EPA says Pflueger must cease water pollution
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
Jimmy Pflueger is in trouble again over grading work conducted in northern Kaua'i, this time at a mauka site near Kaloko Reservoir.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday ordered Pflueger, a retired car dealer from O'ahu, to stop discharges of polluted stormwater into streams and the ocean.
The agency said Pflueger failed to apply for a national pollution discharge elimination permit for the Kaloko site, as required under the federal Clean Water Act.
According to an EPA statement, "Pflueger has discharged polluted stormwater there without a permit for allegedly 250 or more days between January 1998 and July 2002, based upon data gathered from a rain gauge in Kilauea."
Pflueger's Honolulu attorney, William Tam, issued a statement yesterday that said the grubbing and grading work took place several years ago and that Pflueger Properties has hired an engineering firm and soils experts to address EPA concerns.
The EPA and the state Department of Health issued similar orders in June for Pflueger to halt runoff from a construction site above Pila'a Beach. Officials said the runoff was degrading coral reefs and ocean water.
"The EPA's continuing investigation into Mr. Pflueger's activities on Kaua'i has revealed that in addition to his activities at Pila'a, he also graded and disturbed this large swath of land at Kaloko Reservoir without having received the necessary permits," said Catherine Kuhlman, the EPA's acting director for water programs in the Pacific Southwest region.
In both cases, Pflueger is facing civil penalties for failure to comply with environmental laws, Kuhlman said.
Pflueger controls about 2,500 acres between Moloa'a and Kilauea, much of it used as pasture and farm land.
He told The Honolulu Advertiser in 1998 that a hill below Kaloko Reservoir was so steep it wasn't useful for ranching, so he flattened it. He said he took steps to minimize erosion and runoff. Pflueger also said he didn't want to go through a lengthy permit process because he's already in his 70s.
The EPA ordered Pflueger to cease all construction activities until the required permits are obtained. He is additionally required to complete a survey to identify potential unstable or erosion-prone soils on the property and submit a site stabilization plan within 60 days. Corrective measures must be implemented by March 31.
Tam said there has been no recent work at the site, and that Pflueger already has done most of what the EPA is seeking. "A plan will be submitted shortly to government agencies for approval," he said.
EPA and state health inspectors visited the site Sept. 18 and found more than five acres disturbed because of construction activities, the EPA said. Clearing and grading of the area above the Kaloko Reservoir occurred on the north, east and southeast sides. Construction of a road approaching the east side reservoir embankment involved cut slopes and grading work.
Storm runoff from the grading flows into the reservoir, Waiakalua Steam and eventually the ocean. Runoff from the reservoir plateau also may flow into several streams and the ocean, the EPA said.
Kaua'i County issued a notice of grading violations to Pflueger for the Kaloko site in November 1997. The county issued a second notice of grading violations in July.
Last month, the county filed a court petition seeking court oversight of Pflueger's grading activities on his Pila'a property.
