City official's trucking firm scrutinized

By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer

A city official who some workers said authorized improper disposal of solid-waste material at the old Waipahu incinerator site is part-owner of a trucking firm under investigation by the city for allegedly dumping construction materials at the same site.

Tons of appliances were illegally dumped and buried in Waipahu. A company partly owned by the city's refuse-disposal facility superintendent, is under investigation. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Repeated efforts to contact Kealoha for comment were unsuccessful. Arnold Richardson, secretary-treasurer and majority owner of Maunalei Trucking, acknowledged he is partners with Kealoha in the trucking firm but said he was unaware of any dumping of material at the city-owned Waipahu incinerator property.

Richardson said customers who hire Maunalei's trucks and drivers to haul and dispose of construction debris decide where the material is to be dumped and direct the drivers to those locations.

"They call us, they like rent the truck and we send the truck over there. Where the truck go dump, we don't know," Richardson said.

Richardson said he knew Kealoha worked for the city but didn't know in what capacity. Richardson said he knew of no dumping by his firm at the Waipahu site but could not say categorically that it did not happen.

"I don't know," Richardson said. "Wherever the customer say for go dump, that's where they go."

The city investigation centers on the crushing and burial of tons of old appliances at the Waipahu site that had been stored there beginning in 2001 after the city stopped sending the material to recyclers because of a dispute over fees.

About 30 tons of the material were removed from the site March 1 and sent to the city's Waimanalo Gulch landfill.

The state Health Department, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state attorney general's office are also conducting investigations of the dumping.

Some city workers said Kealoha ordered them to do the dumping and Kealoha has told a television reporter that he had the materials buried and now knows it was illegal.

Soil sampling, conducted by a city consultant, EnviroServices, will be conducted at the property next week to determine if environmental contaminants are in the soil.

That sampling, monitored by the Health Department, is a separate activity from the city's efforts to determine how the dumping occurred and who is responsible for it, Costa said.

The mayor hopes to have the city's investigation, conducted by the Corporation Counsel's office and personnel from the Department of Environmental Services, completed by next week, said Costa.

"It is still premature as to who is at fault, but we expect the investigation to determine those facts. Then we can determine what disciplinary action would be appropriate," Costa said.

Maunalei Trucking was incorporated in March 2001 and received a Public Utilities Commission "general commodities and dump truck" license Feb. 6, 2002, according to PUC records.

The firm reported owning three commercial trucks, including a dump truck, and leasing two other vehicles.

The company told the PUC that Richardson and Kealoha "bring over 40 years of hauling and construction experience to this endeavor."

The license application said Richardson and Kealoha "are familiar with the industry as a whole and will bring forth that knowledge in the operation of their company."

Reach Jim Dooley at 535-2447 or jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.