Developers cleared of most blame for runoff

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

Stream runoff was largely responsible for muddying coastal waters in two areas off Maui and O'ahu this week, but separate residential construction projects contributed to the mess, according to preliminary reports by the state Department of Health's Clean Water Branch.

Further investigation is needed before it is decided whether sanctions are in order, said Mike Tsuji, branch enforcement section supervisor. Violations of the federal Clean Water Act could result in fines of up to $25,000 per incident per day.

Heavy rain across most of the state earlier this week caused storm runoff in many coastal areas.

The Sierra Club's Hawai'i Chapter complained about runoff at D.G. "Andy" Anderson's 19-acre Kaunala subdivision on the North Shore and at Maui developer Everett Dowling's 44-acre One Palauea Bay construction site in Wailea.

The two projects are bordered by streams that carried mud and debris from the mountains and dumped it in the ocean. In both cases, Tsuji said it appeared that erosion-control devices at the sites had been overwhelmed and contributed soil to the runoff.

Tsuji said staff from his office had visited Anderson's property yesterday and reported that muddy water was still flowing in the streams on either side of the project, though there was no runoff coming from the construction site.

"Overall, most of the sediment (during the runoff incident earlier in the week) came from off site," he said.

Anderson said yesterday he felt vindicated by the report.

"I'm not saying that with a rain like that, some mud didn't wash off from my property ... ," he said. "But we did not pollute to the degree (that the Sierra Club claimed)."

After talking with state officials yesterday, Anderson said he agreed sandbags might do a better job of containing soil next time, instead of the silt curtains that were used.

At the Wailea site, Tsuji said, it appeared that "most of the runoff was from the off-site, upper areas."

"The site did contribute to the runoff, but we can't say by how much," he said.

Tsuji said a gravel berm and silt curtains had been washed out along the gully on one side of the project during the heavy rain.

Dowling was not available to comment yesterday, but he accused the Sierra Club earlier of using the runoff issue to oppose or stall development.

Laura Hokunani Edmunds, coordinator of the club's Blue Water Campaign to protect coastal waters from runoff and pollution caused by development, rejected the criticism.

"We are not attacking these developers," Edmunds said yesterday. "We are trying to ensure that they follow the laws. It's in their interest and the community's interest to follow the rules."

Edmunds said developers are not doing enough to contain runoff. "There is no excuse for them to take the easy way out and say, 'Well, we had these measures in place but they weren't enough for this rain.' "

When determining whether action is warranted, Tsuji said, mitigating circumstances would be considered.

In Dowling's case, the developer had a permit for the discharge of storm water and was using best management practices for controlling runoff. The control devices on the rest of the property stayed in place and worked well, meaning only a small section of land was involved in the runoff, he said.

Anderson's situation is "a little more serious," Tsuji said, because of earlier problems at the site. The developer started work before obtaining a discharge permit and initially did not install proper storm drain protection devices, Tsuji said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.