Posted on: Thursday, June 10, 2004

City official gives go-ahead to sludge-recycling project

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A sewage sludge recycling plant can be built on Sand Island despite continued opposition by some businesses there that have raised health concerns, the city's top sewer official said.

A recent test on fertilizer pellets produced by such plants shows they are safe, and fulfilled a testing requirement imposed by the City Council, environmental services director Frank Doyle said.

The $34 million facility would be built by Synagro-WWT, and pellets made from treated sewage residue would be sold to farms and used in city parks and golf courses.

Similar fertilizer has been imported from the Mainland and used on Hawai'i farms for years, so there's no reason to think that any produced here would cause problems, Doyle said.

The test found that Synagro pellets contained a "non-detectable level" of salmonella that met federal guidelines, and contained no coliform or E. coli. But the results found that more tests would be needed to determine whether the pellets can fuel salmonella growth.

Some Sand Island companies that oppose the plant say the project should be stopped while more tests are done.

Councilmen Rod Tam and Romy Cachola have asked that no building permits be issued for the project, and have scheduled a special hearing Tuesday.

Doyle said the permits can be granted. Synagro project developer Jim Hecht said the company will send representatives to the hearing to try to alleviate any lingering concerns.

Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.