Environmental Planning Office (EPO)

The proposed decision will affect water pollution control permits and provide guidance for other planning and regulatory approvals (e.g. land use and environmental management) within the Kaiaka Bay watershed.

Under §303(d) and §303(e) of the Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §1313(d) and §1313(e), and 40 CFR §130.7 and §130.5, the State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) requests public comments on proposed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) of total nitrogen and turbidity in the North and South Forks of Kaukonahua Stream, Oahu. The proposed decision divides each TMDL (each TMDL addresses a single waterbody-pollutant combination) into load allocations (LAs) for various sources of polluted runoff and diffuse pollution (nonpoint sources), and wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point sources of these pollutants (point sources are facilities regulated by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permits). The WLAs proposed involve stormwater discharges from two NPDES-permitted Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) along the North Fork of Kaukonahua Stream – the U.S. Department of the Navy MS4 (draining portions of the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Pacific) and the City and County of Honolulu MS4 (draining portions of Wahiawa town).

The proposed TMDLs, LAs, and WLAs are presented in a draft decision document entitled “Total Maximum Daily Loads for the North and South Forks of Kaukonahua Stream, Oahu." This draft document is available for public inspection Monday through Friday between 7:45 am and 4:30 pm in the Environmental Planning Office (EPO), DOH, 919 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 312, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814. For a copy of the draft document, please phone the EPO at (808) 586-4337, fax the EPO at (808) 586-4370, send e-mail to barbara.matsunaga@doh.hawaii.gov, visit our web site at http://www.hawaii.gov/health/epo, or mail a request to the EPO postal address below.

In order to be considered in the decisionmaking process, all comments on the proposed decision must be received in writing (fax and e-mail acceptable) no later than 4:30 PM on Tuesday, September 08, 2009, except that comments postmarked or shipped by this deadline will also be accepted. Send comments to the Program Manager, Environmental Planning Office, State of Hawaii Department of Health, 919 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 312, Honolulu, HI 96814; epo@doh.hawaii.gov; or fax to (808) 586-4370. Public comments and the DOH response will be used to revise the draft decision document, as necessary, for final EPA approval of the proposed TMDLs.

A public information meeting on the proposed TMDLs is scheduled for Friday, August 28, 2009, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Wahiawa General Hospital, 128 Lehua Street, Wahiawa, Hawaii 96786-2036. The purpose of the meeting is to explain why the TMDLs are being established, the methods used to calculate the allocations, and the results of these calculations, and to discuss the relationships between these TMDLs, efforts to improve water quality in the Kaiaka Bay watershed, and the State's water quality management planning process in general.

If you require special assistance or auxiliary aids or services to participate in the meeting (i.e. sign language interpreter, wheelchair accessibility, or parking designated for the disabled), please contact EPO (at the numbers/addresses shown above) no later than August 20, 2009 so that arrangements can be made.

Chiyome L. Fukino, M.D. Director of Health

On July 10, 2009, the Department of Health submitted revisions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review and approval. The package submitted to EPA includes:

• Notice of Public Hearing & Public Hearing Sign-In Sheets


• Amendments to HAR Chapter 11-54 (revisions highlighted in yellow)
  
• Rationale


• Responsiveness Summary (includes written testimony)


• Department of Health Cover Letter Submitted to EPA

Please see the   Water Quality Standards Revisions   page for more information about these and other revisions