are required to connect. It is another potential direction. For wastewater funding, they could look at adding some fee adjustments to recuperate some of the costs, as well as proactively seek grant funding for wastewater development. There is also a potential for private/public partnerships in building expansions or new facilities. For solid waste, again the issues need to be understood and attention paid to laws of particular note. The state requires there be an Integrated Solid Waste Management Report, which she understands is being started. The report will provide them with some targets and goals. Annual reports are also required, so they can check on how well the goals are being met. On recycling efforts, there has been discussion on how to increase commercial recycling. Again, they are working with DEM to understand what the challenges are and how to overcome them to increase recycling efforts. The enforcement of illegal dumping and littering laws does not necessarily fall into a DEM bucket, and they are working with the Police Department and Prosecutor’s Office to understand the implications of those laws. Comment from a member of the public: A woman suggested looking at the Environmental Court. Comment from a member of the public: A man said there should be some public education propaganda from the department regarding under-consumption. Our habits need to be looked at, such as our single use of plastic bottles. Ms. Morrison said she heard a disturbing snippet on Hawaiʻi Public Radio that the USA produces the most waste of any country in the world. Michael Yee, the Planning Director, spoke. He said he did not know if the comment was inferring that the Planning Department should be doing the education. Planning puts the framework into a plan. The plan is owned by every department in the county. If education is needed, he would generally say it is not a Planning function. 7 Ms. Morrison said many people do not know the laws, so the laws need to be communicated. Outreach and education ties into all they do. She moved on to system types and legislation. The closure of the Hilo Landfill is coming up, and it is being planned for. The use of the sort station needs to be increased, and the compost facility is another way of pulling the waste and using it locally. Commissioner Olson said that again, it would be helpful to get ideas about population base, about when it becomes appropriate. The hardest part of doing anything is getting started. The planning process needs to be orderly so that when a certain point is reached, there needs to be a parallel track to get the infrastructure in so it can actually be done when the time comes. Ms. Morrison continued. Regarding proposed solid waste policy directions, they could create or revise the County Code by looking at a source separation ordinance, codifying the prohibition of organic material disposal at the landfill, create a construction and demolition recycling ordinance, consider take-back ordinances, revise enforcement on illegal littering and dumping, create an e-scrap ordinance, and make an ordinance to require recycling at all county offices, facilities, and baseyards. Commissioner Olson said the difference between material disposal and material collection needs to be identified. What is appropriate for collection is not well defined. If you are simply collecting, you are not necessarily recycling. Ms. Morrison said there are several solid waste policy directions to consider: smaller operations in proximity to transfer stations, developing an environmental control program to monitor environmental issues, initiating a clean-up program for special waste areas such as junkyards, and developing a litter abatement program. The steps after that will be to consult with agencies, develop a preferred scenario for mapping and drafting strategies, and gathering more public input. Once they have a draft, they’ll again initiate public input to read it and provide feedback. Vice Chair Bennett asked if the plan will have an agricultural component, and Ms. Morrison said it is between the natural resources and economic development sections. They have not figured out the exact structure of it. Vice Chair Bennett said he got his start in communities with reclaimed water, and they ultimately realized it had to go to agriculture. Today, over 10,000 acres of farm land is irrigated with reclaimed water. He would encourage the integration of agricultural resources with reclaimed water and fresh water. Ms. Morrison said they met with the Department of Water Supply last week and talked about similar issues. They will be considering all water as being a resource. She encouraged people to look at the General Plan website and contact them with feedback and questions. Ms. Surprenant introduced Michael Yee, the Planning Director, who had joined the meeting earlier. 8 Chair Fritz asked if the public had any questions. Question from a member of the public: A man asked whether, given the porous composition of our substrate, the percolation of sewage is an issue for leach fields, septic tanks, cesspools, and gang cesspools. Vice Chair Bennett said yes, that all water still flows downhill in Hawaiʻi, and under us is fresh water floating on sea water. The percolation will get there eventually, though it is faster in some areas. Question from a member of the public: A man stated that in 23 years our population will increase, and he asked if there is any consideration of what other countries—those with WWTPs—do in terms of treating the water and getting it out of cesspools and tanks. He said the county seems to be in the dark ages as far as water and planning. Ms. Morrison agreed there are more progressive implementation