Residents want Waimanalo wastewater plant fixed
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
WAIMANALO — The elimination of $11 million from the governor's proposed state budget for upgrades at the Waimanalo wastewater treatment plant could put the facility at risk of federal intervention and increase the possibility of sewage spills.
Area lawmakers and residents are scrambling to convince a conference committee to restore money for the state-owned facility, said Nancy Glover, a Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member. All bills requiring financing must be approved by tomorrow.
The elimination of money concerned state health director Bruce Anderson.
"We're risking the health of the residents and possibly subjecting the state to fines from the EPA," said Anderson, adding that the city could also be liable for those fines as the operator of the facility.
Since 1994, development in Waimanalo has been curbed because of the poor condition of the plant, Glover said, adding that the problems date back more than 10 years.
The treatment process is outdated and the effluent disposal system doesn't work properly, she said. A moratorium on sewer hookups took effect in 1994 but with a promise from the state to fix the plant, construction projects have been approved, including a kupuna housing development, Kamehameha Schools preschool and a Liliuokalani Children's Center.
Now that the wastewater money has been eliminated, those projects are at risk of not opening and the community will suffer, she said.
One community option would be a lawsuit, but "our community is not all that hot on lawsuits because it's our taxpayer money," Glover said. "It's like we're suing ourselves. We're reluctant to do that, but those community developments are very important."
The state Department of Health said $15 million is needed to improve the plant, which has received unacceptable ratings from the health department for at least four years, said Anderson. The result has been numerous spills and effluent quality violations.
"I think it's a crisis for the community in that flows have increased over the last few years and as soon as the rainy weather returns, we'll certainly see more overflows and spill of wastewater," he said.
Formal enforcement action from the state or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is possible but wouldn't benefit anyone, Anderson said. He would prefer that the Legislature fund the project, which gets more expensive each year.
"There's going to be a point where the city says enough, we don't want to incur the risk any longer and operate a substandard plant and walk away," Anderson said.
But both the city and the state have worked to keep the plant operating and the only problem is appropriating the funds, he said.
This year the governor appropriated $10.75 million for upgrades at the plant.
The state House of Representatives Finance Committee deleted the project, but the Senate allotted $200,000 to keep the project alive, said Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25 (Kailua-Waimanalo).
Testimony in support of the project has been compelling, said Hemmings, who has lobbied to replace all the funding for facility upgrades.
"I've been led to believe by some people that if we don't fix it soon it will break and we'll be pumping sewage into the ditches," he said.
