The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Friday, March 18, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, March 18, 2022

Who Done It? Transfer Station Eyesore & Liability
This junk vehicle was dumped at the entrance to the county's Pahala Transfer Station. Attendees said it creates a danger,
with people leaving the transfer station having difficulty seeing the public roadway with cars and trucks going by.
A sign posted on the vehicle says Warning, Abandoned Vehicle Violation. The license plate is HLM-949. Anyone
abandoning or dumping a vehicle on county property and roadways is subject to a $250 fine plus the cost of removal
and disposal of the vehicle. Photo by Julia Neal

THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTS MAYOR MITCH ROTH MAKING ONE OF THE FEW CALLS NATIONWIDE FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION, AS PRICES SOAR. The Friday story is entitled
Nations Should Conserve Fuel as Global Energy Crisis Looms, Agency Warns.
Reporters Catrin Einhorn and Lisa Friedman write, "In the United States, one of the few calls for

Mayor Mitch Roth made The New York
Times today with his call for conservation
of energy. Photo from County of Hawai'i

conservation has come from Mitch Roth, the mayor of the County of Hawai'i, which is particularly vulnerable to skyrocketing energy prices in the wake of President Biden’s banning of Russian oil, gas and coal. The state of Hawai'i has relied heavily on Russian fuel, and its high cost of living has many families already struggling to pay their bills. So Mr. Roth turned to what he saw as a common sense solution:
asking his community to use less oil and gas."
The story quotes Hawai'i County's mayor saying, “We’re not mandating anything, but for the betterment of your checkbook, for the betterment of our community, for the betterment of our country and for the betterment of our world, it makes a lot of sense.” Hawai'i County is also offering free public bus transportation.
According to The New York Times story, most other policy makers are asking for increased production of oil, rather than conservation. The story points to the International Energy Agency, formed during the 1973 energy crisis to help keep the worldwide energy market stable. It quotes IEA's Executive Director Fatih Birol, saying "Reducing demand is a way of addressing the situation without just pumping more oil.
The NYT writers report the message to conserve "has largely been absent from the conversation in the United States, the world's largest oil producer, where fossil fuel companies are earning healthy profits and the response to to elevated gasoline prices has been calls for more production."

The International Energy Agency recommends ten immediate steps to conserve oil: Reduce speed limits on highways; work from home up to three days; initiate car-free Sundays in cities; use public transport; alternate car access to roads in cities; increase car sharing and reduce fuel use; promote efficient driving for trucks; use existing High Speed Rail and night trains, reduce business flights, use electric and other more efficient vehicles.

See The New York Times story, quoting the Hawai'i County mayor at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/climate/global-energy-crisis-conserve.html

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/. See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html

MAHALO TO THE PUBLIC FROM HAWAI'I ISLAND POLICE for assistance in locating 52-year-old Ambeka Laver, who was wanted on an outstanding bench warrant and for questioning in a criminal investigation. Laver, of Ocean View, turned herself in to police on Thursday, March 17, 2022. The police department issued the mahalo today.

CLASS OF 2022 SCHOLARSHIPS ARE OFFERED CU HAWAI'I FEDERAL CREDIT UNION. Applications are being accepted ffrom graduating high school seniors on Hawai'i Island. CU Hawaii is looking to award eight seniors with $2,000 scholarships each to further their education in a vocational-technical school, two-year college or four-year university. Deadline to apply is March 31. To learn more and fill out an application, visit cuhawaii.com/about-cu/community-involvement.html.

LAU MAIʻA SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS are being offered by the Purple Maiʻa Foundation for those pursuing a Computer Science, Engineering, Business or Entrepreneurship degree at a 4-year university in the U.S. The Purple Maiʻa Foundation is a Hawaiian non-profit organization whose mission is "to inspire and educate the next generation of culturally grounded, community serving technology makers." The goal of the $2,500 Lau Maiʻa Scholarship Program is to "help ease the burden of tuition and empower students to stand tall in their growth." The application states that "recipients must have a demonstrated commitment to ʻāina, kaiāulu, lāhui and be willing to volunteer for a Hawaiian organization in the future. To learn more and apply, visit purplemaia.org/education/scholarship/. Deadline to apply is April 30, 2022.

LIVE MUSIC IS BACK AT KAI LOKI'S RESTAURANT & BAR in Ocean View on Saturday, March 19, 7 p.m.- 10 p.m. featuring Big Eye Band, an alternative rock group based on this island. The full menu will be available till 8 p.m. and from 8 - 10 p.m. the kitchen will be open for pupus. Saturday's special is prime rib. To learn more about Kai Loki's upcoming events and specials, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/KaiLokis/.