strategies throughout the world, but they have done their best to look at those best practices and incorporate what is feasible. They have inherited a lot of decisions made in the 1960s and 1970s, and it will take time to overcome some of those, whether it be about wastewater, road infrastructure, etc. The strategies are how they can start to make positive gains, but they can’t get there overnight. Ms. Surprenant said it is part of the policy work they are doing, to try to focus development around already developed areas in an effort to slow down the sprawl effect seen in many of our communities. Vice Chair Bennett asked whether Ms. Morrison was familiar with the Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Initiative. They have been working on it since 2007, and institutions like MIT and Standard have developed a very unique stand-alone toilet system. The one that got the award turns the waste into energy. The application is for the lesser developed world, but the technology could be the way of the future. Each home has its own waste processing facility, creating high quality greywater to use at the home. There are no sewer pipes or cesspool pits. Planning Director Yee asked to comment. He said the General Plan does force us as an island to take a longer viewpoint. It slows us down long enough to not just look at the here and now, but at where we want to be 20-plus years from now. Though it is a laborious process, it is a good thing to document and memorialize where we want to go. DEM has been one of the better departments in terms of being forward looking. There are a lot of issues brewing down the road. He has been working with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at UH-Mānoa, where one of the professors is an expert in sewer and waste management systems. He has been cajoling them to work with certain county departments on more forward-looking ideas with transit, sewers, and housing. It might be possible to have master level students look over things. One professor, Daniele Spirandelli, was very excited about doing a project with the county. If focused energy is needed, there are resources at UH-Mānoa. Commissioner Neff said they had thought about that for quite some time, and it should be a qualification for students that in order to graduate from a university, they have to go back into the community and design something that supports the needs of that community. 9 Vice Chair Bennett said that was encouraging. He has been on the island almost 18 years, and one thing that frustrates him, in talking with people in positions of power and authority, is their reticence to look anywhere other than on the island. Chair Fritz thanked Mr. Yee for coming. 10:25 a.m.: Chair Fritz called a ten-minute break. * * * * * 10:37 a.m.: The meeting resumed. Chair Fritz announced they were waiting for a computer to arrive for a presentation by the Solid Waste Chief and Recycling Coordinator. In the meantime, Director Kucharski would give his report. Agenda Item 6a: DIRECTOR’S REPORT Director Kucharski apologized for the technical difficulties. He wanted to address general questions that arose at prior meetings. ▪ Who regulates illegal dumping? It is purely a DOH issue. The only thing the County has is the litter requirement, where the police have the authority to ticket a litterer up to $1,000. That is the only part of the Code that deals with littering, and illegal dumping is littering. DEM has no statutory authority to deal with illegal dumping. Commissioner Olson asked whether the situation can be fixed by the County Council or if it has to go through the state. Director Kucharski said the Council can provide the authority to deal with the issue. It would still be basically the responsibility of the State DOH, as it is a violation of state law, but something could be done on the county side. He said he does not see the future with the county not having some regulatory part in it. If the Council granted DEM the authority, they could proceed. ▪ What are the fees for septage haulers? Director Kucharski had prepared a table on his report showing the minimum charge per load and discharge fee depending on the type of waste being discharged. He said they would be going to the County Council with a request for an increase in the sewage fees. However, the final sewer rate study is not yet ready. ▪ Who do we call to report an abandoned vehicle? 10 Director Kucharski pointed the commissioners to the last page of his report, which had an information sheet entitled “Abandoned Vehicle Removal Procedures.” The information is also available on the website address listed. Other questions, which did not make it into his written report, were: ▪ When did Kealakehe start discharging into the sump? Director Kucharski said that to the best of their knowledge, it was 1994. They have gone back and looked at the records, and that is the best date they can give. Commissioner Olson said he believes it was prior to then, but Director Kucharski said 1994 was the best date they could come up with, as the construction of the facility was started in 1990. ▪ Can private sewers discharge into a County facility and a County line? Director Kucharski said the answer is yes and no. If a private sewer is up to the County Code standards and they want to turn it over to the county, they can connect. If they do that, then everyone adjacent to that line is therefore required to connect to the sewer. If it is private and the county sewer is more than 300 feet away from the property, there is no direct connection; and by Code they cannot force the private entity to connect to the county sewer line. They will be researching whether they can require homeowners to connect