Hawaii County taxpayers are expected to save tens of millions of dollars on downsized plans for sewer treatment systems in Naalehu and Pahala.
The county’s agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls for approximately 270 properties served by five gang cesspools in Pahala and Naalehu to be connected to new wastewater treatment facilities.
Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour last year halted work on a plan created by a prior administration that featured large lagoons and would have cost $130 million for Pahala alone, requiring the county to pay about $400,000 per home to connect.
After yearlong negotiations, the county and federal government struck a deal.
“A lot of people told us it’s a lost cause, but it was a cause worth taking on,” Mansour told the county Environmental Management Commission last month. “It’s an accomplishment. We went from possible stipulated fines to a revised (consent agreement) with the revised projections and deadlines and treatment process, which is good. It’s a win-win for the entire county. And we don’t want to forget the potential major tens of millions of dollars of cost savings to the taxpayers. That, by itself, speaks volumes.”
The consent agreement between the county and the EPA signed last week not only gives the county more time to get into compliance, but also allows it to consider four alternatives to the massive former projects. The county is required to submit a feasibility report within 60 days of each alternative followed by preliminary engineering reports that will include costs estimates for each option. Environmental information documents are also required.
The alternatives include package plants and new collection systems, package plants connected to the existing collection systems, a maintenance contract model individual wastewater system program and an operating permit model individual wastewater system program for both communities.
The department has tentatively scheduled a community meeting for 6 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Naalehu Community Center. The consent agreement requires community meetings twice a year to give updates on the progress of the projects.
The county is also assembling a collection of master plans for each region on how best to deal with some 55,000 cesspools on the island that must be converted to more environmentally friendly systems by 2050 under state law. Statewide, including Hawaii Island, there are 88,000 cesspools.
Commissioners quizzed Mansour on where the money will come from for such an ambitious undertaking. Possibilities include seeking relief from the state Legislature, charging property owners a little a month to build up a fund and seeking a tax incentive for property owners to convert to a cesspool alternative, much in the way of a recent successful $10,000 tax write-off for solar systems.
While taxpayers countywide are subsidizing Pahala and Naalehu sewer infrastructure projects other communities have taken a different approach. In 2017, the Lono Kona neighborhood became the county’s first sewer improvement district, when property owners voted to tax themselves to pay for the improvements.
The Lono Kona sewer system improvement district includes 145 assessment units — the equivalent of 268 single-family homes — on 110 lots. Lot owners are assessed an estimated $9,090 per single-family equivalent unit. The county allowed property owners to make annual payments around $498 per single-family equivalent.
The Puako community has also been struggling to find a solution to cesspool leakage that is lowering seawater quality and harming the coral reef.
Puako, with 150 cesspools, could see a higher price tag than Lono Kona if residents decide to go that route. Based on earlier county estimates, they could face monthly bills of $200-$800 for 20 to 30 years, just for their system alone.
The state and county are chipping in. Gov. David Ige released $1.5 million for design work, with the county agreeing to add a 20% match, about $300,000.
(This article has been corrected to indicate 2050 as the state-imposed deadline to covert from cesspools.)