Department of Environmental Management Schedules Hearings on Administrative Rule Amendments

Department of Environmental Management Schedules
Hearings on Administrative Rule Amendments
The Department of Environmental Management proposes to amend its administrative rules of
practice and procedure and has scheduled hearings on the rules for January 25, 2022, at West
Hawaii Civic Center, Council Chambers, and January 26, 2022, at the Aupuni Center conference
room. Both hearings will start at 5 p.m. Additional information about how to provide comment is
provided in the attached public notice.
Rule changes are proposed in three areas:
1) Adding a definition of an unsecured load. Littering pollutes the ‘āina, and a large part
of the problem is due to loads that are falling out of vehicles. Existing rules (7-17, 8-18,
9-27, 10-20, 11-1) authorize a $250 fine for violations of a failure to cover or secure a
load, and Rule 12-3(4) authorizes the Solid Waste Division to assess an additional $25
fee for all “unsecured loads” at the West Hawai‘i Sanitary Landfill, the reload station,
and the organics facilities. However, fees have not been assessed because an unsecured
load is not defined. Fees and fines would help to offset costs relating to litter cleanup at
all Solid Waste facilities on the island and would apply to entities that are also not in
compliance with existing laws, such as HRS 291C-131(a), regarding the securing of
loads. Adding this definition would assist the enforcement of these rules with the goal of
ending unintended releases of waste along the roads.
2) Allowing trailers at certain transfer stations. The revised administrative rules that
were developed in 2020 included a prohibition on all trailers at all transfer stations, and
enforcement of this rule began in April 2021. Subsequent investigations verified that
there were indeed safety hazards at most transfer stations, but with appropriate
safeguards, policies, and physical modifications, DEM has determined it would be
possible to allow trailers to return to some transfer stations, subject to conditions.
3) Tipping credit for residential haulers. When Ordinance No. 2020-86 became law in
2020, it repealed a popular law that granted commercial haulers of residential waste a
partial credit per household to compensate for the fact that residential customers should
not be assessed commercial rates when disposing of waste through haulers. In the
interim, DEM has continued to offer this credit despite it not being established in the
Code or the rules. Inserting this rule would align internal policy with current practice.
DEM will continue to examine its administrative rules in an ongoing effort to improve its ability
to serve the public and maintain a clean and healthy island environmen