to a private sewer line, if there is one available. It would allow some public/private cooperative agreements to be made. At this point in time, however, people can connect—but they cannot be forced to connect—to a private line. Commissioner Olson said he had a bunch of questions on how could they help people do the right thing, in terms of funding issues and using the auspices of government. EPA has grants that government agencies are eligible for, and he would like them to be passed on to the private sector, the homeowners, so it would be possible and feasible for them to connect. Director Kucharski said they cannot expend monies on private property without special approval by the County Council. In Nāālehu, they do have ʻthe approval to pay for the connection fees to the homes and to have that construction occur. Commissioner Olson said it would be good to check on grants, where the homeowners could pay them back over a period of 20 years or so. Director Kucharski said there is some legislation towards that in the books, but it requires the applicant to have been turned down for every other form of financing they tried for. There are many ideas on ways the system could be improved and made easier and less expensive. In talking about sewering the island, just to sewer Kona would cost approximately a billion dollars. 10:50 a.m.: Commissioner Neff said she had to leave the meeting and would see them next year. 11 Director Kucharski he had completed going through the questions from the last meeting and moved on to a few other items from his report. They are approaching a final agreement for purchasing the property in Nāālehuʻ. When the time comes for them to have public meetings on a planned facility, they need to know what they will be proposing before talking to the public. They will need a preliminary plan as to what the treatment system will be like and how it will be laid out. He pointed out that in the consent agreement with the EPA, all of the deadlines are enumerated very specifically. It is available online. Every deadline and every deliverable is indicated and defined within that consent agreement, for both Nāālehu and Pāhala. ʻ Question from a member of the public: Jerome Warren asked what the first date is that they can be fined. Director Kucharski said they need to have meetings and provide updates every quarter. Anything they miss can be subject to a fine. Very specific dates and deliverables are in the agreement. Commissioner Olson asked whether, if changes were made to the County Code soon so that people in Nāālehu could take advantage of extending out the costs of connecting, there is ʻ anything in the agreement with the EPA to prevent that from happening. Director Kucharski said he was not aware of anything, but it would have to be done early in the budget cycle because money would have to be provided to make the initial funding. It would be a multi-year type of activity where there would be a continuing fund that would be drawn down and then refilled. He would like to see that. However, the funds would have to come from somewhere. Commissioner Olson said his County Council member was previously the recycling coordinator, and she also has a doctorate in accounting. He will talk to her about finding the money. Director Kucharski reported on the Kealakehe R-1. Focus group meetings are starting next week. The groups are made up of specifically identified people, and there will be 10 to 15 within a group. There will be cultural, recreational, business, environmental, and interagency groups. There are five meetings planned to review and discuss the R-1 EIS. Question from a member of the public: A woman asked if the focus group meetings are open to the public. Director Kucharski said they are focus group meetings, not public meetings. The public may be able to observe them but not participate. The woman asked how she could find out when the meetings are, and Director Kucharski said to email him and he’ll provide the meeting list. Director Kucharski said the Commission’s planned November site visit to the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant needs to be postponed, as a contractor is fixing one of the ponds and it may be dangerous to bring civilians into the construction area. The Department intends to move forward on an anti-litter program, and he hopes to go to the Council before Christmas with a proposal. He will be briefing them on the elements and 12 taking a look at the personnel necessary to get it moving. They are a long way from getting it off the ground but are working on it diligently. Director Kucharski finished his report, and there were no questions. Agenda Item 5b: UPDATE ON INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN Gregory Goodale, the Solid Waste Division Chief, introduced himself and George Hayducsko, the Recycling Coordinator. Mr. Goodale said they would be going through what was done in the past, what came out of it, and what they are moving towards in the planning process. He brought executive summaries from the 2009 iteration to hand out and explained it is also online. The entire report is on their zerowaste.org website as well. He explained that the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan is a requirement of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes. It is a planning process. It used to be required every five years but now is required every ten years. The planning process involves public participation and requires at least five people on an advisory board. One of the members will be George Hayducsko, and they are still lining up the other four people to be on the board. A consultant contract is being finalized for a consultant to assist in