State fines Hawai'i County for violations at Hilo landfill
| • | 30 tons of illegal dumping at city site 'just a dimple' |
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
The state Health Department is fining Hawai'i County more than $43,000 for environmental violations at the Hilo landfill.
Kevin Dayton • The Honolulu Advertiser
Inspections in April 2001 and February 2002 found that the county left landfill waste exposed days after it had been dumped, which is a violation of state rules governing landfill operations. Refuse is supposed to be covered with crushed stone in all areas except where active dumping is taking place.
County worker George DePont, right, was at the Hilo landfill where Joe Wedemann, owner of Kokua Man Rubbish Service, dumped a load of trash. The site has had problems with rubbish left uncovered.
The April 2001 inspection also found that the county failed to control wind-blown litter, failed to properly screen loads for hazardous materials, and failed to control rain runoff.
Barbara Bell, director of the county Department of Environmental Management, said the county has fixed most of the problems found in the inspections. She said she doesn't know how the county will pay the fine, since there is no money budgeted for it this year or next.
Bell said the county did a sweep of wind-blown litter after it was first notified of the fine in December, and is planning another over the next two weeks.
"It's picking up stuff that has blown away, so it's not what I would call a health hazard," she said.
But Steven Chang, program manager for the solid and hazardous waste branch of the state Department of Health, said an official from the department visited the Hilo landfill last week after receiving a citizen complaint and found that the county is still having "problems" covering the rubbish properly.
Under the terms of a consent agreement signed by county officials, the county must pay the fine within three months and submit evidence it has fixed the problems within two months. If the county fails to meet those terms, it could face additional fines of $2,000 per day.
The agreement requires the county to put up more than $14,000 in addition to the fines to beef up county recycling efforts and put new measures in place to manage hazardous waste or waste chemicals.
County officials said they have had very few complaints about bad odors or wind-blown debris from the landfill, and a number of the neighbors closest to the landfill confirmed they are generally satisfied with the operation.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
