Groups to sue city over sewage spills

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Three environmental groups say they will sue the city over repeated sewage spills and violations of federal clean water standards.

The Sierra Club's Hawai'i chapter, Hawai'i's Thousand Friends, and Our Children's Earth say the city has repeatedly violated its wastewater discharge permits by failing to repair, maintain or upgrade sewage facilities.

They say the lack of attention is to blame for hundreds of sewage spills that sent dangerous amounts of raw sewage into waterways, streets, homes and businesses over the past five years.

"These sewage spills pose serious health risks to the public," said Laura Edmunds, the Sierra Club Hawai'i chapter's Blue Water Campaign coordinator. "The city needs to clean up its act."

City environmental services director Frank Doyle said the city has worked aggressively to upgrade its sewer system, and that many of the spills have been caused by heavy rains.

"We find no spill acceptable and are particularly concerned about spills that enter receiving waters closing beaches and streams," he said.

The city's Sand Island sewage treatment plant is in the midst of a complex $390 million upgrade, but key parts of the project have fallen behind schedule and violate the terms of a federal discharge permit.

City officials have said they are confident that the 70 million gallons of treated wastewater discharged into the ocean from the plant every day do not threaten public health or marine life.

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