SEE UPCOMING EVENTS IN KAʻŪ & VOLCANO

at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

See March edition of The Kaʻū Calendar newspaper at

www.kaucalendar.com

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, March 17, 2022

An endangered hawksbill turtle whose survival is supported by the National Coastal Resilience Fund,
which receives $34 million in the federal budget this year. Photo from NCRF

MAJOR FUNDING TO PROTECT HAWAI'I'S ENVIRONMENT was signed into law this week, after passing both houses of the U.S. Congress. Rep. Ed Case, who serves on the House Committee on Appropriations made the announcement and his office issued a statement saying, "The bill makes critical investments in environmental protection for our lands and oceans, including efforts to protect endangered species. Case focused on funding and Congressional directives for a number of natural resources issues as a member of both the Appropriations Committee and of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Among the Hawai'i initiatives are investments to protect the oceans. “We cannot truly protect our planet without protecting our oceans,” explained Case. “My Appropriations Committee provided increased funding to provide that protection for our oceans, including our corals and wildlife, which feed us, buffer us from climate change, protect our shorelines, and anchor our economy from transportation to tourism.”

Included in the funding is $17 million for the National Trails System, which will benefit the Ala

Bleached coral documented by the federal Coral Reef Conservation
Program. Photo from NOAA

Kahakai National Historic Trail. Another $108 million for the Endangered Species Recovery Account will help protect and restore endangered species. The funding includes $4 million for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s State of the Birds program, which focuses on endangered birds in Hawai‘i.

Other funding includes: $148 million for the protection, research and management of marine mammals, sea turtles and other species; $34 million for the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund, also known as the National Coastal Resilience Fund; $33 million for the Coral Reef Conservation Program, which supports coral reef ecosystems management and research critical to national coral reef restoration efforts; and $4 million for the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grants.

DRU KANUHA IS THE TORCH OF LIGHT AWARDEE FOR 2022. Big Island Press Club selected the state Senator who represents west Ka‘ū into Kona for his introduction of Senate Bill 134 in the 2021 Legislature. If passed into law, it would have prohibited the governor or county mayors from suspending requests for public records or vital statistics during a declared state of emergency.
A statement from the Press Club said, "Kanuha’s introduction of the bill, with Sens. Gilbert Keith-Agaran of Maui and Donna Mercado Kim of O'ahu, came almost a year after Gov. David Ige signed a proclamation during the novel coronavirus pandemic that suspended the state’s Uniform Information

State Sen. Dru Kanuha

Practices Act, a law that specifies government records are open to public inspection with limited privacy exceptions. Even though Ige, a Democrat, rolled back the blanket suspension of the UIPA in May 2020, he removed the deadline of 10 working days state agencies have to respond to records requests."
The bill died in a Senate-House conference committee and Ige received the BIPC’s Lava Tube dishonor for his actions in 2021.
Kanuha said he introduced the measure because he considers “transparency and access to public information really important,” even during an emergency. “I had constituents calling me trying to receive access to a lot of their vital records. And it was almost impossible for them to get it,” he said. “And especially, with a lot of these programs and subsidies that were coming through the feds, a lot of people needed access to vital records – their birth certificates, marriage licenses.
“On top of that, I think we need to be even more transparent about the actions government is doing, during emergencies, especially,” said Kanuha. He will be presented with Big Island Press Club's iconic Torch of Light award at the organization’s annual meeting later this year.

Kanuha has launched a campaign to be elected to serve all of Ka‘ū into Kona in the state Senate. \

AN ENDORSEMENT FOR JOSH GREEN FOR GOVERNOR came from the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly this week. UHPA is Hawai'i's largest university system bargaining unit.

Its Executive Director Chirstina Fern said, Green, who is a physician and Lieutenant Governor of Hawai'i, believes U.H. "is an extension of the governor, and that we must work hand-in-hand. He would like to see faculty claim their rightful place as thought leaders in our community and have a say in government improvement."

The union statements says, "Since its founding in 1974, UHPA has fought hard for the rights of Hawai'i's university staff as the exclusive bargaining unit of all University System faculty in Hawai'i.

Greens campaign organizers responded to the endorsement saying, "Their support of this campaign emphasizes Dr. Green's commitment to excellence in higher education. As Governor, he will work with community partners like UHPA to make sure Hawai'i's students have the educational opportunities they deserve."

