Report Title:

CIP; Kauai County

Description:

Authorizes capital improvement projects on the county of Kauai (Waimea Sewer System; Lihue Sewer System; Drainage Master Plan; New Kapaa Fire Station; and Solid Waste Facilities).

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

764

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE cOUNTY OF KAUAI.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligations bonds in the sum of $1,841,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for fiscal year 2003-2004, for the following projects for the county of Kauai:

FY 2003-04

A. Waimea Sewer System $425,000

(System Odor Control STP Extension & Upgrade Effluent Quality for Reuse)

Planning for disposal of the additional effluent by upgrading the effluent quality for reuse through Kikiaola's proposed master plan land use change is urgently needed. Pursuant to the county general plan, the Waimea treatment plan expansion is needed to support new development at Kikiaola. Existing collector sewer lines within the Waimea area will need to be inspected and repaired as necessary. Since a high ground water table is encountered in this area, excessive infiltration will cause additional plant capacity problems. An odor control system is a primary concern that needs to be implemented.

B. Lihue Sewer System $800,000

(Upgrade Marriott Pump Station, Design New Chemist Lab, Update Facilities Plan, Rehabilitate Secondary Anaerobic Digester #2, System Odor Control)

To comply with department of health regulations regarding the safe operation of wastewater treatment plants, the rehabilitation of the secondary anaerobic digester, upgrading the Marriott pump station and plant chlorination system, and implementation of odor controls for the Lihue Sewer System must commence soon. With the expansion of the Lihue wastewater treatment plant to 2.5-mgd capacity in 1996, collector sewer lines must be installed in nonsewered residential and commercial areas.

The expected increase in population in the Lihue district eventually will require an increase in plant capacity. An increase in plant capacity will require updating the facilities plan in conjunction with the island's general plan update. The recently approved county of Kauai general plan update has indicated that the department of public works has no facility plans for future plant and collection systems expansion. By updating the long range Lihue facility plant, strategic planning will be useful to focus on issues and funding priorities, in order to give direction to programs and provide higher level of certainty for developers and potential service customers, in addition to policies of wastewater reuse.

The general plan requires that the long-range facilities plan be adopted by the county council and be updated every five years. Anticipation of additional department of health regulations on the island's wastewater treatment plant operations will require a larger modernized chemistry laboratory for sampling and testing the treated water to comply with federal regulated standards on effluent discharges into the environment.

C. Drainage Master Plan $150,000

(Kapaa/Wailua Area)

The county's comprehensive zoning ordinance requires the development of a detailed drainage master plan to supplement the general plan. With the completion of the master plan, a sound capital improvement program can be formulated. Also, the master plan will be useful for various agencies in their review of new subdivision and building developments. The drainage master plan will include boundaries of watersheds one hundred acres or larger, stream capacities, limitations on existing channel capacities, proposed channel modifications, and new drainage facilities and appurtenances. Preparation and development of ortho-photo maps for the major urban areas of Kealia-Kapaa, Wailua; Hanamaulu-Lihue-Nawiliwili; Kalaheo-Lawai-Koloa-Poipu; and Kekaha-Waimea-Hanapepe-Eleele have been completed. The value of using the maps is immeasurable. The maps facilitate design work for improvements to roadway, drainage, sewers, and water facilities. Comprehensive planning for these facilities cannot be completed without adequate mapping that provides ground topography. The necessity of these maps was demonstrated by the participation of the state highways division in mapping the areas.

Secondly, development of a drainage design manual is needed to replace the storm drainage standards in use today. The purpose of the manual is to establish county storm water management objectives, principles, and design consideration. The manual will provide objectives and principles to handle the infrequent storms for protection of property and life and the frequent storms to minimize inconveniences or disruption of activities. The manual will provide design considerations for hydrologic and hydraulic reporting including criteria and methodology for developing detention basins. Once the drainage manual has been developed and accepted by the county, the next order of work will be to develop the master plan of drainage and flood control systems for the urban areas of Kauai. The master plan will be developed for the urban areas of Kapaa, Lihue, Poipu, Kalaheo, Hanapepe, Waimea, and Kekaha.

D. New Kapaa Fire Station $250,000

Kapaa Fire Station's response area is from the Kauai Community Correctional Center to west of the Moloaa Stream. The Kapaa district is much too large and densely populated for one station, especially with the remoteness and growth of the Wailua Homesteads area. It is the busiest station on the island and at times, in the whole State.

A viable location for a new Kapaa fire station is on the higher bluffs of Kawaihau Road area near the Mahelona Hospital and close to Kapaa High School which is a designated disaster shelter. The Hawaii Health Systems Corporation owns this area. Another consideration for a new location is on the high bluffs near the New Kapaa Middle School. Both of these locations provide for a downhill run to Kapaa town (quick response), and quicker and better response to upper Kawaihau and the Kapahi area. It is also a tremendous insurability benefit for the Anahola community because it is within the five-mile radius requirement of the Hawaii Insurance Bureau. The new Kapaa Fire Station is needed to meet the present and future needs of the fire department. Construction shall be a four thousand five hundred square foot hurricane resistant structure.

E. Solid Waste Facilities $216,000

(Design New Disposal Facility)

This project is needed to identify and evaluate disposal alternatives, selection of preferred disposal method, site selection, environmental assessment, and permitting. Strict federal standards regulate the design of landfills constructed after October 1993 in the United States. The project will require execution of specific planning and construction tasks necessary to have future municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill disposal capacity on-line when the Kekaha Landfill phase II reaches its design capacity which is projected to be sometime between mid-2004 to early 2005.

The county is currently performing necessary planning and permitting tasks for a vertical expansion to increase the final elevation from sixty feet msl to an elevation of seventy-five feet msl, allowing an additional three years of solid waste capacity. Future landfill capacity must be developed to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the island of Kauai prior to the Kekaha Landfill phase II closure. The new landfill will provide a thirty-year MSW disposal capacity for the island of Kauai. The project scope will include tasks such as: an island-wide siting study for a new MSW landfill, environmental impact statement and initial site report, a site feasibility study , obtaining land use permits, land acquisition, design, obtaining construction and operations permits, and construction to have future landfill capacity on-line when the Kekaha Landfill phase II reaches capacity.

The environmental impact statement is a more detailed disclosure document that analyses effects of the proposed project on the surrounding environment that is required under chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The environmental impact statement identifies environmental concerns, conducts additional studies as necessary to obtain various relevant data, receives public input, evaluates alternatives, and proposes measures for minimizing environmental impacts. The feasibility report will provide an in-depth assessment of site specific information needed to determine an optimal design for the landfill. Activities under this task will include a topographic survey, hydrogeologic analysis, detailed geotechnical evaluation and an engineering analysis and report to address grading, drainage, liner design, leachate and gas collection. Land acquisition, design tasks per State and RCRA Subtitle D standards and obtaining construction and operating permits and construction to follow. The county is near completion of the island-wide siting study for a new MSW landfill, having released the draft study for public comment. The study was finalized in March, 2001. Finding that all identified sites were located on lands whose owners were not willing to sell the lands for development of a landfill, the county is now seeking alternative sites.

SECTION 2. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the county of Kauai for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

By Request