HILO -- The Hawaii County Council gave in to the mayor Wednesday and provided additional funding for a proposed East Hawaii Regional Sort Station project.Council members voted 7-2 to add $1.1 million in capital funds for the sort station -- $6.2 million was previously appropriated. Dissenters included James Arakaki and Donald Ikeda, of Hilo.The funding approval comes after months of struggle between the administration and council members over public funding of the sort station and over the true purpose of its first phase, deemed "a reload facility."Some council members believe it will merely serve as a super transfer station for East Hawaii's trash to be gathered for hauling to Puuanahulu in North Kona once the Hilo landfill reaches maximum capacity.The approval also comes despite Bio Energy Hawaii pitching an offer to build a sort station, handle the Hilo landfill and set up a waste-to-energy facility at its own expense.Council members heard from Waimea resident Ted Dahl, who expressed anger at the possibility of East Hawaii's trash being hauled to Puuanahulu once the Hilo landfill closes.Mayor Harry Kim was dumbfounded that Dahl could feel that way.Kim noted he has received a lot of e-mails lately asking that trash not be trucked to the Kona landfill.
"There is a lot of anger out there and I don't understand some of them, why there is so much anger," Kim said. "It's not just frustration, but anger and hostility."Kim then reiterated to council members what he has been saying all along: East Hawaii's trash will not be hauled to Puuanahulu under his watch. His administration is actively pursuing an extension on the life of the Hilo landfill set to reach maximum capacity in March.He addressed South Kona Councilwoman Virginia Isbell specifically, telling her he is pursuing other alternatives should the landfill not receive a Department of Health (DOH) extension, including hauling East Hawaii's estimated 230 tons per day to Washington state.The mayor acknowledged that the county's Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (ISWMP) states that shipping to Puuanahulu would be done in the interim between the time the Hilo landfill closes and a waste reduction technology is available. But he maintained that shipping to Kona won't be necessary."I accept responsibility for what I'm saying. Because of that, interim shipping to Kona is no longer necessary," Kim said, adding it is in the ISWMP because it was written "before we pursued other things."Hamakua Councilman Fred Holschuh said his legislative staff looked into shipping East Hawaii's trash to the mainland and was informed the federal Environmental Protection Agency won't allow it until at least 2007.Isbell then recalled a June letter from DOH expressing alarm that the county had not taken the necessary steps to implement its ISWMP and questioning its intention to expand the life of the landfill by steepening its slopes, saying there are "minimal opportunities for expansion."Kim said his administration has had "constant and very personal" communication with DOH officials since that letter and he is confident DOH will approve an extension on the landfill's life."We would never mislead you or the public," Kim said.Isbell said council members "may decide to take over if you don't get something going." She said she doesn't like the idea of steepening the slopes of the landfill and she knows there are options out there for handling East Hawaii's solid waste."You've put us between a rock and a hard place, and you're going to have to figure out how to remove that rock," Isbell said, adding, "It's difficult to talk about," but the sort station should actually have been referred to in the ISWMP as a "reload station" because "it is meant to haul to Kona."North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago, whose district Puuanahulu landfill lies in, defended the mayor, saying that East Hawaii's trash problem is "all our problem and all our responsibility. It doesn't fall on one person." He added that he is one council member who supports the sort station.Council Chairman Stacy Higa countered saying he wasn't going to be as "forgiving and optimistic" as some of his colleagues."With all due respect, Barbara, your department has put too much emphasis on recycling," Higa said, referring to Barbara Bell, the Department of Environmental Management head. "I would have (voted) no if for sure we could ship off-island tomorrow."
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