Sam Aruch has a new tool to

manage food hubs and complex

data sets in agricultural production.

STRENGTH IS IN OUR MEMBERS: GROWING HAWAI'I COOPERATIVES TOGETHER is a webinar series sponsored by The Kohala Center and the Ulu Cooperative. The three sessions were scheduled for Thursdays, March 17, April 21 and May 19 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The series is intended for members of cooperatives and anyone interested in learning more about co-ops.

The March 17 webinar entitled Members are the Foundation has been postponed and a new date is expected to be set soon. It is designed to focuse on the role and importance of members for cooperative business success. The keynote speaker will be Travis Forgues, executive vice president of membership at Organic Valley, which is the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the U.S.

Dave Swanson and Josh Bakke explain
fundraising through cooperatives.

The second webinar is on Data Management of Membership in a Cooperative, on April 21, featuring Sam Aruch of Natural Resources Data Solutions. He will demonstrate a new tool he developed for complex data sets managed at Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative. He said the tool is also applicable to such businesses as food hubs. The third webinar is on Financials & Fundraising for Cooperatives, featuring Dave Swanson, Partner at Dorsey & Blake, and Josh Bakke, CPA at Moss Adams. They will explain how cooperatives can legally raise funds without violating Hawaiʻi and federal securities laws. Local co-ops will also share their experiences about what fundraising approaches have and have not worked.

SEE UPCOMING EVENTS IN KAʻŪ & VOLCANO

at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

See March edition of The Kaʻū Calendar newspaper at
www.kaucalendar.com

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Deputy Director of the county Department of Environmental Management, Brenda Iokepa-Moses, led
a public meeting at Pahala Community Center on Wednesday to propose individual septic systems in yards of those
now hooked up to the old plantation gang cesspool system. Photo by Julia Neal

INDIVIDUAL WASTEWATER SYSTEMS IN EACH YARD, INSTEAD OF A SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT for Pāhala, is a new concept presented by County of Hawai'i on Wednesday for homes on the old sugar plantation sewage system. During an informational meeting at Pāhala Community Center, the county suggested paying for septic tanks and other individual wastewater systems for some 175 homes. It would save the county tens of millions of dollars over the option of building a secondary wastewater treatment plant with concrete lined aerated lagoons and sewer collection systems.

County representatives said they are looking for an affordable and timely solution to stop operating the gang cesspools left over from plantation days. They became illegal nationwide in 1999, with the changeover taking decades. The gang cesspools in Pāhala built by the C. Brewer sugar plantation, are holes in the ground receiving sewage piped from old sugar plantation houses. The county took over maintenance of the old system years after the sugar company shut down and signed an agreement with the EPA in 2017 to fix the problem. It's called an Administrative Order on Consent.

County officials said that installing IWS could speed up the process, avoid tearing up streets to put in sewer lines, avoid sewer hook up fees, and save money for the homeowners and the county.

County representatives said that to install septic and other IWS, each houselot has to be studied for soil type, slope and other factor to design each system, with approval of the state Department of Health.

The smallest footprint for a septic system would likely be in the smaller yards where the septic tank or other IWS could be installed vertically along with seepage pits for the smaller homes. Some initial impact from installing individual septic in yards could occur in the larger lots, those approximately 10,000 sq. ft. or bigger where leach fields would likely be required. To make room for the leach fields, which could later be covered with grass and other vegetation, portions of the yards would be cleared, with a likelihood of removing some trees and plants, along with moving or removing of some fences, walls, sidewalks, outbuildings and sections of driveways for installation. County representatives said they would repair or replace any damaged infrastructure.

The size of leach fields would depend on the type of soil and slope of the yard. An average leach field of about 1,000 square feet for a 2,500 sq. ft. three-bedroom home, is estimated on websites of various septic system companies.

To pay for the septic and other IWS, the county could provide vouchers and homeowners could use the money to pay authorized septic installation companies. Alternatively, the county could hire the contractors directly, said county representatives.

Maintenance of septic systems could include pumping them about every five years. One idea brought up was that the homeowners could continue paying sewer fees, which they already pay to the county for maintaining the old plantation system. Once the septic is in, the fees would go towards pumping and possibly other repairs, when needed.
One kink in the new IWS plan is that the EPA has already approved a lagoon wastewater treatment system for Pāhala and is pressing the county to go forward. County representatives pointed to economic and technical challenges of constructing the approved system on land it is acquiring for the project from Kamehameha Schools. The lagoon treatment system would require cutting down a macadamia orchard and digging into land that has lava tubes and perhaps graves. They pointed to public objections to the location next to the Norfolk Pine entry to Pāhala and said the iconic trees could be disturbed under the lagoon plan. Approval of Individual Wastewater Systems would mean the land goes back to Kamehameha Schools.

