ESTABLISHING A CITY POLICY THAT ALL MUNICIPAL SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS BE UPGRADED AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE TO TREAT THEIR DISCHARGES AT THE SECONDARY TREATMENT LEVEL.

    WHEREAS, the ocean waters surrounding Oahu are vitally important to both the City and State as the major place of recreation for tourists and residents; and

    WHEREAS, the City now discharges more than 100 million gallons of mostly primary treated effluent into those waters through its sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Sand Island, Honouliuli, and Waianae; and

    WHEREAS, primary treatment of sewage removes 70 percent of suspended solids and 40 percent of the effluent's demand for oxygen in the water it is discharged in; and

    WHEREAS, the City wants to continue its primary treatment of effluent at its Honouliuli, Sand Island, and Waianae STPs by seeking a so-called "301(h) waiver" from the federal government's requirement that sewage be treated at the secondary treatment level, at which 85 percent of both suspended solids and oxygen demand are removed; and

    WHEREAS, Federal and State scientists have generally agreed that the primary treatment of effluent discharged from the City's STPs would not be harmful to humans or ocean life; and

    WHEREAS, despite the above general view that primary treated effluent is safe, the Hawaii Medical Association (HMA) has supported, in a written statement, the secondary treatment of the discharges; and

    WHEREAS, the HMA has pointed out in its statement that fish and shellfish toxicity studies have not been done for the area around the Honouliuli STP outfall and that bioaccumulation remains a very real threat to humans who consume fish and shellfish taken in that area; and

    WHEREAS, the HMA also noted that planned growth in the Ewa area would almost certainly require secondary treatment of the effluent due to the increased human waste that will result from that growth; and

    WHEREAS, with respect to the Mamala Bay area, the HMA believes that the combined effects of both sewage and non-point discharges from the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and Canal, Kewalo Basin,Honolulu Harbor, Sand Island STP, and Keehi Lagoon would have some negative effect on the water quality in the area; and

    WHEREAS, in addition to the concerns of the HMA, the large majority of citizens in the Kailua and Ewa-Waianae areas who have attended the public hearings on the City's 301(h) waiver request have expressed grave concerns about the quality of the ocean waters in their respective areas; and

    WHEREAS, those citizens have strongly supported the secondary treatment of effluent processed by the STPs in their area, and have expressed their willingness to pay for the added costs associated with the higher level of sewage treatment; and

    WHEREAS, because of the concerns of the citizens and the HMA regarding the quality and safety of ocean waters near the City's STPs, and due to the importance of those waters to the tourist industry and as a recreational resource for the City's residents, it would be prudent for the City to keep the waters around Oahu in pristine condition; now, therefore,

    BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that the City withdraw its pending applications for 301(h) waivers and adopt a policy that all City sewage treatment plants treat effluent at the secondary treatment level; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City submit to the Council a plan for the upgrading of all municipal sewage treatment plants so that they will treat sewage at the secondary treatment level; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan include the operating and capital costs for such upgrading and alternatives for financing those costs; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City submit its plan to the Council by March 1, 1989; and

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    BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor, the Director and Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Works, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the State Department of Health upon its adoption.

                            INTRODUCED BY:

                            John DeSoto

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                             Councilmembers

DATE OF INTRODUCTION:

December 1, 1988
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Honolulu, Hawaii

ADOPTED this 1 day of December , 1988.

(OCS/120188/ec)

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Policy Resolutions