City boss blamed for dump
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
A city employee said he and others were ordered by their boss to bury hundreds of appliances at a Waipahu site, which has triggered investigations by city, state and federal agencies.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The city employee, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retribution, identified Peter Kealoha, the refuse disposal superintendent, as the person who ordered the burial of so-called "white goods" at the site of the old Waipahu incinerator.
In addition to appliances, construction debris has piled up near the city's old incinerator in Waipahu.
"We knew it was going on," he said. "And we knew it was wrong."
The worker said city trucks brought about 200 appliances — washers, dryers, water heaters, stoves — to the site in 2001, when the city was still negotiating its contract with various metal recyclers. During that time, the city stockpiled the white goods it collected from curbside pick-ups there. The city worker didn't recall any refrigerators or air conditioning units among the stockpiled items.
Within a few months, he said, Kealoha ordered city workers to crush and bury the appliances, which took about 10 days.
"I don't think he (Kealoha) realized the after effects of all this," the worker said.
Steve Chang, chief of state Health Department's Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, said he has interviewed city workers at the site.
"It's been pretty consistent," he said. "We've got some interesting information, but we have to follow up. It has led us to ask more detailed questions to city managers."
He declined to disclose what they said but noted Kealoha told a reporter for KGMB-9 on camera that he buried the appliances.
"He's admitted to doing it," Chang said. "But anyone can recant stories. We'll see what happens."
Kealoha could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mayor Jeremy Harris said yesterday he is "very upset" about the illegal dumping on city property, especially when he has pushed for strengthening the city's recycling efforts.
"It certainly sends the wrong message when we're trying to convince everyone how important it is to recycle when some city employees are running over washing machines with bulldozers and burying them. It's hard to fathom," Harris said.
City workers at the site were also frustrated with the amount of dumping done by private haulers at their work site for a year after the white goods were buried, the employee said.
The city will present its soil sampling plan to state officials today, as both agencies move forward with their investigations. The Environmental Protection Agency is also checking to see if contaminants such as lead, Freon and asbestos are present at the site on Waipahu Depot Road.
The test will determine whether there is any environmental hazard at the site and what precautions are necessary in removing the crushed appliances.
Harris doubts there is any significant environmental impact to warrant steep fines for the city by state or federal authorities.
"A foolish decision was made by somebody," Harris said. "It doesn't make sense at all, what they did ... We want to be the place that recycles it all, to be the model for the rest of the country. That's why it's particularly annoying for some ridiculous thing like this to happen, where someone is out there burying washing machines."
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