the process. The board will be essential to the process in terms of coming up with ideas and talking to community members about the things to be accomplished. The process includes evaluations of the solid waste management practices, waste reduction practices, and all the associated programs. The plan will make recommendations and take into account the status of the previous programs. It will basically look at everything that has been done and take into consideration the state of the industry and things that make sense for our island. They are trying to come up with solutions that make sense for the County of Hawaiʻi, not for somewhere else, which is why the board will need members who live here, participate in things, and do business here. They are looking to get options for improvements to the overall solid waste management program—the transportation of the waste, how it is processed, and diversion from the waste stream. The 2009 recommendations included implementing an ordinance to require mandatory recycling, expanding the availability and convenience of reuse recycling centers, implementing a pay-as-you-throw system, and implementing a path to zero waste, as well as implementation of onsite composing programs and improving educational programs. Other recommended improvements included restructuring the recycling stations and trying to do it for each one on an annual basis; completing improvements to stations to allow for pay-as-you-throw; adding additional reuse centers; constructing a material recovery center in West Hawaiʻi to do a better job of sorting materials out of the waste stream; and adding composting operations. 13 Mr. Goodale turned the presentation over to Mr. Hayducsko to walk through some of the things that have been done as a result of the last planning process. Mr. Hayducsko said the upside is that he is working with awesome people, and the downside is that there is an awful lot to do. He went through some of the highlights of what has occurred since the plan came out. The single-use plastic bag has been banned. It has been a very successful program. For the tire education program, there were recommendations about education. The program reaches out to the business community and general public. The first part was educating the businesses—the tire dealerships. The dealerships have to add a recycling charge to a tire every time someone buys one, but most dealers were not aware of this. It is mandatory by state law. The added charge means there is no financial incentive for someone to take a tire back home. They had to hire a vendor to go out and educate all the tire dealers. They will be following up two more times with each tire retailer to educate them on this. They also needed to educate the general public about the charge, so they had radio ads and printed ads in the newspaper. The reuse centers were increased from three to seven, again for that lofty goal of reaching zero waste. Much more material is being diverted from the landfill, to be used over and over. They just opened up Hilo and Waiohinu this year. For the green waste program, drop-offs were increased from three to eight. It has been highly successful in terms of the volume being diverted from the landfill. It allows them to capture more green waste and turn it into mulch, for which there is a great demand. Another huge program is utilizing food waste and compost. They are working on rewriting the contract and searching for locations. They are looking at three possibilities and will be hiring a consultant to help in the process. The plan also recommended improvements to some of the transfer stations, and that has occurred. the Pāhoa site stands out and is working well. The Waimea Transfer Station and others have been improved. Regarding e-waste, there has been some collection. The state used to help pay for the program but pulled back, so the county taxpayers are paying for it. Every Saturday, on different parts of the island, there are collections. There is one permanent vendor, Mr. K, that takes e- waste every Saturday. Everybody gets served. The other program they continue to support is household hazardous waste collection. They provide for its collection in Hilo and Kealakehe twice per year, and make two other collections during the year. In closing, Mr. Hayducsko said they take recycling very seriously. 14 Mr. Goodale said that all the improvements mentioned happened since the report came out in the 2009-10 framework. Many of the programs were already up and running, but in a limited capacity. They take the planning process seriously. They go through it thoroughly and look at the recommendations. They believe the outcomes make real differences in the way things are done. They are happy with what were able to accomplish, as it was a significant portion of the recommendations. They try to educate people about why all of this is important, why it makes a difference. He emphasized that the plan is not something that just sits on a shelf and no one looks at it. It is looked at regularly. The plan also has statistics which DEM shares with the public regularly and brings up at council meetings and with the administration. The plan is a well used document, and they go through it with a great deal of sincerity and expect to see good things come out of it. Though it is mandatory, at the same time it is a good opportunity for the county to reflect on what makes sense and how best to do things. He asked if there were any questions. Question from a member of the public: Jerome Warren said it is traditional in his neighborhood for people to burn their garbage, and he knows the toxicity of burnt plastic. He asked whether, when the pay-as-you-throw program is