Molokai’s oldest and longest-running hotel, Hotel Moloka’i, is proposing a $ 1.4 million project to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to meet Department of Health standards.
The project was proposed by the Moloka’i Hotel Apartment Owners Association, which is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the hotel complex. A new wastewater treatment plant is to be upgraded and built on the upper parking lot of the 2.5 hectare property by the water.
The cost of the project is approximately $ 1,362,600. Once permits and permits are in place, construction is expected to take around nine months.
A final environmental review and the finding that there was no material impact was published on April 23 at the State Environmental Quality Control Office “The environmental notice.”
After the hotel’s wastewater treatment facility failed to meet DOH wastewater discharge standards during an operations and maintenance inspection in February 2017, the facility received an inspection rating of “Unacceptable” the note said.
DOH’s wastewater department directed the association to design and build a compliant replacement facility.
The proposed sewage treatment plant would be a single central sewage treatment plant on the upper parking lot. The site would be separated from the hotel units as much as possible, minimizing the challenges associated with drainage and allowing cost savings in terms of treatment capacity and maintenance requirements.
The tank capacity requirements would meet the federal requirement of 15,543 gallons per day. A total tank volume of 24,000 gallons was calculated to be sufficient to treat the wastewater produced by the Moloka’i Hotel and meet the wastewater department’s tank capacity requirements for the property.
The hotel, which serves as one of the few visitor accommodations and the only hotel on the island, was announced to open in the late 1960s.
Now the hotel complex comprises 13 separate buildings and residential units with 59 hotel rooms as well as a restaurant and a fully stocked bar, one of only two bars on the island. With grass and trees laid out, the site is currently used for guest accommodation, hotel parking spaces and luau facilities.
A state assessment is required as the project is located within a coastline. The district’s requirements include a special use permit for the administrative area, a permit for the development of floods, and a deviation in coastal setback.
The AOAO includes several condominium owners, including Blue Island Property Holdings LLC, which owns and operates 51 of the 59 units on the property, and other private condominium owners who own the other eight hotel units.
The full final EA of the Moloka’i Hotel Wastewater Treatment Plant can be found at http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/The_Environmental_Notice/2021-04-23-TEN.pdf.
Comments are due by May 24th and should be mailed to the licensing authority, the county planning department, at 2200 Main St., One Main Plaza, Suite 315, Wailuku 96793. by phone at 270-7735; or by email to Sybil.Lopez@co.maui.hi.us.
The applicant and the advisor should also be copied.
The Moloka’i Hotel’s Condominium Owner Association (AOAO) can be contacted by mail at 1300 Kamehameha V Highway, Kaunakakai 96748. by phone at (443) 557-0303; or by email to mtucker@metacoastal.com.
The SSFM International consultant can be contacted by mail at 501 Sumner Street, Suite 620, Honolulu 96817. by phone at (808) 741-3151; or by email to mfernandez@ssfm.com.
* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.
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