Fugitive Dust Committee Hawaiian Paradise Park (TPD1302145)

• District 1: Francis Ganon, Harold Ching, Bruce Derrick.
• District 2: Skip McAlister, Dorie Liu, Bill Cesaletti, Cindy Hisatake, Linda Nako
• District 3: Terry Michaels, Tony Rua
• District 4: Tom Nickerson, Linnea Lindley
• District 5:  Judy Sumter, Joe Botticelli, Frank Pustka
• District 6: June Conant, Leilani Bronson, Bertram Carvalho, Craig Crelly
• District 7: Verne Presnall, Kaniu Kinimaka-Stocksdale, Liz Bonnell, Tap Titherington
• District 8: Joan Galante, Gregg Hummer
• District 9: Larry Brennan, Lawrence Bergner

Factoids

• 138 road miles in HPP
• 50 road miles paved as of winter 2012
• 88 road miles remain unpaved in HPP
• In a three-month period in 2012: 11,441,000 pounds of 1 ½” base course material was laid on our unpaved roads.

Viable Options Submitted by

Committee Members

BILL CESALETTI:

(1)   Encourage owners to stop calling and lodging complaints to DOH – send them to HPP office;

(2)   Slow traffic speed;

(3)   Encourage lot owners to water the road fronting their home;

(4)   Place correct material on roads and grade correctly with a crown; and

(5)   Don’t borrow more money or encumber lot owners with higher debt to pave roads – live within our means.

VERNE PRESNALL:

(1)    Create a grassroots signage campaign – that is owner- generated to post speed limit signs on your own lot;

(2)    Slow speed on unpaved roads to 15MPH; and,

(3)    Send complimentary and encouraging letters and awards to businesses with high trip generation to lower their speed on the roadways.

LINNEA LINDLEY:

(1) Place large white- painted boulders in roadway (with appropriate signage) forcing cars to slow down. Cost for 500 boulders is less than $4,000.

TAP TITHERINGTON:

(1)     Suggest that concerned lot owners place vinyl fencing; or

(2)     Plant fast-growing vegetation fronting their property to act as dust filter.

TONY RUA:

Chip Seal (a 3-part process) the unpaved roadways. Yamada & Sons quoted

$105,600/per mile.

(This compares to the approximately $300,000/per mile to asphalt it – also by Yamada)

TOM NICKERSON:

Use Asphalt Emulsion (a 2-part process) as an aggregate binder on unpaved roads. Cost per mile is approximately $3500/mile.

State Rep. HANOHANO:

(1)    Once the road fronting complainers’ home is done, inform DOH in writing;

(2)    Inform DOH that Fugitive Dust Committee has been formed to seek reasonable options to the problem; and,

(3)    Place signage at the top of four main roads in the Park “Drive 15MPH On All Dirt Roads Throughout HPP.”

KANIU KINIMAKA- STOCKSDALE:

(1)    Seek legislative assistance to amend or exempt HPP from the fugitive dust law.

(2)    Suggested individuals should chip seal or harden the road fronting their own home – at their expense.

LARRY BRENNAN

(Option 1):

Create a road remediation plan/outline to submit to DOH that is in depth, well- researched, and backed with scientific data. Incorporate this plan into HPPOA Master Plan, make it a part of the HPP road maintenance practice, and submit to Puna Community Plan.

(Option 2):

Take legislative action to amend HAR 11 – Chapter 60, (7) (b), Air Pollution Control – to account for areas zoned agricultural (such as HPP, which is AG1), and who demonstrates “the best practical operation or treatment is being implemented,” – because we have a Dust Remediation Plan in place.

(Option 3):

Lower speeds on unpaved roads.

Post a sign at top of main roads that reads: “DUST STATUS” – road crew would alter between “Red” or “Green” conditions as the weather varies.

–         While in “Red” condition – speeds are 10MPH

–         While in “Green” condition – speeds are 15MPH.

–         Inform residents of new practice in “The Conch” and several community meetings, etc. Consider incentive measures to make it fun and increase participation.

(Option 4):

Develop a Road Surface Test Plot Grid to demonstrate our efforts in mitigation of dust.

Major Test Plot variables are: road usage, climate condition, material type, depth of material and maintenance applications.