implemented, he can call DEM about the rubbish burners. Mr. Goodale said DEM cannot do anything about that, as it does not fall within their purview. The Fire Department would be one option, as well as the Clean Air Branch with the DOH. DEM is not in the enforcement business. Mr. Warren said that if pay-as-you-throw is implemented, more people will be burning their garbage. He knows what it’s like to have smoke from burning garbage blow to his home. Mr. Goodale said he would respectfully disagree. He came from Alaska, where there was a large percentage of people who burned their rubbish. When the program was implemented, the percentage of people who burned their refuse did not go up. He said the bad actors that dump rubbish where it doesn’t belong are going to do that regardless. The system does not get any easier than what the county provides, with 22 transfer stations. The county has a robust system. Commissioner Olson asked Mr. Goodale what his total budget is, and Mr. Goodale said it is about $30 million for the entire Solid Waste Division. Commissioner Olson asked if it came from the property tax, and Mr. Goodale said no, there is also revenue that comes from fees charged at landfills, in the neighborhood of $10 million. Commissioner Olson said they’ve been working on the idea of a disposal fee at the point of purchase, as that is more logical than trying to collect after the fact. They could start with white goods, and tires are still an issue. He asked whether the disposal fee money wanders from the state back to the county. Mr. Goodale said the county does not see any of that money. It goes to the retailer so the retailer has the money up front to deal with the processing of the tires they take in. 15 Commissioner Olson said the current funding mechanism is mostly through peoples’ property tax, which has no correlation to what people need to dispose of. Collecting at the point of purchase would be better. Mr. Hayducsko said that was a critical point. It is producer responsibility, which many states are taking seriously and making the manufacturers or consumer purchasers pay more. It would be a legitimate subject for the next plan. From white goods to paint to whatever people are consuming, there could well be a producer responsibility for those products. Commissioner Olson said he has been following this whole thing since 1992 or 1993. The only solution at the moment is using property owners’ property tax, and that is not a good way to go. They need to come up with other mechanisms to make it convenient and see that it’s paid for. They will be floating some ideas for legislation and other things to change the funding dynamic. Question from a member of the public: A man asked if the advisory committee would be made up of only four people, or whether there are more stakeholders. Mr. Goodale said the HRS requires at least five members, so that is what they are looking at right now. The man said the last iteration had 10 to 12 stakeholders on the project. Question from the public: A woman asked how you can get on the committee. Mr. Goodale said there is an application form, the same one that is used for the other boards and commissions. It goes through the Mayor’s Office only, and a nominee does not need County Council confirmation. Ms. Noda said the application is available online. The woman asked what the three locations are that are being looked at for potential composting facilities, and Mr. Goodale said they are all in the Keaʻau area: one site is immediately adjacent to the existing Keaʻau Transfer Station, one is near Christian Liberty School, and the other is in the Shipman Business Park area. Director Kucharski said he needed to point out that the EA needs to be done on the proper and appropriate siting of any facility. The properties will all need to be reviewed from the environmental perspective before any selection is made. The woman asked how people in Kona would get their compost to the sites. Mr. Goodale explained that when the East Hawaiʻi waste is trucked to the West Hawaiʻi landfill, the green waste will be coming back to the facility in the empty trucks. A contractor will be distributing the compost back to the public. The contractor will have an obligation to distribute the compost island-wide as part of the contract. The woman said she was more concerned with the intake centers and asked if they were going to be available at the recycling centers. Mr. Goodale said they collect the green waste at Kealakehe, Hilo, Keaʻau, Pāhoa, and Volcano and are looking at additional sites to provide green waste collection at the various transfer stations. They are looking at setting it up properly and getting it permitted, as the state has a big say in what is permitted. They encourage it, but it has to be done a certain way. 16 The woman asked if the compost is only for green waste, and Mr. Goodale said it is basically a carbon nitrogen balance. Food waste is typically high in nitrogen, and green waste is typically the carbon source. However, it also allows for things like cardboard and contaminated paper to come into the compost facility. One reason they hired a consultant to run it is because it needs to be done by an expert who will make compost the best way. They need to run a facility that does not go anaerobic and start having odor and other issues. The product needs to be consistent and meet all testing requirements in the contract. Question from a member of the public: Jerome Warren said he also has a background in horticulture and used to mix potting mix for a department. He knows the recipe and that it takes a lot of work and money. He asked how much it will cost to produce a cubic yard of compost and how much it will