HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEPC MEETING Minutes 112113
LEPC MEETING MINUTES
HAWAII COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE
November 21, 2013, 10:00am
Members Present: Henry Silva, Chairperson; Gerald Kosaki, Vice-Chairperson; Tracy
Aruga, Hilo Medical Center; John Peard, DOH HEER; Darryl Oliveira, CD; Barry Periat,
Hawaii County CD; John “Jack” Roney, Civilian Representative; David Cummings,
Hamakua Energy; Russell Moore, DOT Harbors; Lance Uchida, EMS; James O’Connor,
HPD; Geoffrey Lauer, BEI Hawaii; Cliff Townsend, PGV; Ron Quesada, PGV. Non-
Members: Beryl Ekimoto, DOH HEER; 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 August 22, 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 are currently
utilizing the Tribune Herald and West Hawaii Today with articles. Another
option was to explore social media; however, there is a cost associated. Henry
discussed other options such as using Hawaii News Now or radio stations to
broadcast community service announcements. He will be exploring these
options.
IV. School labs and chemicals update – Henry gave an update for the school clean
up in our county. 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. Henry said that
Grace Simons from the division of Solid Hazardous Waste will be conducting
some inspections. Per EPA, there is a 90 day time limit for disposal of
hazardous waste.
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 – The next Hazmat technician class is scheduled for April 7-18 and
May 5-16, 2014. This is largely paid for by the HMEP grant.
Police – no report given
VI. Industry partners reports –
PGV – There was an incident with a plant energy trip in August 2013.
This was not related to the plant shut down during that time. They are
currently working on a new phone system to improve communications
especially during times of an emergency. PGV will be having an
outreach meeting on December 12, 2013 and invited the LEPC members
to attend.
BEI – Geoff Lauer will be retiring in April 2014 so he brought his
replacement to the meeting, Lucas Parrish.
Harbors – Russell Moore spoke about the pier 4 construction regarding a
new dock. Young Brothers will be putting in hydrants at this site. This
project is scheduled to be completed in about 1 year. John Peard stated
that there will be a barrier constructed around the harbor.
HELCO – Henry stated that they recently had a drill to exercise their
emergency response plan. The drill consisted of a pipeline rupture with
booms deployed. There were multiple agencies who participated in this
drill such as Coast Guard, DOT, Harbors, and DOH.
VII. Department of Health HEER report – John Peard reported of Hakalau site
pesticide clean up, Arsenic was found. He also identified other sites around
the island such as Kohala and Hamakua that were pesticide mixing sites
containing Dioxins and Arsenic. They will be taking soil samples in Hilo
also, similar to the samples that they took in the Keaau area in the past.
VIII. Announcements – Henry announced his recommendation to have Vice-Chair
Gerald Kosaki attend the upcoming NASTTPO conference in April. He stated
that the HMEP grant covers the Chair but any additional attendees must be
funded by the LEPC. A motion was made and seconded. The vote was
unanimous to fund the Vice-Chair’s travel up to an amount of $5,000. Gerald
thanked the committee for their support.
IX. Next meeting - The next LEPC meeting will be held on February 6, 2014 at
the New China Restaurant. This will be a network meeting and refreshments
will be served.
X. Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 am.