Hawaii County oversight committee hears wide-ranging update on EPA-mandated wastewater projects; council seeks cost and staffing details

HILO — At a January 16 committee meeting, the Hawaii County Communication Reports and Council Oversight Committee received a detailed briefing from the Department of Environmental Management on federally mandated wastewater projects tied to Environmental Protection Agency administrative orders, prompting council members to press for updated cost estimates, staffing plans and compliance paperwork.

Alan Fukumizu, a licensed wastewater operator and Unit 168 chief steward, opened public testimony by urging clearer operational readiness documentation. “EPA compliance isn't just about construction. It requires operational readiness, written SOPs, documented confined space classifications, integrated lockout tagout, and rescue planning that can be audited and produced on request,” Fukumizu said, and asked the committee to direct DEM to provide a date‑certain report with a complete confined‑space and lockout/tagout safety package and interim written directives governing entries until that package is complete.

The presentation that followed, led by Mark Grant, project coordinator for the wastewater division, covered a portfolio of projects: the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant rehabilitation (Phase 1) and a…