Posted on: Saturday, May 21, 2005

State fined $157,500 for inadequate oil-spill plans

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Federal environmental officials have fined the state Department of Transportation $157,500 for not having adequate oil-spill prevention plans in place at four facilities.

The fines were part of a consent agreement finalized Thursday, said Dean Higuchi, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office in Hawai'i.

The EPA found the violations during inspections in 1999 and 2000 at Honolulu International Airport, Kahului Airport, the highway division's vehicle base yard on Maui and the Lihu'e Airport.

The inspections found the facilities did not have:

• Spill prevention, control and counter-measure plans certified by a professional engineer.

• Adequate drainage controls to contain spills during fuel transfers between tanks and tanker trucks and between trucks and aircraft.

• Drainage controls for un-diked areas where people were working with oil.

• Adequate containment for small tanks and fuel-truck parking areas.

"It is really a safety measure to prevent any kind of oil spill or fuel spill from getting into the ocean," Higuchi said. "In Hawai'i, with the environment being the big draw for everyone here, it's critical that they have these plans and counter measures in place."

The problems were corrected in 2002, Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said. "We have to pay the fine for violations made, and we will pay the fine," he said. There were no spills at any of the facilities, he said.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.