NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
– TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS (TMDLs)
FOR NAWILIWILI BAY WATERSHED, ISLAND OF KAUAI, HAWAII

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 suspended solids, nitrate+nitrite nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and enterococcus (bacterial indicator) in four major streams (Huleia, Papakolea, Puali, and Nawiliwili) of the Nawiliwili Bay Watershed, Kauai. The proposed decision divides each of these twenty TMDLs (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 six NPDES-permitted industrial facilities within the Nawiliwili Bay watershed – the Jas. Glover Rock Quarry (operating under individual permit coverage); Polynesian Adventure Tours, Inc. Lihue Baseyard; Puhi Metals Recycling Center; Kauai Commercial Company, Inc.; Halehaka Landfill; and Lihue-Puhi Wastewater Treatment Plant (each operating under general permit coverage).

The proposed TMDLs, LAs, and WLAs are presented in a draft decision document entitled “Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Nutrients, Sediment, and Bacterial Indicator in Four Major Streams of the Nawiliwili Bay Watershed, Kauai, Hawaii.” 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; the Kauai District Health Office, DOH, 3040 Umi Street Lihue, Hawaii 96766; and the East Kauai Soil and Water Conservation District, 4334 Rice Street, Rm. #104, Lihue, Hawaii 96766. 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 02, 2008, 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; kelvin.sunada@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 Wednesday, August 13, 2008, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM in the Niumalu Park Pavilion, Niumalu Road, Lihue, Hawaii 96766. 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 Nawiliwili 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 08, 2008 so that arrangements can be made.