LIHU‘E — A public hearing on the proposed draft federal permit for a controversial Kekaha shrimp farm is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Waimea Theatre. An informational meeting regarding the proposed draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for
LIHU‘E — A public hearing on the proposed draft federal permit for a controversial Kekaha shrimp farm is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Waimea Theatre.
An informational meeting regarding the proposed draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the farm begins at 4 p.m., said Joanna Seto, Engineering Section supervisor of the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch.
The written public-comment period regarding the farm’s proposed NPDES permit closes at 4:30 p.m. that day.
Comments may be submitted via mail or e-mail before that deadline, and all timely submitted statements received by the DOH, including those made at the public hearing, will be retained and considered prior to decision-making, she said.
The e-mail address is cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov, and the mailing address is Clean Water Branch, Environmental Management Division, State Department of Health, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801-3378.
Oral or written statements on the proposed permit may be presented or submitted at the public hearing.
At present the shrimp-pond circulation water effluent is piped to the sedimentation canals system, Seto said.
The shrimp-pond water in the sedimentation basin percolates and evaporates away and is not presently discharged into the ocean, she said.
Ground-water testing is not required by the NPDES permit, which regulates discharges to surface waters.
The Solid Waste Permit for the adjacent county Kekaha Landfill requires ground-water monitoring, she said.
Waimea Theatre is on Kaumuali‘i Highway near Waimea High School and the county Waimea swimming pool.
