HB214 SD1.DOC

SECTION 1. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary, and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated for fiscal year 2009-2010, for the capital improvement projects in the county of Kaua‘i listed in section 2 of this Act.

SECTION 2. The following sums, or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to finance the projects listed in this Act, are hereby appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawai‘i for fiscal year 2009-2010:

FY 2009-2010

A. WAILUA EMERGENCY BYPASS ROAD REPAIR $

AND RESURFACING (Plan preparation and

construction)

The emergency bypass road is used when the state highway (Kuhi‘o Highway) is impassable between Wailua and Lihu‘e. Kuhi‘o Highway is the only highway between the largest population center on the island (the Kawaihau District) and the county seat, Lihu‘e. The Wailua emergency bypass road is a portion of the former cane haul road system, running from the Wailua River to Hanama‘ulu, over land owned by Visionary, LLC and the department of Hawaiian home lands. The county initiated negotiations with the property owners to use the road when Kuhi‘o Highway is closed as a result of traffic accidents, and has maintained the road at its own cost since about 2004. However, the road must be upgraded to accommodate long-term use. Since the State has no immediate plans to widen Kuhi‘o Highway or create alternate routes, there is an urgent need to make further improvements to the emergency bypass road so the largest population center on Kaua‘i is not cut off from the county seat and the airport when Kuhi‘o Highway is closed. Resurfacing a twelve-foot wide road for one-lane and one-way traffic is necessary to address the deteriorated road surface and pavement structural failures and washouts. In addition, the request includes funds for safety improvements, such as guardrails, signage, and delineators, as well as consultant services for the preparation of plans and specifications.

B. WAIMEA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT $

UPGRADES

The Waimea wastewater treatment plant is an existing facility that serves the community of Waimea, Kaua‘i, Hawaii. The Waimea wastewater treatment plant was originally constructed in the 1970s and has a capacity of three hundred thousand gallons per day, average daily flow. Presently, the plant is operating at approximately ninety per cent of its capacity, and the county is restricting new sewer service connections in the community due to the lack of available Waimea wastewater treatment plant capacity.

Because the plant is operating near capacity, the county has proceeded with the planning and preliminary engineering for expansion. The first step was preparation of a "facilities plan." The facilities plan identifies a near-term need to double the existing capacity of the plant. The phase I project will therefore incorporate expansion to a capacity of approximately seven hundred thousand gallons per day, along with providing improvements to the plant's solids-handling facilities, upgrading the effluent to meet "R-1" standards for effluent re-use, and other improvements to modernize and improve plant reliability and efficiency. Preliminary engineering for the expansion is underway, including the preparation of the environmental assessment. The draft environmental assessment was published in August 2008.

Expansion of the Waimea wastewater treatment plant will be completed within the existing facility's property, and is anticipated to include modification of the existing activated sludge treatment process to incorporate use of alternate treatment processes such as membrane or bioreactor design. The expansion will also upgrade the effluent water quality using ultraviolet disinfection to produce R-1 effluent to allow for enhanced opportunity for effluent reuse. The R-1 effluent will be suitable for a broader range of re-use opportunities, allowing it to be viewed as a water resource for the community.

The phase I expansion will be designed to provide an average daily wastewater treatment capacity of approximately seven hundred thousand gallons per day. The capacity required is based on the population projection, including moderate additional development of property near Waimea, consistent with growth as anticipated in the county's general plan.

At present, the county is limiting new connections to the county sewer system to one dwelling unit per existing lot of record through the building permit process. This limitation is a constraint on development of subdivisions or new housing in the community, at a time when there is significant island-wide lack of affordable housing.

The county will also examine incorporating energy efficiency alternatives into this project such as constructed wetlands to create a more energy efficient facility in an effort to become less dependent on fossil fuel.

The county requests support from the State for this project to include alternative energy initiatives; however, cost estimates were not included in the project cost.

SECTION 3. The appropriations made for the capital improvement projects authorized by this Act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriations are made; provided that all moneys from the appropriations unencumbered as of June 30, 2012, shall lapse as of that date.

SECTION 4. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of public works, county of Kaua‘i for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	214
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1