NOTICE OF CLEAN WATER BRANCH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PERMIT FOR
SUNRISE CAPITAL, INC.
KEKAHA, ISLAND OF KAUAI
NPDES PERMIT NO. HI 0021654
DOCKET NO. HI 0021654
October 19, 2022
The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), Clean Water Branch (CWB) tentatively recommends to the Director of Health (Director) to renew a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that regulates and imposes water pollution control requirements on the discharge of shrimp pond circulation wastewater and treated shrimp farm production process wastewater from its shrimp farm facility, to receiving State waters, subject to special conditions to:
SUNRISE CAPITAL, INC.
A permit for such discharge will expire five (5) years from the date of issuance.
The draft NPDES permit was revised based on comments resulting from the previous public notice published on September 29, 2021.
Sunrise Capital, Inc. owns and operates a shrimp farm located at 6526 Kaumualii Highway, Kekaha, Island of Kauai, Hawaii and produces 730,000 pounds of whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) annually. The facility consists of
40 one-acre production ponds, 8 1/2-acre nursery ponds and 24 raceways supplied by four brackish land-based wells. Each pond at the facility is lined and includes a bottom drain system to periodically remove settled matter and a skimmer system to remove floating material. Each shrimp production pond has a volume of 1.3 million gallons, and a turnover rate of 25-40% per day, amounting to a continuous flow rate of 230 – 360 gallons per minute (gpm) per pond. When all ponds are operating, the maximum discharge rate from the ponds is 20 million gallons per day (MGD), although for the past five years, the average discharge rate is under 5.0 MGD. The shrimp pond circulation water and the pond drainage system water are sent to one of two sedimentation/conveyance canals running the length of the facility prior to discharging into a canal (“Suez Canal”).
The receiving waters, the “Suez Canal,” is an undesignated Class 2 inland receiving water. The objective of Class 2 waters is to protect their use for recreational purposes, the support and propagation of aquatic life, agricultural and industrial water supplies, shipping, and navigation.
Persons wishing to comment upon or object to the draft NPDES permit or to request a public hearing, should submit their comments or requests in writing no later than 30 calendar days after the date of this notice, either through e-mail at: cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov or by mail at 2827 Waimano Home Road, Room 225, Pearl City, Hawaii 96782.
Copies of the draft NPDES permit and other information are available for public
inspection, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:45 a.m. until
4:15 p.m., at the DOH Clean Water Branch (CWB) office located at the
2827 Waimano Home Road 225, Pearl City, Hawaii 96782, or at the Kauai District Health Office located at 3040 Umi Street, Lihue, Hawaii 96766. Copies may be bought. The public notice permit, fact sheet, and response to comments on the September 29, 2021 draft permit are also available on the internet at:
https://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/clean-water-branch-home-page/public-notices-andupdates/. For more information or if you require aid in inspecting and/or commenting on the proposed permit and related information, please contact
Mr. Darryl Lum, Supervisor of the Engineering Section, CWB, at the above address or (808) 586-4309 (Voice) at least seven (7) calendar days before the comment deadline. For those who use a TTY/TDD, please call through Sprint Relay Hawaii, at 1-711 or 1-877-447-5991.
All written comments and requests received on time will be considered. If DOH determines that there is significant public interest, a public hearing may be held after at least 30 calendar days of public notice.
If CWB believes, after considering all timely written comments and all oral comments at any public hearing that may be held, that no substantive changes to the conditions of the proposed permit are necessary or warranted, then the CWB may recommend to the Director that the NPDES permit be issued.
Please notify anyone you know who would be interested in this matter.
ALEC WONG, P.E.
Clean Water Branch Chief
(TGI1387250 10/19/22)