To switch the plan from lagoon to IWS, the county needs concurrence from the EPA to reopen their 2017 agreement regarding replacing the gang cesspool system. County representatives said the community responded positively to the informational meeting and mentioned that representatives from the EPA are scheduled to discuss the issue with the county on April first and will follow up with an in-person meeting on April 6. They said that the septic systems, which are examples of available Individual Wastewater Systems, could become an example for other disconnected communities to follow. The state has mandated that all cesspools be converted by 2050.

A conventional septic system. Image from EPA

Brenda Iokepa-Moses, who is Deputy Director of the county Department of Environmental Management, is a Pāhala resident and led the meeting. She noted that discussions about the solution to the sewage problem have been contentious within the community and that she hoped the Individual Wastewater System option could help bring the community together.

Also leading the meeting were the Director of Environmental Management, Ramzi Mansour, and facilitator Jessie Marques. In attendance was County Council Chair Maile David and other public officials.

The EPA's requirement for the county says the county "shall take appropriate measures to fully and properly comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act with respect to the Pāhala Community Cesspools identified including constructing a secondary wastewater treatment facility to serve the Pāhala community (“Pahala Wastewater Treatment Facility”), closing the Pāhala Community Cesspools, and replacing and expanding the wastewater collection system serving Pāhala Community. As soon as practicable, but no later than the deadlines..." The deadlines have been extended to 2023 but the requirement remains unaltered and the county is asking for a change to accommodate the Individual Wastewater System option.

To completely shut down the old gang cesspools, all of the Individual Wastewater Systems would have to be completed but there would be less flow into the gang cesspools as each IWS is completed.

To ask questions, give input and for more information, email cohdem@hawaicounty.gov.

Image from DLNR

PERMITS FOR COLLECTING FOLIAGE, FRUIT, TREES AND MORE within the Hawai'i State Forest Reserves are now available online through the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. State Forest Reserves in Ka‘ū are Kapāpala Forest Reserve and Ka‘ū Forest Reserve.

Kapāpala Forest Reserve, on the slopes of Mauna Loa, was designated on Oct. 17, 1930 through a Governorʻs Proclamation. It consists of approximately 37,276 acres and lies above Mamalahoa Highway and northwest of Kīlauea crater. Activities are birdwatching, hiking and hunting.

"The Ka‘ū Forest Reserve is a critical watershed for the people of Ka‘ū." says the DLNR website. "The forest reserve’s water sources are used for domestic supplies as well as agriculture, and maintaining this water supply is important for the future viability of agriculture in Ka‘ū. The native forest replenishes springs and other groundwater, and reduces flooding and erosion.

"The Ka‘ū Forest Reserve is important for preserving Hawai'i’s unique native forest ecosystems and its species, including a wide variety of rare or endangered plants and animals. Endangered birds for which the continuing health of the forest reserve may be a critical factor include the ‘Akiapōlā‘au (Hemignathus munroi), Hawai‘i Creeper (Oreomystis mana) and Hawai‘i ‘Akepa (Loxops coccineus).

"The Ka‘ū Forest Reserve contains resources that are vital for maintaining Hawaiian culture and practices. Hawaiians consider native plants and animals as family and have a strong spiritual connection to the mountain landscape and the forest itself.

"The Ka‘ū Forest Reserve is an important area for public use including hunting, recreational opportunities, cultural uses, personal gathering, and educational programs and activities. Public access is allowed in the Reserve for recreational and cultural uses, including hunting, hiking and gathering of plant material (with a permit)."
The new permitting platform, developed by DLNR's Division of Forestry & Wildlife, covers personal-use collections and commercial harvesting. While commercial harvest permits are associated with a fee, permits for collecting items in quantities that are determined by DLNR as representing personal use are provided free of charge.

People wishing to apply for permits on hardcopy can still do so at any DOFAW District office. The online permitting platform can be accessed under permit topic #5 on the (State Forest Reserve System Permits) DOFAW Permits website. http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/permits/

SEE UPCOMING EVENTS IN KAʻŪ & VOLCANO

at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

See March edition of The Kaʻū Calendar newspaper at
www.kaucalendar.com

About The Kaʻū Calendar

Friday, March 18, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, March 18, 2022

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, March 17, 2022

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, March 16, 2022