be selling for. Mr. Goodale said they are charged by the ton of incoming green waste. Right now they are paying $78 per ton of incoming material. When the new composting facility is up and running, the expectation is that the rates will go up accordingly. The rates are based on incoming material, so there is no correlation with what it costs to produce a cubic yard of compost. The contract obligates the consultant to do everything—to accept the material, screen it, mix it, distribute it, and provide an education program. Mr. Warren asked how much they would sell it for, and Mr. Goodale said it’s up to them. DEM will find out when they actually have the product to sell. He does know that currently there are containers of compost being brought to the island, and they are hoping to offset that by producing it here. Mr. Warren said he wanted to compliment the Kealakehe operation. Every time he goes to Kona he comes back with a load of mulch. The workers are very friendly, and he has been happy with the mulch. Question from a member of the public: A woman asked where the food waste will be sourced from and if it will be the vendor’s choice. Mr. Goodale said they have been talking about how to facilitate a food waste collection program. The EPA recommends homeowners do it themselves via compost bins in the back yard, but that does not work for everybody. Their goal is to set up a system where they can collect food waste from the residential public at the transfer stations. However, there are challenges with Hawaiʻi’s heat and humidity. They will need to be selective on methods used to collect and store it for a limited time. It is challenging. They could possibly combine it with the green waste, but it would still have to be emptied quickly. And because the county is rural in nature, collection systems like what Honolulu or Maui have would not work here. The woman asked whether the contractor will be open to residents showing up on their doorstep. Mr. Goodale said they would like to make it available for people to drop off even small quantities at the compost facility. Most of the commercial food waste is captured by pig farmers. 17 Commissioner Olson asked Mr. Goodale to bring up the slide of the Volcano Transfer Station again. He asked if they have gotten complaints about the changed traffic circulation pattern. Mr. Goodale said they have, and it should be changed back within the next few months. Commissioner Olson said a traffic flow conflict also exists at the Mt. View Transfer Station, and Mr. Goodale thanked him for bringing it up. Question from a member of the public: A man asked if there a structured plan for the reuse facility at the Waiohinu Transfer Station. Mr. Goodale said that transfer station is going to go through a big overall rebuild. The plans include a designated reuse area and significant improvements to the recycling infrastructure. The man said a building made out of pallets might work, since it is not a permanent structure, and he could send Mr. Goodale a link. Comment from a member of the public: Mr. Warren he needs a lot of mulch to be successful. He said out of “meanness” they stopped bringing the mulch to Waiohinu and used a “false reason that we don’t want to import coffee bugs.” Mr. Goodale explained that the state asked the county to discontinue the practice of taking the green waste from Kealakehe to Waiohinu because of the coffee berry borer and banana bunchy top virus. They would like to eventually collect the green waste and process it at the same location. Mr. Warren said the mulch was sterile and nothing could live in it. He asked whether ex- councilperson Brittany Smart had a hand in the operation, and Ms. Wong interjected to say the discussion was moving away from the purpose of the meeting. Chair Fritz told Mr. Warren that he appreciated the information, but they are at an informal meeting and have things to do. Mr. Goodale thanked everyone. Agenda Item 8: MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Noda suggested to Chair Fritz that the secretary poll the other members to check on their availability to meet between November 8 and November 17, and Chair Fritz agreed. Ms. Wong asked, for the record, whether the November 22, 2017, meeting was cancelled, and Chair Fritz said yes. Vice Chair Bennett said he wanted the commissioners to be more rigorous about quorums. Last week the department confirmed there was a quorum. Whoever opted out of the meeting did not say anything about it. Ms. Noda said that as of last Friday, the secretary had confirmed a minimum quorum. She believes the secretary yesterday also reminded Commissioner Vidgen about today’s meeting. He apparently changed his mind about attending this morning. 18 Vice Chair Bennett said there was nothing DEM could do and that the next time they have a quorum, he will be schooling the commissioners on common courtesy. If Commissioner Vidgen could not attend today, he should have called all the commissioners. The chair should not be responsible for doing that. He will be introducing a policy that if someone is going to opt out after opting in, they have an obligation to inform the other commissioners in a timely manner. He had gotten up early in the morning and drove two and a half hours to get here. Commissioner Olson said the bottom line is they need more commissioners. Question from a member of the public: A woman asked what positions needed filling, and Ms. Noda said that Districts 2 and 3 are unfilled, and holdovers whose terms end soon are in Districts 7 and 8. They can be held over 90 days, until the March meeting. Chair Fritz thanked everyone for attending. 11:54 a.m.: The meeting ended. Submitted by: Mary E. ujio Acting secretary 19