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, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus in Kaneohe Stream (including the Kamooalii tributary), Koolaupoko, Oahu. The proposed decision divides each of these three 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 municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) operated by the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (Highways Division), the State of Hawaii Department of Education (public school campuses), the State of Hawaii Department of Defense (Veteran’s Cemetery), and the City and County of Honolulu (various departments and facilities).

The proposed TMDLs, LAs, and WLAs are presented in a draft decision document entitled “Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Total Suspended Solids, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Kaneohe Stream Kaneohe, 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, and in the Kaneohe Public Library, 45-829 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744 during regular library hours. 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 Monday, September 15, 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 Thursday, August 28, 2008, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM in the Kaneohe Community Park located at 45-529 Keaahala Road, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744. 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 Kaneohe 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 24, 2008 so that arrangements can be made.