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“Nonpoint source water pollution,” now more commonly
called “polluted runoff,” is a term for all the materials
originating from natural and human activity that are carried by
rainwater from the land and the air into streams and oceans. Pollution
of this type especially impacts the State of Hawaii and its citizens.
Since the State’s longest stream, Kaukonahua, is only 33 miles in
length and rain usually falls in torrential bursts, nature provides
very little chance for this type of pollution to settle out before it
impacts the surface and groundwater we drink and the streams and
coastal waters in which we fish and play.
Hawaii’s Implementation Plan for Polluted Runoff
Control is both a culmination of the planning that the State of
Hawaii has done in past years for polluted runoff control and, at the
same time, the first five-year plan for implementation of activities to
be undertaken by State and county agencies, federal agencies, and
Hawaii’s citizens to control polluted runoff. Polluted runoff is
a major cause of water quality degradation nationwide: therefore, the
activity in Hawaii is designed not only to respond to Hawaii’s
problems but also to meet federal requirements.
This Plan:
- Addresses the nine key elements required by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for State nonpoint pollution control programs
to be formally recognized by the EPA as Tier I Nonpoint Source States.
Such recognition will allow the Department of Health’s (DOH)
Polluted Runoff Control program (PRC) to receive priority for
multi-year grant work plans, streamlined review of grants applications,
increased technical assistance, reduced reporting requirements, and
reduced oversight by the EPA;
- Establishes long and short-term goals and activities to control
nonpoint source pollution control in Hawaii as required for the
implementation of Hawaii’s Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control
Program, based on the Coastal Zone Reauthorization Act of 1990
(CZARA) and conditionally approved by EPA and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1998; and
- Establishes 15-year strategies and 5-year implementation plans to
prevent and reduce polluted runoff in six categories (agriculture,
forestry, urban, marinas and recreational boating, hydromodification,
and wetlands and riparian areas) and schedules to evaluate the
effectiveness of these and other polluted runoff controls used in the
State.
Chapter 1 of this report introduces the
concept of polluted runoff and places it in the context of
Hawaii’s geography. It describes the biennial assessments of
Hawaii’s water quality and the meaning of Water Quality Limited
Segments (WQLSs). The Chapter closes with a county-by-county
description of the health of the watersheds draining into the
WQLSs.
Chapter 2 describes the federal
requirements and plans, State planning documents and activities, and
the programs of the two State agencies (Department of Health,
Environmental Management Division, Clean Water Branch, Polluted Runoff
Control Program and Department of Business, Economic Development, and
Tourism, Office of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program) charged
with implementing polluted runoff control in Hawai`i. The Department of
Health and the Office of Planning have established nonpoint source
pollution control programs based on the management of principles of
cooperation, coordination, communication, and holistic approaches.
These derive from the Native Hawaiian ahupua`a approach to resource
management. A description of federal programs for water quality carried
on in Hawai`i is followed by three long-term goals, the short-term
activities needed to implement them by 2013, and measures of
successes.
Chapter 3 identifies the statewide and
watershed-based partnerships established to protect and enhance water
quality. The State’s policy is to engage the stakeholders and
ensure the polluted runoff control provisions developed are effective
and economically feasible. Both the Department of Health and the Office
of Planning are continuously seeking cooperative arrangements and
improved coordination among the participating agencies and stakeholders
in the development of polluted runoff control measures and
programs.
Chapter 4 details the statewide portion
of the State’s two-tiered approach to polluted runoff control
management that is coordinated by the Department of Health and the
Office of Planning. While the Department of Health and the Office of
Planning were responsible for coordinating and integrating
Hawaii’s Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Management
Plan, most of the implementation of the management measures is done
by other agencies.
Chapter 5 covers the watershed approach
portion of the State’s two-tiered approach to nonpoint source
pollution management. The key to the watershed approach is tailoring
efforts of federal, state, and local governments, and the private and
public sector to the particular needs of an individual watershed. The
regional watershed approach further complements the State’s
current conditions from an environmental, economical and communal
standpoint.A key component of the State’s watershed approach is
the Unified Watershed Assessment (UWA). The UWA, one of the programs
arising from the federal Administration’s Clean Water Action
Plan, aims to provide a framework for federal, state, and tribal
activities related to identifying and prioritizing watersheds in need
of restoration.
Chapter 6 covers the progress the State
has made in developing 5-year plans and 15-year strategies for the six
nonpoint source categories identified in Hawaii’s Coastal
Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Management Plan - agriculture,
forestry, urban areas, marinas and recreational boating,
hydromodifications, and wetlands and riparian areas. Hawaii’s
Implementation Plan for Polluted Runoff Control will serve as a
road map and guide Hawai`i to attain its three long-term goals by 2013.
Following each five-year period, the State will evaluate its progress
towards reaching the long-term goals and develop 5-year implementation
plans to show how agencies and organizations are implementing the
management measures. The State will base its 5-year evaluation on water
quality monitoring data and information from the implementation of
statewide and watershed based projects.
Six appendices provide a variety of
background information, including summaries of documents on which the
plan is based.
| Appendix
A: |
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Background Document Summaries (102 kb) |
| Appendix
B: |
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Advisory Group Membership Lists (18 kb) |
| Appendix
C: |
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“The Hawaii Unified Watershed Assessment” (519
kb) |
| Appendix
D: |
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Department of Health Polluted Runoff Control Program Section
319(h) Grants: Information and Sample Application Form (45 kb) |
| Appendix
E: |
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Distribution of CWA 319(h) Grants in Hawaii for 1990-1999 by
Categories (65 kb) |
| Appendix
F: |
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Detailed Descriptions of Hawaii’s 18 Water Quality Limited
Segments (65 kb) |
| Appendix G: |
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Text of All Management Measures (47 kb) |
| Phone: |
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(808) 586-4309 |
| Fax: |
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(808) 586-4352 |
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Current Warnings, Advisories, and Closures: |
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(808) 586-5826 |
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| Mailing Address: |
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Clean Water Branch
Environmental Management Division
State Department of Health
P.O. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801-3378 |
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| Office Address: |
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Clean Water Branch
Environmental Management Division
State Department of Health
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 301
Honolulu, HI 96814-4920 |
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| EMail Address: |
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CleanWaterBranch@doh.hawaii.gov
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Clean Water Branch - Kauai
Phone: (808) 241-3323
Fax: (808) 241-3566
Kauai District Health Office
3040 Umi Street
Lihue, Hawaii 96766
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Clean Water Branch - Maui
Phone: (808) 984-8234
Fax: (808) 984-8237
Maui District Health Office
54 High Street, Room 300
Wailuku, Hawaii 96793
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Clean Water Branch - Hilo
Phone: (808) 933-0401
Fax: (808) 933-0400
Hawaii District Health Office - Hilo
1582 Kamehameha Avenue
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
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Clean Water Branch - Kona
Phone: (808) 322-1967
Fax: (808) 322-1511
West Hawaii Environmental Health Office
Keakealani Building
79-1020 Haukapila Street, Room 113
Kealakekua, Hawaii 96750
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