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Public Notice: Proposed Pāhala Community Large Capacity Cesspool (LCC) Replacement Project Draft Environmental Assessment

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 10/23/2018
Date extended to: 12/10/2018

Written comments on the draft EA may be submitted during the extended comment period: September 23 - December 10, 2018. Comments must be postmarked by or email received by December10, 2018. Written comments, via letter or email, should be sent to:
Wilson Okamoto Corporation
1907 S. Beretania St., Suite 400
Honolulu, HI 96826
PahalaEA@wilsonokamoto.com

Publish Date: 09/24/2018

Summary

EPA and the County of Hawai‛i (COH) Department of Environmental Management (DEM) are issuing a joint draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed Pāhala Community LCC Replacement Project (Project). The purpose of the Project is to terminate the use of large capacity cesspools (LCCs) by constructing a new wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal system. LCCs allow raw sewage to be discharged into the ground and are a public health and environmental concern. A portion of the Pāhala community is served by two LCCs which are owned by the COH and operated by DEM. Federal law requires the closure of all LCCs.

The joint draft EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), EPA and Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations, and Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), as amended. Construction of the Project will use federal and Hawai‛i County funds. Use of these funds triggers the need for environmental review by the EPA and DEM.

The draft EA will be published in The Environmental NoticeExitissued by the Hawai‛i State Office of Environmental Quality Control for public review and comment on September 23, 2018.

An anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will also be included in the draft EA. No administrative action will be taken on this proposed project prior to the expiration date of the comment period. All written comments received will be reviewed by EPA and DEM, and responses to all substantive comments will be compiled into a Response to Comment Document. Such comments will become part of the written record and will be considered in the determination of impacts to the environment.

In addition, DEM will convene a meeting to provide the public information regarding the draft EA as it relates to DEM’s compliance with Chapter 343 requirements. A second part of the meeting will also address Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (2006). It will involve consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations and the Native Hawaiian descendants with ancestral lineal or cultural ties to, cultural knowledge or concerns for, and cultural religious attachment to the proposed project area. It is not anticipated that EPA will attend this meeting. Meeting information is as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Time: Open house 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Formal meeting: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: Ka‛ū Gym Multi-Purpose Conference Room, 96-1219 Kamani Street, Pāhala HI, 96777

For further information about the public meeting, please call Mary Fujio at the Department of Environmental Management at (808) 961-8083.

Please note that this meeting is specific to the proposed LCC Closure in Pāhala only and will not include the Nā‛ālehu project.