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

The proposed decision will affect water pollution control permits and provide guidance for other planning and regulatory approvals (e.g. land use and environmental management) within the Hanalei Bay watershed.

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 in four estuaries (Hanalei, Waioli, Waipa, and Waikoko) and one stream (Hanalei) and of indicator bacteria (enterococci) in Hanalei Estuary. The proposed decision divides each of these six TMDLs into load allocations (LAs) for various sources of polluted runoff (nonpoint sources) in the Hanalei Bay watershed. It also provides a framework for future wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point sources of these pollutants (point sources are facilities regulated by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permits). NPDES-permitted facilities within the Hanalei Bay watershed are currently limited to those operating under general permit coverage and no WLAs are assigned to them by the proposed TMDLs.

DOH also calculated loading capacities and nonpoint source load targets for numerous pollutant/waterbody combinations in the Hanalei Bay watershed that currently do not require TMDLs. As more water quality information becomes available, if additional TMDLs are required then these loading capacities and load targets provide a basis for fulfilling the requirements.

The proposed TMDLs, LAs, loading capacities and load targets are presented in a draft report titled “Total Maximum Daily Loads and Load Targets for the Hanalei Bay Watershed.\u201D This draft report 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 and in the Kauai District Health Office, DOH, 3040 Umi Street Lihue, Hawaii 96766. For a copy of the draft report (including a technical appendix), 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, March 12, 2007, 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, Third Floor, 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 report, as necessary, for final EPA approval of the proposed TMDLs.

A public information meeting on the proposed TMDLs is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2007, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM in the Hale Halawai Ohana o Hanalei (Community Center), Hanalei, Hawaii 96714. 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 Hanalei Bay watershed, and the State\u2019s 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 February 09, 2007 so that arrangements can be made.

Chiyome L. Fukino, M.D.
Director of Health (SB05527310 2/4/07)