Collaborate with an Environmental Engineer to determine: Test Plot length, established and logged uniform inspection and tracking system.

Determine two locations (upper/lower HPP) – using same material, maintenance schedule, traffic pattern – after a pre- determined “wear period” plots would be examined for wear and dust comparison and tabulated for later conclusions.

JOE BOTTICELLI:

Use Gorilla Snot which is a soil stabilizer that is an eco- safe, biodegradable liquid copolymer used to stabilize and solidify any soil or aggregate and acts as a dust suppressant, which is sprayed onto the road. The cost per mile is: $9,269 – or $815,672 for the 88 remaining unpaved road miles.

GREGG HUMMER:

(1)    Speed is the #1 reason for fugitive dust.

(2)    We need speed enforcement from police.

(3)    Determine traffic generated from businesses located in the Park – do they have special use permits? Should they be required to pay impact fee for roads?

FRANK PUSTKA:

(1) Lower speed limits on unpaved roads;

(2) Enforce speed limits by hiring off- duty police; plus create a program for owners to call into a hot line at the office;

(3) Post speed limit signs on unpaved roads;

(4) Have Road Crew only fill potholes and limit grading over full length of roadways; and

(5) HPP should consider using an environmental attorney – such as Ms. Lisa Woods Munger – rather than a general practice attorney to challenge this violation.

BERTRAM CARVALHO:

• Wants to slow speeders driving in the Park, and supports speed bumps on paved roads.
• Increase the amount of speed limit signs throughout the Park.

MERRILL “SKIP” McALISTER:

• Emphasized the importance of changing the source and type of material used on roadways, “Stop using the base course from Puna Rock immediately!”
• Change the practice of putting base course on roads and start using better quality and more quantity with proper compaction to allow for drainage.
• Fill in potholes correctly with 2” – 3” mound.

BRUCE DERRICK:

• Suggested that HPPOA return to using ¾” base course with 2” minimum compaction.
• Use cinder on less travelled roadways.

LAWRENCE BERGNER:

• Suggests that when homes are bought/sold in HPP, that the realtor be required to provide a specific disclosure exhibit as part of the DROA – so that new owners are aware they are buying into a subdivision with unpaved roads, that might from time-to-time, cause dust to rise from its surface.
• He added that rental agreements should include same type of disclosure.

CINDY HISATAKE:

• (1) Stop using the current material on the roads – it’s contributing to the dust problem. (2) Switch to ¾” aggregate. (3) Set up speed bumps to slow car speeds. (4) Seek exemption from this law with the help of our state legislators. (5) Eliminate the current general manager’s position and use the money from his salary to improve our road conditions.

  Potential Financial Impacts

  From DOH Violation

$25,000 per day

X 3 complaints

$75,000 per day

X 30 days

$2,250,000 per month

X 12 months

$27,000,000 per year

Recommendation

The majority of the members of the Fugitive

Dust Committee agree:

(1)     Immediately change the quality of the base course being used and possibly its vendor source;

(2)     Lower the speed limit on unpaved roads to 10MPH – and increase the signage stating so;

(3)     Consider alternative to asphalt paving (currently at $290K/mile to $300K/mile) to a more reasonably priced material and methodology.

Mahalo a Nui Loa

• Thank you to the participating members of the Fugitive Dust Committee, as well as the general membership of HPPOA who trusted us to return with a list of viable options to the dust violation, and to the staff in the office who helped with logistics.

Conclusion

The next step is up to YOU.

What would you suggest we do to avoid being fined up to $25,000 per day for this fugitive dust violation? Without a plan, or reasonable efforts in place to mitigate the dust from coming off our roadways, we stand to pay a lot of money for not changing our current practice.

Which solution do you think best meets our immediate and long-term needs?

Should a separate advisory committee be empaneled to select the option and direction we take?

Should the Board of Directors be the sole decision makers to turn this problem around?

Do YOUagree, to be a part

of the solution and not part of the problem?

If so, take action now, to help make this change a reality.

Change Can Happen in HPP

© Presented Feb. 24, 2013, by the HPP Fugitive Dust Committee; Leilani Bronson-Crelly, Chair