Hawai‘i County Council to discuss wastewater treatment plant projects mandated by EPA

During today’s meeting, Hawai‘i County Council will make decisions about two wastewater treatment plant projects.

Resolution 633-24 would authorize Corporation Counsel to begin proceedings to acquire through eminent domain 28 acres in the Ka‘ū District to build the Nā‘ālhu Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The council also will discuss Bill 214, which would release $116 million in additional funds to enable upgrade work to begin on the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The projects are mandated in separate agreements, known as Administrative Order On Consent, that the county entered into with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Work on the Hilo wastewater treatment plant will address pollution discharge that is not meeting the standards of the federal Clean Water Act.

The land acquisition in Ka‘ū for the Nā‘ālehu wastewater treatment plant would provide service to 194 properties in Nā‘ālehu, and close seven large capacity cesspools in the area no later than Dec. 31, 2027, making the county compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

A draft environmental assessment report identified the site as the best location for the plant. Click here to review the report. The public has until Oct. 21 to comment on the document.

The passage of the resolution would authorize and empower Corporation Counsel to negotiate terms with Ala Kahakai Trail Association, the fee simple owner of the real property.

The Ala Kahakai Trail Association is a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and management of the historic Ala Kahakai Trail (Trail by the Sea), a 175-mile corridor encompassing a network of culturally and historically significant trails.

According to the resolution, the association and county reached an agreement in 2019 regarding the 28 acres of land needed for the plant.

The association obtained ownership of the more than 2,000 acres of land through an agreement with the state’s Legacy Land Conservation Program, which included a conservation easement. The land that is planned for the future plant is situated at Kahilipali‘iki and Kahilipalinui ahupua‘a (land division) that is along the rugged and undeveloped coastline in Ka‘ū.

According to council minutes from the Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee on Oct. 1, Deputy Corporation Counsel Diana Mellon-Lacey clarified that the 28 acres identified for the plant are not part of the conservation easement.

Ala Kahakai Trail Association representative Keoni Fox, who also testified in the committee meeting in opposition to the resolution, stating that he would like to have open dialogue and has worries about going forward without losing protected resources.

Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour said in the meeting the county would not stop working with the association.

The release of additional funding in Bill 214 would be used to secure a contractor to begin upgrades to the Hilo plant, which became operational in 1996 and has never undergone renovations.

The county opened bids for a contractor for the first of two phases of the Hilo plant upgrade on May 1, but in September rebid the project for both phases. Honolulu-based Nan Inc. came in with the lowest bid at about $337 million.

If the county council releases the requested $116 million, the funded part of the project would increase to $226 million.

The agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the Hilo plant also encompasses addressing the same deficiencies at Pāpa‘ikou and Kula‘imano wastewater treatment plants on the Big Island.