FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     March 23, 2005                              

Release No. M-24

MAYOR WILL MEET WITH EPA OFFICIALS

             Mayor Mufi Hannemann will be off-island March 25 to 29 to meet with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials in San Francisco.

            Accompanying the mayor will be Corporation Counsel Carrie Okinaga and Environmental Services Director Eric Takamura.

They will discuss the City’s efforts to comply with a 1995 consent decree with the EPA to address deficiencies in Honolulu’s wastewater system. They will also discuss legal matters relating to the City’s wastewater system.

The mayor stated in his state of the City address that he would be meeting with EPA officials regarding our wastewater system, in order to emphasize the priority he and his administration place on  upgrades and compliance.  Hannemann anticipates that the EPA will express disapproval of the past administration’s compliance with the requirements of various consent decrees and permits, and he intends to communicate the steps his administration is taking to address these requirements.

The mayor will also go to Los Angeles, where he will discuss solid waste and mass transit matters with officials there. City Transportation Services Director Ed Hirata will join him for the latter part of the trip.

Managing Director Jeff Coelho will be acting mayor in Hannemann’s absence.

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Contact:     Bill Brennan, 527-6928

                   Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767