MINUTES

Sign-In

The meeting was held at the Honolulu Community College Marine Education Center, Sand Island, Honolulu, and had 33 attendees.

Call To Order:   Chairman Robin Bond called the meeting to order.   He introduced Chris Woolaway who then facilitated the meeting and introduced the guest speakers.

Marine Sanitation Devices Pump Stations

Chris introduced the first speaker, Ed Underwood –  Department of Land and Natural Resources, Dept. of Boating and Recreation.   .

Ed listed the State small boat harbors under DLNR jurisdiction that have MSD pump stations.  They include;  (1) All Small Boat Harbors on Oahu except Haleiwa.  (2) Only Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor on Kauai.  (3) Only Lahaina Small Boat Harbor on Maui.   (4) None on Molokai or Lanai.  (5) None currently on Hawaii, however, one is now under construction on the Kona Wharf, Kailua Kona.

Pump stations may be either holding tanks or are directly hooked up to municipal sewage systems.    It is illegal to discharge any waste within three miles of the coastline.   The maximum penalty for an illegal discharge is $27,500. per day.

The State conducted a survey of recreation vessel owners to determine the placement of pump out stations.   There have not been any requests from the public to expand the current facilities except for Kailua Kona.    Funding to install pump out stations for public or private harbors is available through the Federal Clean Vessel Act.   Historically funding has been 3:1, Federal/State dollars.

State of Hawaii Cruise Ship Waste Management MOU

Chris introduced our guest speaker Mr. Charles Toguchi the Hawaii Representative to the North West Cruise Ship Association which has its main office in Vancouver, Canada.    This association was originally formed to deal with security issues in Canada.   In all there are 10 cruise lines that are members of the NWCA including Carnival, Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Lines or NCL.  In all they represent 95% of all the ships cruising Hawaiian waters.

In 2002 the NWCA and the State of Hawaii signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the agreed upon standards for dealing with cruise ship waste when traveling in Hawaiian waters.   Officially it is called the “Cruise Industry Waste Management Standards, Practices and Procedures” MOU.   Included as part of this MOU is an annual review of policy which the first of which is soon to be conducted.   The primary State of Hawaii Agency is the Dept. of Health which was formerly under the direction of Gary Gill and is now under the direction of Mr. Larry Lau.

The Hawaii MOU is based on the “International Council of Cruise Lines Standards on Waste Management” which are incorporated into the language.   The MOU covers everything including oils, black water (sewage), gray water (laundry and sink waste water) to dry cleaning fluids and material wastes regulated under MARPOL.   The agreement provides that no ship can discharge anything within 4 miles of the 100 fathom isobath line.  (600 Ft.)   This is intended to take into consideration potential currents as well as adequate depth to provide a sufficient zone of mixing.  Additionally incinerators are not to be used in port.   Bunker fuel must have a sulfur content less than 2.8% by weight.   Also included in the agreement is a commitment by NWCA members to abide by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Invasive Species Act.

Anyone wishing to know more about the MOU can receive a PDF file copy (57 pages) by contacting Ms Chris Woolaway of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program via e-mail at woolaway@hawaii.edu.   The State of Hawaii point of contact would be Mr. Tom Arizumi with the Department of Health.

Marine Protected Areas  –  Executive Order 13158

Chris introduced Mr. Terry O’Halloran, former Chairman of H.O.S.T., and currently a member of the newly established Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Federal Advisory Committee.   Although the Executive Order was signed by President Bill Clinton in September of 2000, Terry stressed the fact that the work of the Committee and the Federal Government is just getting started.   This is largely due to the change in administration.

The MPA jurisdiction covers a huge area including all waters and submerged lands in United States jurisdiction.    This includes Hawaii and all coastal states, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The stated purpose of the Executive Order is as follows;

  1. Strengthen management, protection, and conservation of existing MPAs.
  2. Establish new and expanded MPAs
  3. Develop scientifically based, comprehensive national system of MPAs.
  4. Avoid causing harm to existing MPAs.

The goals of this effort are to protect  (1)  the Natural Heritage, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity of waters in U.S. jurisdiction,  (2)  the Cultural Heritage, including maritime history and traditional connection to the sea,  and (3)  the Sustainable Production and extraction of living resources within the MPA or outside its boundaries.

The function of the Advisory Committee is to recommend policy and process strategies that would be employed in a standardized fashion to future MPA expansion and management.   These recommendations are being made to the Departments of Commerce and Interior.   This committee won’t be making regulation but is focused on assisting these agencies in developing a national cohesive program.     This work toward developing a national policy for MPA’s is just beginning.  Some of the issues that are being addressed by the Committee include the following.

  1. Growing concerns among stakeholders
  2. International MPA initiatives
  3. MPA recommendations by expert panels
  4. Inclusion of MPAs in Federal ocean policy
  5. Creation or revision of Federal & State MPAs

Some if the identified stakeholder concerns include the following.

  1. Confusing terminology and goals
  2. Arbitrary conservations targets
  3. Poorly understood socio-economic impacts
  4. Effectiveness rarely monitored or evaluated
  5. Enforcement is difficult
  6. Complex and overlapping planning and implementation processes
  7. Are we creating policy that is based on a solution in search of a problem

The committee will make recommendations to the government agencies on how to design a framework for a national system.  A system that will inventory existing marine managed areas, assess uses and threats, and enhance understanding of MPA definitions and issues.

The positive possibilities of a nationally applied, scientifically based, standardized management process is something to work for if we are to maintain the health and economic value of our U.S. ocean resources for future generations. The website for the National Marine Protected Area is www.mpa.gov.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Robin reminded everyone that the “Get the Drift and Bag It” clean up will be coming up on Saturday, September 20th.    Anyone that can lend a hand is encouraged to contact Chris Woolaway at telephone 956-2872.

 ADJOURN – The next HOST membership meeting will be held on October 16th at the Honolulu Community Marine Training Center, 2:00 pm.