State plans harbor cleanup
| • | Map: Initial cleanup sites |
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state is preparing to announce the largest and most expensive environmental cleanup in its history under an agreement with polluters and the federal government to clear petroleum contamination from the Honolulu Harbor waterfront.
After nearly three years of negotiations, the state and a volunteer group of oil companies, electricity producers and landowners in the area have agreed to pay contractors to clean up the Honolulu waterfront between Fort Armstrong and Sand Island.
State health officials estimate the project conservatively could cost tens of millions of dollars and take 10 years or longer to complete.
Despite the high cost, the cleanup is necessary, state officials said.
As waterfront piers and warehouses give way to restaurants, retail centers and condominiums, officials say they worry that underground petroleum contamination will pose health risks and slow development.
The problem has been so bad in the past that vapors from underground contamination have reached explosive levels in some areas, and a rising water table has been pushing so much petroleum to the surface that at times people have fallen ill, according to state officials.
"We are not trying to make this area pristine," said Bruce Anderson, state Health Department director. "Our intent is to address any contamination problem that poses a threat to the environment or human health."
The state will begin installing drilling rigs around the harbor next week to take soil samples to identify the most contaminated areas first, Anderson said. The initial focus will be on the harbor area between Nu'uanu and Kapalama streams.
Anderson said that so far, the state has not found specific health risks to people who work or live around the harbor.
Three areas have been targeted for immediate cleanup because of extensive petroleum pollution visible above ground. Those areas include Piers 24-29 where Young Brothers Ltd. formerly operated its tug operation; Pier 32, which formerly was used by Pauley Petroleum; and Piers 35-38, the location targeted for the state's new fishing village.
Joining the state in the cleanup effort are BHP, Castle & Cooke, Chevron, City Mill, Dillingham Trust, Hawaiian Electric Co., Phillips Petroleum Co., Equilon Enterprises, Texaco, Tosco and Unocal. The U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency are providing technical assistance.
Details on how much the state or each company will pay is still not clear.
Some volunteer group members said their share would be based on how much they contributed to the problem and their ability to pay.
State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said the department has not signed the final agreement yet and did not know what the final financial arrangements would be.
Albert Chee, a spokesman for Chevron Hawai'i, said the oil company is prepared to take responsibility for its part in creating the problem.
"It's not a secret to anybody that there is some subsurface contamination around the harbor area. We have had some leaks or spills, and we know we have contributed to the situation," Chee said.
Richard Mirikitani, executive vice president and general counsel for Castle & Cooke, was not as certain that Honolulu Harbor has an extensive environmental problem.
"I think there has been articles in the newspaper that there has been some contamination in the harbor so we are going into this with an open mind. But I don't think we are in a position to comment yet on whether there is a problem," Mirikitani said.
Honolulu Harbor has been used for industrial purposes since before the turn of the century, often for transferring and storing large amounts of petroleum.
Dozens of underground petroleum tanks and pipelines still crisscross the area, as they have since the early 1920s. But over the years, those tanks and lines have leaked hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the ground, environmental experts said.
"This is one of the worst contaminated sites in (the western states)," said Henry Curtis, executive director for Life of Land, an environmental watchdog group in Honolulu.
While Curtis welcomed the news about the planned cleanup, he said the state should complete an environmental impact statement— which could cost millions more.
"When you are planning to spend tens of millions of dollars over the next 10 years, it is worth it to know right up front what you need to do," Curtis said.
The state spent more than $200,000 to study contamination at the waterfront in 1998. That year, five companies paid $180,000 for further study. Much of the results of that work has been kept confidential.
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Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088, or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.
